Edwards County, Illinois: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+71%. Republican peak: R+71 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+71MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 6,0752024 5-year
- Median household income
- $60,5192024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Republican margin
- R+71 in 2016MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Jefferson County, PA · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Edwards CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Edwards 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 | −31.2% |
| 1896 | −29.3% |
| 1900 | −30.7% |
| 1904 | −42.4% |
| 1908 | −34.6% |
| 1912 | −6.9% |
| 1916 | −33.9% |
| 1920 | −59.6% |
| 1924 | −43.1% |
| 1928 | −49.9% |
| 1932 | −5.9% |
| 1936 | −11.8% |
| 1940 | −30.7% |
| 1944 | −42.8% |
| 1948 | −34.1% |
| 1952 | −50.1% |
| 1956 | −46.8% |
| 1960 | −38.9% |
| 1964 | −6.4% |
| 1968 | −37.2% |
| 1972 | −48.1% |
| 1976 | −18.0% |
| 1980 | −40.4% |
| 1984 | −44.8% |
| 1988 | −28.8% |
| 1992 | −8.5% |
| 1996 | −16.9% |
| 2000 | −37.9% |
| 2004 | −44.1% |
| 2008 | −29.8% |
| 2012 | −51.1% |
| 2016 | −70.5% |
| 2020 | −69.6% |
| 2024 | −71.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 457 | 2,794 | 3,289 | ||
| R | 488 | 2,833 | 3,368 | ||
| R | 434 | 2,778 | 3,324 | ||
| R | 754 | 2,405 | 3,228 | ||
| R | 1,140 | 2,137 | 3,350 | ||
| R | 930 | 2,412 | 3,364 | ||
| R | 978 | 2,212 | 3,260 | ||
| R | 1,089 | 1,613 | 3,103 | ||
| R | 1,299 | 1,601 | 3,552 | ||
| R | 1,218 | 2,212 | 3,450 | ||
| R | 1,057 | 2,778 | 3,845 | ||
| R | 1,041 | 2,556 | 3,751 | ||
| R | 1,648 | 2,379 | 4,066 | ||
| R | 1,055 | 3,017 | 4,081 | ||
| R | 1,095 | 2,633 | 4,135 | ||
| R | 1,991 | 2,262 | 4,253 | ||
| R | 1,446 | 3,291 | 4,745 | ||
| R | 1,210 | 3,339 | 4,550 | ||
| R | 1,162 | 3,502 | 4,669 | ||
| R | 1,206 | 2,491 | 3,770 | ||
| R | 1,197 | 3,016 | 4,250 | ||
| R | 1,770 | 3,361 | 5,182 | ||
| R | 2,211 | 2,813 | 5,100 | ||
| R | 1,956 | 2,203 | 4,216 | ||
| R | 950 | 2,861 | 3,826 | ||
| R | 1,047 | 2,750 | 3,952 | ||
| R | 742 | 3,002 | 3,790 | ||
| R | 1,389 | 2,885 | 4,412 | ||
| O | 650 | 817 | 2,404 | ||
| R | 747 | 1,614 | 2,503 | ||
| R | 595 | 1,610 | 2,393 | ||
| R | 823 | 1,577 | 2,457 | ||
| R | 852 | 1,572 | 2,458 | ||
| R | 677 | 1,350 | 2,157 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
23.1%
German
15.9%
American
10.9%
Irish
8.2%
Scottish
2.0%
Polish
1.2%
French
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: 44.7 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
$60,519
Edwards County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Edwards County$60,519
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Edwards 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
16.5%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.1%
Working age (18–64)17.1%
Seniors (65+)5.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.9%
speak English only
Spanish1.0%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 43.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
With under 7,000 residents scattered across its rural townships, Edwards County has delivered lopsided Republican presidential margins for decades, sitting among the most one-sided counties in a state whose statewide results typically trend the opposite direction.
The Republican margin here reached seventy-one points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was seventy-one points.
A population of 6,075, a 95% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $60,519 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Jefferson County and Perry 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.
Edwards County, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/17047/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Edwards County, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Edwards County, Illinois voted Republican by 71.1 points (R+71), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 3,289 votes cast, 457 went Democratic and 2,794 went Republican.
What is Edwards County, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Edwards 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 0 times, Republican 33 times, and other 1 times.
How many people live in Edwards County, Illinois?
Edwards County, Illinois has a population of 6,075 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Edwards County, Illinois?
Median household income in Edwards County, Illinois is $60,519 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Edwards County, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Edwards County, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 0 went Democratic and 33 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.