Coles County, Illinois: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+28%. Republican peak: R+39 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+28MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 46,7772024 5-year
- Median household income
- $56,4782024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+20 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+39 in 1928MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Cass County, MI · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Coles CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Coles County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
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 | −1.1% |
| 1896 | −6.4% |
| 1900 | −8.9% |
| 1904 | −16.6% |
| 1908 | −5.0% |
| 1912 | +14.1% |
| 1916 | −3.3% |
| 1920 | −18.9% |
| 1924 | −18.4% |
| 1928 | −38.6% |
| 1932 | +20.3% |
| 1936 | +15.0% |
| 1940 | +4.0% |
| 1944 | −2.9% |
| 1948 | −1.4% |
| 1952 | −23.3% |
| 1956 | −24.3% |
| 1960 | −17.0% |
| 1964 | +12.3% |
| 1968 | −15.7% |
| 1972 | −26.2% |
| 1976 | −11.8% |
| 1980 | −25.4% |
| 1984 | −32.3% |
| 1988 | −13.9% |
| 1992 | +5.8% |
| 1996 | +4.7% |
| 2000 | −7.9% |
| 2004 | −15.1% |
| 2008 | +3.2% |
| 2012 | −11.1% |
| 2016 | −26.0% |
| 2020 | −26.3% |
| 2024 | −28.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 7,495 | 13,606 | 21,507 | ||
| R | 8,067 | 14,037 | 22,668 | ||
| R | 7,309 | 13,003 | 21,918 | ||
| R | 9,262 | 11,631 | 21,437 | ||
| D | 11,716 | 10,978 | 23,076 | ||
| R | 9,566 | 13,015 | 22,780 | ||
| R | 8,904 | 10,495 | 20,093 | ||
| D | 8,950 | 8,038 | 19,298 | ||
| D | 9,402 | 8,098 | 22,300 | ||
| R | 8,327 | 11,043 | 19,504 | ||
| R | 7,156 | 14,044 | 21,295 | ||
| R | 6,743 | 11,994 | 20,671 | ||
| R | 8,639 | 11,021 | 20,162 | ||
| R | 7,988 | 13,681 | 21,751 | ||
| R | 7,337 | 10,449 | 19,766 | ||
| D | 11,377 | 8,878 | 20,255 | ||
| R | 8,629 | 12,166 | 20,814 | ||
| R | 7,569 | 12,436 | 20,015 | ||
| R | 7,876 | 12,660 | 20,556 | ||
| R | 8,393 | 8,638 | 17,084 | ||
| R | 8,936 | 9,473 | 18,463 | ||
| D | 11,409 | 10,528 | 22,014 | ||
| D | 11,931 | 8,800 | 20,868 | ||
| D | 11,081 | 7,313 | 18,559 | ||
| R | 5,071 | 11,479 | 16,607 | ||
| R | 5,544 | 8,342 | 15,194 | ||
| R | 5,811 | 8,563 | 14,574 | ||
| R | 7,772 | 8,314 | 16,351 | ||
| D | 3,453 | 2,263 | 8,426 | ||
| R | 3,957 | 4,388 | 8,632 | ||
| R | 3,435 | 4,901 | 8,828 | ||
| R | 3,921 | 4,706 | 8,779 | ||
| R | 3,982 | 4,534 | 8,633 | ||
| R | 3,611 | 3,693 | 7,604 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
22.1%
Irish
14.2%
English
11.4%
American
5.9%
Italian
1.8%
Scottish
1.3%
Polish
1.0%
African American
2.9%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
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: 37.5 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
$56,478
Coles County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Coles County$56,478
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Coles 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
18.7%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.8%
Working age (18–64)19.0%
Seniors (65+)10.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.9%
speak English only
Spanish2.3%
Other Indo-European1.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Coles County has shifted steadily toward Republican margins over the past two decades despite the moderating presence of a college-town electorate, posting R+28.4 in 2024.
The Republican margin here reached thirty-nine points in 1928. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-eight points.
A population of 46,777, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $56,478 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Cass County and Cheboygan 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.
Coles County, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/17029/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Coles County, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Coles County, Illinois voted Republican by 28.4 points (R+28), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 21,507 votes cast, 7,495 went Democratic and 13,606 went Republican.
What is Coles County, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Coles County, Illinois in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. 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 8 times, Republican 26 times, and other 0 times.
When did Coles County, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Coles County, Illinois voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Coles County, Illinois?
Coles County, Illinois has a population of 46,777 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Coles County, Illinois?
Median household income in Coles County, Illinois is $56,478 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Coles County, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Coles County, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.