Jackson County, Illinois: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted D+3%. Democratic peak: D+27 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+3MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 53,0642024 5-year
- Median household income
- $48,7632024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 72.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 14.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+27 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+26 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Grant County, NM · similarity 0.97
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Jackson CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Jackson 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 | −2.7% |
| 1896 | −3.3% |
| 1900 | −4.2% |
| 1904 | −23.1% |
| 1908 | −11.5% |
| 1912 | +6.9% |
| 1916 | −10.2% |
| 1920 | −25.7% |
| 1924 | −13.2% |
| 1928 | −22.1% |
| 1932 | +11.8% |
| 1936 | −1.9% |
| 1940 | −11.0% |
| 1944 | −19.5% |
| 1948 | −8.8% |
| 1952 | −15.5% |
| 1956 | −17.5% |
| 1960 | −10.7% |
| 1964 | +26.9% |
| 1968 | −1.4% |
| 1972 | +2.9% |
| 1976 | +11.6% |
| 1980 | −0.9% |
| 1984 | −5.8% |
| 1988 | +7.8% |
| 1992 | +26.5% |
| 1996 | +21.8% |
| 2000 | +8.4% |
| 2004 | +12.0% |
| 2008 | +21.8% |
| 2012 | +14.3% |
| 2016 | +3.2% |
| 2020 | +1.3% |
| 2024 | +3.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 11,394 | 10,614 | 22,465 | ||
| D | 11,181 | 10,890 | 22,718 | ||
| D | 11,634 | 10,843 | 24,617 | ||
| D | 13,319 | 9,864 | 24,104 | ||
| D | 15,248 | 9,687 | 25,532 | ||
| D | 14,300 | 11,190 | 25,826 | ||
| D | 11,773 | 9,823 | 23,090 | ||
| D | 12,214 | 7,422 | 22,011 | ||
| D | 13,373 | 6,899 | 24,434 | ||
| D | 11,334 | 9,687 | 21,185 | ||
| R | 12,105 | 13,609 | 25,896 | ||
| R | 10,291 | 10,505 | 23,829 | ||
| D | 12,940 | 10,152 | 24,122 | ||
| D | 13,146 | 12,393 | 25,594 | ||
| R | 8,856 | 9,134 | 19,657 | ||
| D | 12,165 | 7,013 | 19,178 | ||
| R | 8,527 | 10,568 | 19,112 | ||
| R | 7,391 | 10,526 | 17,927 | ||
| R | 7,457 | 10,193 | 17,674 | ||
| R | 6,939 | 8,288 | 15,408 | ||
| R | 6,735 | 10,002 | 16,791 | ||
| R | 9,600 | 11,980 | 21,708 | ||
| R | 9,971 | 10,363 | 20,546 | ||
| D | 9,730 | 7,636 | 17,715 | ||
| R | 5,836 | 9,180 | 15,102 | ||
| R | 4,707 | 6,424 | 13,030 | ||
| R | 4,575 | 8,003 | 13,347 | ||
| R | 6,780 | 8,356 | 15,443 | ||
| D | 3,323 | 2,780 | 7,833 | ||
| R | 3,149 | 4,016 | 7,568 | ||
| R | 2,350 | 3,984 | 7,076 | ||
| R | 3,723 | 4,054 | 7,954 | ||
| R | 3,631 | 3,879 | 7,620 | ||
| R | 2,858 | 3,031 | 6,460 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
19.2%
English
13.3%
Irish
10.3%
Italian
3.8%
American
3.1%
French
2.4%
Scottish
2.4%
African American
11.2%
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: 32.4 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
$48,763
Jackson County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Jackson County$48,763
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Jackson County ranks in the bottom 25% 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
21.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1822.3%
Working age (18–64)21.5%
Seniors (65+)11.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European3.8%
Spanish3.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.4%
Other languages1.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Jackson County votes modestly left of its rural neighbors — a pattern driven by the student and faculty population anchoring an otherwise small-city, working-class electorate.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached twenty-seven points in 1964; the Republican margin reached twenty-six points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was three points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 73% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $48,763, and a 21% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Grant County and St. Clair 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.
Jackson County, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/17077/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Jackson County, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Jackson County, Illinois voted Democratic by 3.5 points (D+3), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 22,465 votes cast, 11,394 went Democratic and 10,614 went Republican.
What is Jackson County, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Jackson 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 15 times, Republican 19 times, and other 0 times.
When did Jackson County, Illinois last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Jackson County, Illinois voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Jackson County, Illinois?
Jackson County, Illinois has a population of 53,064 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Jackson County, Illinois?
Median household income in Jackson County, Illinois is $48,763 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Jackson County, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Jackson County, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.