Menard County, Illinois: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+41%. Republican peak: R+41 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+41MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 12,0952024 5-year
- Median household income
- $82,1762024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 94.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+41 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Logan County, IL · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Menard CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Menard 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 | +14.4% |
| 1896 | +10.1% |
| 1900 | +11.8% |
| 1904 | −5.8% |
| 1908 | +4.2% |
| 1912 | +28.7% |
| 1916 | −0.1% |
| 1920 | −20.9% |
| 1924 | −18.7% |
| 1928 | −29.9% |
| 1932 | +19.3% |
| 1936 | +1.4% |
| 1940 | −9.9% |
| 1944 | −22.8% |
| 1948 | −17.2% |
| 1952 | −25.9% |
| 1956 | −27.0% |
| 1960 | −20.3% |
| 1964 | +3.5% |
| 1968 | −26.8% |
| 1972 | −39.3% |
| 1976 | −15.3% |
| 1980 | −36.7% |
| 1984 | −36.4% |
| 1988 | −25.5% |
| 1992 | −9.0% |
| 1996 | −15.4% |
| 2000 | −27.4% |
| 2004 | −34.5% |
| 2008 | −14.9% |
| 2012 | −30.0% |
| 2016 | −37.1% |
| 2020 | −39.4% |
| 2024 | −41.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,834 | 4,499 | 6,431 | ||
| R | 2,022 | 4,764 | 6,954 | ||
| R | 1,817 | 4,231 | 6,515 | ||
| R | 2,100 | 3,948 | 6,151 | ||
| R | 2,706 | 3,672 | 6,464 | ||
| R | 2,137 | 4,408 | 6,574 | ||
| R | 2,164 | 3,862 | 6,202 | ||
| R | 2,204 | 3,106 | 5,868 | ||
| R | 2,264 | 2,834 | 6,299 | ||
| R | 2,103 | 3,560 | 5,705 | ||
| R | 1,826 | 3,925 | 5,766 | ||
| R | 1,589 | 3,622 | 5,534 | ||
| R | 2,301 | 3,137 | 5,479 | ||
| R | 1,587 | 3,657 | 5,263 | ||
| R | 1,640 | 2,980 | 4,995 | ||
| D | 2,491 | 2,322 | 4,813 | ||
| R | 2,068 | 3,120 | 5,193 | ||
| R | 1,833 | 3,188 | 5,025 | ||
| R | 1,946 | 3,307 | 5,256 | ||
| R | 2,043 | 2,899 | 4,968 | ||
| R | 1,888 | 3,013 | 4,926 | ||
| R | 2,894 | 3,531 | 6,458 | ||
| D | 3,152 | 3,067 | 6,277 | ||
| D | 3,453 | 2,327 | 5,823 | ||
| R | 1,742 | 3,243 | 5,025 | ||
| R | 1,954 | 2,931 | 5,217 | ||
| R | 1,864 | 2,882 | 4,869 | ||
| R | 2,689 | 2,693 | 5,548 | ||
| D | 1,530 | 620 | 3,175 | ||
| D | 1,748 | 1,600 | 3,512 | ||
| R | 1,506 | 1,705 | 3,447 | ||
| D | 2,078 | 1,632 | 3,773 | ||
| D | 2,018 | 1,642 | 3,708 | ||
| D | 1,748 | 1,278 | 3,274 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
28.3%
English
16.7%
Irish
11.0%
American
5.3%
Italian
3.8%
Polish
2.6%
Scottish
1.1%
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: 42.8 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
$82,176
Menard County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Menard County$82,176
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Menard County ranks in the top 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
10.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.3%
Working age (18–64)9.8%
Seniors (65+)9.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.6%
speak English only
Spanish0.9%
Other Indo-European0.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Menard County, birthplace of New Salem where Abraham Lincoln came of age, has shifted dramatically in presidential voting over recent cycles, posting a 41-point Republican margin in 2024 despite its modest rural population of roughly 12,000.
The Republican margin here reached forty-one points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-one points.
A population of 12,095, a 95% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $82,176 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Logan County and Whitley 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.
Menard County, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/17129/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Menard County, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Menard County, Illinois voted Republican by 41.4 points (R+41), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 6,431 votes cast, 1,834 went Democratic and 4,499 went Republican.
What is Menard County, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Menard 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 Menard County, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Menard County, Illinois voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Menard County, Illinois?
Menard County, Illinois has a population of 12,095 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Menard County, Illinois?
Median household income in Menard County, Illinois is $82,176 — above the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Menard County, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Menard 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.