† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · 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
GroupKankakeeIllinoisUnited States
African American†19.9%12.1%9.9%
African19.6%0.5%0.5%
German12.6%16.1%12.5%
Irish7.3%10.6%9.4%
English4.6%6.9%9.5%
Polish3.6%6.0%2.2%
French3.5%0.7%1.6%
Italian3.1%5.4%4.8%
American2.1%3.3%5.3%
Dutch1.1%——
Mexican20.8%14.4%11.3%
Puerto Rican1.0%1.7%1.8%
Guatemalan0.8%0.3%0.5%
Salvadoran0.6%—0.7%
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
Kankakee
Illinois
United States
Median age
36.1
39.1
39.1
Age 18–24
8.9%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
14.4%
16.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Kankakee
Illinois
United States
Median household income
$47,514
$83,390
$84,427
Poverty rate
25.5%
11.8%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
13.0%
37.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Kankakee
Illinois
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
23.2%
24.1%
22.3%
Spanish
21.8%
14.0%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Kankakee
Illinois
United States
Catholic
—
24.2%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
11.7%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
49.2%
51.5%
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.
Kankakee, Illinois
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+28.2%
2008
+41.0%
2012
+39.1%
2016
+33.7%
2020
+30.6%
2024
+24.1%
DemocraticRepublican
6 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. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
60.8%Harris4,576
36.7%Trump2,762
2.5%
D+24.1
R+6.5
D+25.6
7,529
D
64.1%Biden5,446
33.5%Trump2,849
2.4%
D+30.6
R+3.1
D+26.1
8,498
D
63.8%Clinton5,681
30.2%Trump2,684
6.0%
D+33.7
R+5.4
D+31.6
8,898
D
68.5%Obama6,260
29.4%Romney2,690
2.0%
D+39.1
R+1.9
D+35.2
9,135
D
69.7%Obama7,092
28.8%McCain2,926
1.5%
D+41.0
D+12.7
D+33.7
10,171
D
64.0%Kerry5,723
35.8%Bush3,202
0.1%
D+28.2
—
D+30.7
8,936
Kankakee anchors Illinois's 60th-largest city proper and sits at the confluence of the Kankakee and Iroquois rivers, drawing a mixed working-class and Latino electorate that has shifted competitive in recent cycles after decades of lopsided results.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 41.0 points in 2008. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 6.5 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 24.1 points.
A population of 23,996, a 32% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $47,514 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Muskegon and Port Arthur.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities 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.
In 2024, Kankakee, Illinois voted Democratic by 24.1 points (D+24.1), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 7,529 votes cast, 4,576 went Democratic and 2,762 went Republican.
How many people live in Kankakee, Illinois?
Kankakee, Illinois has a population of 23,996 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Kankakee, Illinois?
Median household income in Kankakee, Illinois is $47,514 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Kankakee, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Kankakee, Illinois from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
