† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
3 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupOttawa, ILIllinoisUnited States
German25.1%16.1%12.5%
Irish15.4%10.6%9.4%
English10.3%6.9%9.5%
Italian8.4%5.4%4.8%
Polish6.0%6.0%2.2%
American4.4%3.3%5.3%
Norwegian2.8%——
French2.6%0.7%1.6%
Mexican9.4%14.4%11.3%
Puerto Rican0.4%1.7%1.8%
African American†1.7%12.1%9.9%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Ottawa, IL
Illinois
United States
Median age
42.8
39.1
39.1
Age 18–24
7.7%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
20.8%
16.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Ottawa, IL
Illinois
United States
Median household income
$72,296
$83,390
$84,427
Poverty rate
13.0%
11.8%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
20.9%
37.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Ottawa, IL
Illinois
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
7.6%
24.1%
22.3%
Spanish
5.6%
14.0%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Ottawa, IL
Illinois
United States
Catholic
18.0%
24.2%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
10.8%
11.7%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
60.9%
49.2%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
9.1%
5.3%
5.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Ottawa, IL
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
+3.6%
1896
−16.7%
1900
−16.8%
1904
−36.0%
1908
−20.9%
1912
+10.5%
1916
−17.1%
1920
−54.2%
1924
−44.6%
1928
−13.4%
1932
+15.0%
1936
+5.0%
1940
−1.4%
1944
−16.7%
1948
−15.5%
1952
−26.3%
1956
−32.4%
1960
−6.6%
1964
+12.9%
1968
−11.5%
1972
−22.8%
1976
−7.8%
1980
−24.4%
1984
−17.2%
1988
−2.1%
1992
+12.0%
1996
+12.9%
2000
+2.3%
2004
−5.0%
2008
+10.0%
2012
−0.2%
2016
−15.9%
2020
−16.2%
2024
−19.9%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
39.2%Harris28,183
59.2%Trump42,515
1.6%
R+19.9
R+3.8
R+18.5
71,841
R
40.8%Biden30,449
57.0%Trump42,517
2.2%
R+16.2
R+0.3
R+20.6
74,576
R
38.5%Clinton26,719
54.4%Trump37,737
7.2%
R+15.9
R+15.6
R+18.0
69,426
R
48.7%Obama32,766
49.0%Romney32,922
2.3%
R+0.2
R+10.2
R+4.1
67,234
D
54.1%Obama38,232
44.1%McCain31,161
1.8%
D+10.0
D+15.0
D+2.7
70,635
R
47.1%Kerry33,928
52.2%Bush37,546
0.7%
R+5.0
R+7.3
R+2.6
71,983
D
49.6%Gore32,766
47.3%Bush31,239
3.0%
D+2.3
R+10.6
D+1.8
66,009
D
50.1%Clinton30,719
37.2%Dole22,814
12.7%
D+12.9
D+0.9
D+4.4
61,328
D
45.5%Clinton32,401
33.6%Bush23,883
20.9%
D+12.0
D+14.1
D+6.4
71,146
R
48.7%Dukakis31,226
50.8%Bush32,578
0.5%
R+2.1
D+15.1
D+5.6
64,140
R
41.2%Mondale28,944
58.4%Reagan41,041
0.5%
R+17.2
D+7.2
D+1.0
70,317
R
34.0%Carter23,729
58.4%Reagan40,766
7.6%
R+24.4
R+16.6
R+14.7
69,836
R
45.4%Carter32,015
53.3%Ford37,540
1.3%
R+7.8
D+15.0
R+9.9
70,472
R
38.5%McGovern28,650
61.3%Nixon45,641
0.2%
R+22.8
R+11.3
D+0.3
74,426
R
41.5%Humphrey30,232
53.0%Nixon38,621
5.4%
R+11.5
R+24.4
R+10.8
72,818
D
56.5%Johnson41,368
43.5%Goldwater31,899
0.0%
D+12.9
D+19.5
R+9.7
73,267
R
46.7%Kennedy36,478
53.2%Nixon41,606
0.1%
R+6.6
D+25.9
R+6.7
78,151
R
33.7%Stevenson25,012
66.2%Eisenhower49,094
0.1%
R+32.4
R+6.2
R+17.0
74,214
R
36.8%Stevenson28,504
63.0%Eisenhower48,848
0.2%
R+26.3
R+10.7
R+15.5
77,478
R
41.9%Truman27,034
57.4%Dewey37,065
0.7%
R+15.5
D+1.1
R+20.0
64,524
R
40.1%Roosevelt29,330
56.8%Dewey41,502
3.1%
R+16.7
R+15.2
R+24.1
73,103
R
49.0%Roosevelt39,173
50.4%Willkie40,332
0.6%
R+1.4
