McDonough County, Illinois: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+19%. Republican peak: R+44 in 1952.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+19MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 26,9202024 5-year
- Median household income
- $52,7952024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+16 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+44 in 1952MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Kankakee County, IL · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of McDonough CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for McDonough 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 | −1.2% |
| 1896 | −4.5% |
| 1900 | −8.2% |
| 1904 | −18.0% |
| 1908 | −8.5% |
| 1912 | +15.5% |
| 1916 | −10.7% |
| 1920 | −28.8% |
| 1924 | −28.4% |
| 1928 | −36.9% |
| 1932 | +9.1% |
| 1936 | −9.9% |
| 1940 | −28.0% |
| 1944 | −33.3% |
| 1948 | −31.1% |
| 1952 | −44.1% |
| 1956 | −43.0% |
| 1960 | −34.9% |
| 1964 | −5.8% |
| 1968 | −36.5% |
| 1972 | −34.5% |
| 1976 | −27.2% |
| 1980 | −33.6% |
| 1984 | −34.4% |
| 1988 | −15.4% |
| 1992 | +3.7% |
| 1996 | +4.8% |
| 2000 | −3.0% |
| 2004 | −3.6% |
| 2008 | +5.6% |
| 2012 | −1.4% |
| 2016 | −11.5% |
| 2020 | −16.5% |
| 2024 | −18.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 4,736 | 6,987 | 11,972 | ||
| R | 4,992 | 7,027 | 12,327 | ||
| R | 5,288 | 6,795 | 13,144 | ||
| R | 5,967 | 6,147 | 12,454 | ||
| D | 6,783 | 6,055 | 13,042 | ||
| R | 7,119 | 7,656 | 14,929 | ||
| R | 6,080 | 6,465 | 13,012 | ||
| D | 5,632 | 5,049 | 12,035 | ||
| D | 5,814 | 5,297 | 13,922 | ||
| R | 5,247 | 7,173 | 12,493 | ||
| R | 4,561 | 9,383 | 14,001 | ||
| R | 4,093 | 8,995 | 14,589 | ||
| R | 5,464 | 9,683 | 15,534 | ||
| R | 5,143 | 10,573 | 15,738 | ||
| R | 3,785 | 8,496 | 12,924 | ||
| R | 6,144 | 6,907 | 13,051 | ||
| R | 4,520 | 9,363 | 13,893 | ||
| R | 3,872 | 9,725 | 13,605 | ||
| R | 3,922 | 10,126 | 14,053 | ||
| R | 4,206 | 8,058 | 12,373 | ||
| R | 4,497 | 9,028 | 13,616 | ||
| R | 5,783 | 10,326 | 16,217 | ||
| R | 7,138 | 8,723 | 16,012 | ||
| D | 7,608 | 6,329 | 14,105 | ||
| R | 4,104 | 8,953 | 13,138 | ||
| R | 4,016 | 7,505 | 12,306 | ||
| R | 3,930 | 7,221 | 11,430 | ||
| R | 5,740 | 7,192 | 13,546 | ||
| D | 2,959 | 1,876 | 6,973 | ||
| R | 3,112 | 3,733 | 7,312 | ||
| R | 2,730 | 4,041 | 7,299 | ||
| R | 3,444 | 4,076 | 7,733 | ||
| R | 3,684 | 4,036 | 7,889 | ||
| R | 3,237 | 3,319 | 7,103 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
19.9%
English
13.3%
Irish
12.2%
American
6.2%
Italian
2.8%
Polish
2.4%
Scottish
2.3%
African American
4.6%
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: 34.9 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
$52,795
McDonough County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
McDonough County$52,795
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
McDonough 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
17.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.5%
Working age (18–64)19.1%
Seniors (65+)9.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.9%
Spanish1.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.9%
Other languages0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 66.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Western Illinois University in Macomb, McDonough County pairs a modest college-town influence with a predominantly rural, farm-economy electorate that produced an R+18.8 presidential margin in 2024.
The Republican margin here reached forty-four points in 1952. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was nineteen points.
A population of 26,920, a 86% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $52,795 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Kankakee County and Lenawee 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.
McDonough County, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/17109/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did McDonough County, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, McDonough County, Illinois voted Republican by 18.8 points (R+19), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 11,972 votes cast, 4,736 went Democratic and 6,987 went Republican.
What is McDonough County, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places McDonough 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 5 times, Republican 29 times, and other 0 times.
When did McDonough County, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which McDonough County, Illinois voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in McDonough County, Illinois?
McDonough County, Illinois has a population of 26,920 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in McDonough County, Illinois?
Median household income in McDonough County, Illinois is $52,795 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of McDonough County, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in McDonough County, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.