DeKalb County, Illinois: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted D+2%. Republican peak: R+70 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+2MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 100,7032024 5-year
- Median household income
- $70,7242024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 74.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 7.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 14.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+17 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+70 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Centre County, PA · similarity 0.96
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of DeKalb CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for DeKalb 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 | −29.9% |
| 1896 | −48.1% |
| 1900 | −49.8% |
| 1904 | −62.7% |
| 1908 | −51.1% |
| 1912 | −2.8% |
| 1916 | −46.6% |
| 1920 | −70.2% |
| 1924 | −65.2% |
| 1928 | −48.8% |
| 1932 | −14.7% |
| 1936 | −10.5% |
| 1940 | −28.4% |
| 1944 | −33.8% |
| 1948 | −38.0% |
| 1952 | −48.6% |
| 1956 | −51.4% |
| 1960 | −39.3% |
| 1964 | −7.0% |
| 1968 | −32.9% |
| 1972 | −20.8% |
| 1976 | −21.7% |
| 1980 | −24.6% |
| 1984 | −29.7% |
| 1988 | −18.4% |
| 1992 | +3.2% |
| 1996 | +1.2% |
| 2000 | −7.0% |
| 2004 | −4.5% |
| 2008 | +16.8% |
| 2012 | +5.5% |
| 2016 | +3.2% |
| 2020 | +5.7% |
| 2024 | +2.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 23,648 | 22,716 | 47,401 | ||
| D | 24,643 | 21,905 | 47,989 | ||
| D | 20,466 | 19,091 | 43,600 | ||
| D | 21,207 | 18,934 | 41,241 | ||
| D | 25,784 | 18,266 | 44,818 | ||
| R | 19,263 | 21,095 | 40,768 | ||
| R | 14,798 | 17,139 | 33,233 | ||
| D | 12,715 | 12,380 | 28,527 | ||
| D | 13,744 | 12,655 | 34,232 | ||
| R | 11,811 | 17,182 | 29,190 | ||
| R | 10,942 | 20,294 | 31,465 | ||
| R | 8,913 | 16,370 | 30,365 | ||
| R | 11,535 | 18,193 | 30,728 | ||
| R | 12,375 | 18,910 | 31,384 | ||
| R | 6,974 | 14,535 | 22,999 | ||
| R | 10,257 | 11,791 | 22,049 | ||
| R | 6,783 | 15,586 | 22,388 | ||
| R | 4,826 | 15,078 | 19,929 | ||
| R | 5,110 | 14,807 | 19,947 | ||
| R | 5,082 | 11,380 | 16,567 | ||
| R | 6,004 | 12,157 | 18,210 | ||
| R | 6,989 | 12,577 | 19,668 | ||
| R | 7,899 | 9,826 | 18,275 | ||
| R | 6,923 | 9,356 | 16,594 | ||
| R | 3,940 | 11,501 | 15,503 | ||
| R | 1,540 | 10,500 | 13,744 | ||
| R | 1,700 | 10,374 | 12,361 | ||
| R | 3,386 | 9,764 | 13,697 | ||
| O | 1,568 | 1,776 | 7,314 | ||
| R | 1,732 | 5,866 | 8,091 | ||
| R | 1,137 | 5,957 | 7,693 | ||
| R | 1,881 | 5,923 | 8,110 | ||
| R | 1,881 | 5,598 | 7,734 | ||
| R | 1,926 | 3,789 | 6,240 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
23.7%
Irish
15.2%
English
8.9%
Italian
6.5%
Polish
5.7%
American
3.4%
French
2.4%
African American
5.6%
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: 32.7 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
$70,724
DeKalb County ranks near the middle of US counties.
DeKalb County$70,724
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
DeKalb 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
14.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.3%
Working age (18–64)14.8%
Seniors (65+)5.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.0%
speak English only
Spanish8.2%
Other Indo-European1.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.3%
Other languages0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 46.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Northern Illinois University, DeKalb County shifted from reliably Republican to a near-even split over the past two decades, with the 2024 presidential race decided by roughly 2 points — a margin driven largely by turnout patterns around Dekalb's student and exurban populations.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached seventeen points in 2008; the Republican margin reached seventy points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was two points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 74% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $70,724, and a 15% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Centre County and Will 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.
DeKalb County, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/17037/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did DeKalb County, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, DeKalb County, Illinois voted Democratic by 2.0 points (D+2), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 47,401 votes cast, 23,648 went Democratic and 22,716 went Republican.
What is DeKalb County, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places DeKalb County, Illinois in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. 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 26 times, and other 1 times.
When did DeKalb County, Illinois last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which DeKalb County, Illinois voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in DeKalb County, Illinois?
DeKalb County, Illinois has a population of 100,703 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in DeKalb County, Illinois?
Median household income in DeKalb County, Illinois is $70,724 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of DeKalb County, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in DeKalb County, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.