R+6.5
R+11.4
79,991
D
50.9%Roosevelt37,879
45.9%Landon34,137
3.2%
D+5.0
R+10.0
R+19.2
74,424
D
56.6%Roosevelt39,363
41.6%Hoover28,950
1.7%
D+15.0
D+28.4
R+2.8
69,518
R
42.9%Smith28,162
56.3%Hoover36,983
0.7%
R+13.4
D+31.2
D+4.0
65,631
R
15.9%Davis8,471
60.5%Coolidge32,238
23.6%
R+44.6
D+9.7
R+19.4
53,298
R
19.5%Cox9,342
73.7%Harding35,342
6.8%
R+54.2
R+37.2
R+28.1
47,928
R
39.7%Wilson21,203
56.8%Hughes30,319
3.4%
R+17.1
R+27.6
R+20.2
53,360
O
33.8%Wilson10,260
23.3%Taft7,077
43.0%
Roosevelt +9.2
D+31.4
R+9.1
30,399
R
35.6%Bryan10,873
56.5%Taft17,273
8.0%
R+20.9
D+15.1
R+11.4
30,584
R
27.2%Parker7,900
63.3%Roosevelt18,344
9.5%
R+36.0
R+19.2
R+16.3
28,998
R
39.8%Bryan12,644
56.6%McKinley17,997
3.7%
R+16.8
R+0.1
R+9.3
31,807
R
40.5%Bryan12,548
57.2%McKinley17,728
2.3%
R+16.7
R+20.3
R+10.6
30,985
D
49.1%Cleveland13,434
45.5%Harrison12,442
5.4%
D+3.6
—
D+2.0
27,358
Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
R
44.2%24,337
54.0%29,697
55,032
2020
R
42.8%31,389
52.6%38,630
73,388
voter registration
Registered voters
Total registered voters, over time
Registered voters
Voter registration in Ottawa, IL
Year
Total registered
2016
112,472
2018
109,709
2020
110,012
2022
98,575
2024
103,303
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+238 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net −7,471 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Ottawa, IL in Ottawa, IL: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−597
2012
−831
2013
−624
2014
−987
2015
−1,033
2016
−855
2017
−724
2018
−390
2019
−658
2021
−544
2022
−609
2023
+235
2024
−92
2025
+238
Ottawa anchors the La Salle County micropolitan area, where a historically unionized industrial base has shifted alongside broader rural realignment, producing notable swings in presidential margins over the past three election cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 15.0 points in 1932 and a Republican high of 54.2 points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 3.8 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 19.9 points.
A population of 147,181, a 83% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $72,296 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Michigan City-La Porte, IN and Auburn, NY.
Akashic
Political twins — metros
The metros whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Ottawa, IL, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/36837/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Embed this page
A live widget for your site — no API key, attribution built in, CC BY 4.0. All widgets & sizes →
In 2024, Ottawa, IL, Illinois voted Republican by 19.9 points (R+19.9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 71,841 votes cast, 28,183 went Democratic and 42,515 went Republican.
When did Ottawa, IL, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Ottawa, IL, Illinois voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Ottawa, IL, Illinois?
Ottawa, IL, Illinois has a population of 147,181 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Ottawa, IL, Illinois?
Median household income in Ottawa, IL, Illinois is $72,296 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Ottawa, IL, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Ottawa, IL, Illinois from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 25 went Republican.
