akashic
1876–2024
Illinois·Illinois

Illinois is one of the bluest places in America.

18762024·38 elections
IL
Latest
D+11
in 2024
Archetype
Urban anchor
since the recent cycles
Population
12,694,798
2024 ACS
102 counties · 14 D · 88 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024D
+10.9%
3,062,8642,449,0795,633,311
2020D
+16.9%
3,471,9152,446,8916,051,510
2016D
+16.9%
3,090,7292,146,0155,595,279
2012D
+16.8%
3,019,5122,135,2165,251,432
2008D
+25.1%
3,419,3482,031,1795,522,371
2004D
+10.3%
2,891,5502,345,9465,274,322
2000D
+12.0%
2,589,0262,019,4214,742,123
1996D
+17.5%
2,341,7441,587,0214,311,391
1992D
+14.2%
2,453,3501,734,0965,050,157
1988R
−2.1%
2,215,9402,310,9394,559,120
1984R
−12.9%
2,086,4992,707,1034,819,088
1980R
−7.9%
1,981,4132,358,0494,749,721
1976R
−2.0%
2,271,2952,364,2694,718,833
1972R
−18.5%
1,913,4722,788,1794,723,236
1968R
−2.9%
2,039,8142,174,7744,619,749
1964D
+18.9%
2,796,8331,905,9464,702,841
1960D
+0.2%
2,377,8462,368,9884,757,409
1956R
−19.2%
1,775,6822,623,3274,407,407
1952R
−9.9%
2,013,9202,457,3274,481,058
1948D
+0.8%
1,994,7151,961,1033,984,046
1944D
+3.5%
2,079,4791,939,3144,035,881
1940D
+2.4%
2,149,9342,047,2404,217,935
1936D
+18.0%
2,282,9991,570,3933,956,522
1932D
+13.2%
1,882,3041,432,7563,407,926
1928R
−14.7%
1,313,8171,769,1413,107,489
1924R
−35.5%
576,9751,453,3212,470,067
1920R
−42.3%
534,3951,420,4802,094,714
1916R
−9.2%
950,2291,152,5492,190,219
1912O
+13.2%
405,048253,5931,146,173
1908R
−15.5%
450,810629,9321,155,254
1904R
−28.3%
327,606632,6451,076,499
1900R
−8.4%
503,061597,9851,131,898
1896R
−13.0%
465,613607,1301,090,869
1892D
+3.1%
426,280399,288873,557
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
16.1%
Irish
10.6%
English
6.9%
Polish
6.0%
Italian
5.4%
American
3.3%
French
1.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
75.9%
speak English only
Spanish14.0%
Other Indo-European5.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.1%
Other languages1.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
24.6%
Other Christian
7.8%
Non-Christian
5.0%
Mainline Protestant
4.8%
Baptist
4.3%
Methodist
2.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Illinois is a political anchor of the Upper Midwest. Its population of 12,694,798 and its concentration of urban, diverse, and college-educated voters have made it a Democratic stronghold for decades running.

The Democratic margin in Illinois has been steady. It reached its modern peak at twenty-five points in 2008; the 2024 margin was eleven points, still in line with the county's long pattern.

Illinois's political identity is inseparable from its demographic profile: a 61% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $83,390, and the full diversity of a major metropolitan center.