Clay County, Illinois: Appalachian Realigners county. In 2024, voted R+67%. Republican peak: R+67 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+67MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Appalachian RealignersAkashic typology
- Population
- 13,0522024 5-year
- Median household income
- $60,4172024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+15 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+67 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Vernon County, MO · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Clay CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Clay County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −4.4% |
| 1896 | +2.6% |
| 1900 | −1.3% |
| 1904 | −10.4% |
| 1908 | −2.2% |
| 1912 | +7.0% |
| 1916 | −4.0% |
| 1920 | −21.5% |
| 1924 | −6.4% |
| 1928 | −30.3% |
| 1932 | +14.8% |
| 1936 | +2.4% |
| 1940 | −2.5% |
| 1944 | −11.8% |
| 1948 | −8.8% |
| 1952 | −20.9% |
| 1956 | −17.6% |
| 1960 | −20.4% |
| 1964 | +10.8% |
| 1968 | −19.4% |
| 1972 | −30.0% |
| 1976 | −0.3% |
| 1980 | −25.6% |
| 1984 | −28.7% |
| 1988 | −11.7% |
| 1992 | +7.4% |
| 1996 | +0.8% |
| 2000 | −25.7% |
| 2004 | −35.3% |
| 2008 | −23.3% |
| 2012 | −44.1% |
| 2016 | −63.0% |
| 2020 | −65.2% |
| 2024 | −67.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,054 | 5,610 | 6,769 | ||
| R | 1,129 | 5,629 | 6,899 | ||
| R | 1,020 | 5,021 | 6,350 | ||
| R | 1,584 | 4,190 | 5,908 | ||
| R | 2,425 | 3,926 | 6,454 | ||
| R | 2,101 | 4,416 | 6,554 | ||
| R | 2,212 | 3,789 | 6,135 | ||
| D | 2,750 | 2,703 | 6,228 | ||
| D | 2,962 | 2,471 | 6,652 | ||
| R | 2,761 | 3,494 | 6,279 | ||
| R | 2,524 | 4,562 | 7,104 | ||
| R | 2,587 | 4,447 | 7,266 | ||
| R | 3,837 | 3,860 | 7,729 | ||
| R | 2,844 | 5,283 | 8,138 | ||
| R | 2,878 | 4,429 | 7,986 | ||
| D | 4,551 | 3,665 | 8,216 | ||
| R | 3,394 | 5,134 | 8,538 | ||
| R | 3,553 | 5,079 | 8,648 | ||
| R | 3,432 | 5,254 | 8,701 | ||
| R | 3,160 | 3,782 | 7,108 | ||
| R | 3,531 | 4,484 | 8,110 | ||
| R | 4,934 | 5,185 | 10,222 | ||
| D | 4,752 | 4,528 | 9,384 | ||
| D | 4,565 | 3,373 | 8,064 | ||
| R | 2,418 | 4,522 | 6,940 | ||
| R | 2,987 | 3,432 | 6,919 | ||
| R | 2,358 | 3,683 | 6,149 | ||
| R | 3,574 | 3,879 | 7,681 | ||
| D | 1,926 | 1,622 | 4,341 | ||
| R | 2,152 | 2,250 | 4,543 | ||
| R | 1,935 | 2,408 | 4,527 | ||
| R | 2,295 | 2,356 | 4,764 | ||
| D | 2,272 | 2,155 | 4,500 | ||
| R | 1,604 | 1,774 | 3,887 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
20.7%
Irish
13.0%
American
11.8%
English
8.4%
Polish
2.4%
Italian
2.2%
Scottish
1.2%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
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.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 40.4 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$60,417
Clay County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Clay County$60,417
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Clay County ranks near the middle of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
17.5%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.7%
Working age (18–64)17.7%
Seniors (65+)15.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.8%
speak English only
Spanish0.9%
Other Indo-European0.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 28.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Clay County's R+67.3 presidential margin in 2024 places it among the most one-sided counties in a state more often associated with competitive statewide races. Its population of roughly 14,500 reflects decades of rural depopulation across southeastern Illinois.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin peaked at fifteen points in 1932 and narrowed across the late twentieth century. The 2000 election carried the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by twenty-six points. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was sixty-seven points.
The economic context is severe: a median household income of $60,417 — among the lowest at this geographic scale — and a 18% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Vernon County and Ripley County.
Most similar counties
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.
Clay County, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/17025/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Clay County, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Clay County, Illinois voted Republican by 67.3 points (R+67), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 6,769 votes cast, 1,054 went Democratic and 5,610 went Republican.
What is Clay County, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Clay County, Illinois in the "Appalachian Realigners" typology — Lower-income counties of Greater Appalachia — a long, deep arc from Democratic to Republican. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 7 times, Republican 27 times, and other 0 times.
When did Clay County, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Clay County, Illinois voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Clay County, Illinois?
Clay County, Illinois has a population of 13,052 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Clay County, Illinois?
Median household income in Clay County, Illinois is $60,417 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Clay County, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Clay County, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The county's typology — "Appalachian Realigners" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.