Montgomery County, Illinois: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+44%. Republican peak: R+44 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+44MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 27,9422024 5-year
- Median household income
- $63,6202024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+26 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+44 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Crawford County, KS · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Montgomery CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Montgomery County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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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 | +10.8% |
| 1896 | +6.3% |
| 1900 | +6.3% |
| 1904 | −4.2% |
| 1908 | +1.5% |
| 1912 | +18.6% |
| 1916 | +5.3% |
| 1920 | −19.0% |
| 1924 | −14.1% |
| 1928 | −9.7% |
| 1932 | +26.3% |
| 1936 | +10.5% |
| 1940 | −4.1% |
| 1944 | −6.7% |
| 1948 | −2.7% |
| 1952 | −10.0% |
| 1956 | −12.8% |
| 1960 | −2.0% |
| 1964 | +24.4% |
| 1968 | −1.4% |
| 1972 | −13.6% |
| 1976 | +6.0% |
| 1980 | −20.9% |
| 1984 | −12.5% |
| 1988 | +6.6% |
| 1992 | +20.3% |
| 1996 | +12.4% |
| 2000 | +2.4% |
| 2004 | −6.7% |
| 2008 | +2.6% |
| 2012 | −14.1% |
| 2016 | −39.5% |
| 2020 | −41.0% |
| 2024 | −44.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,573 | 9,378 | 13,203 | ||
| R | 3,905 | 9,544 | 13,761 | ||
| R | 3,504 | 8,630 | 12,978 | ||
| R | 5,058 | 6,776 | 12,188 | ||
| D | 6,491 | 6,150 | 12,871 | ||
| R | 5,979 | 6,851 | 12,930 | ||
| D | 6,542 | 6,226 | 13,093 | ||
| D | 6,338 | 4,770 | 12,631 | ||
| D | 7,424 | 4,407 | 14,837 | ||
| D | 7,293 | 6,388 | 13,759 | ||
| R | 6,360 | 8,191 | 14,605 | ||
| R | 5,721 | 8,947 | 15,415 | ||
| D | 8,322 | 7,379 | 15,848 | ||
| R | 6,858 | 9,025 | 15,913 | ||
| R | 7,318 | 7,547 | 16,339 | ||
| D | 10,581 | 6,425 | 17,006 | ||
| R | 8,815 | 9,178 | 18,007 | ||
| R | 7,692 | 9,945 | 17,645 | ||
| R | 8,195 | 10,014 | 18,225 | ||
| R | 7,902 | 8,348 | 16,455 | ||
| R | 7,855 | 8,989 | 17,045 | ||
| R | 9,654 | 10,497 | 20,325 | ||
| D | 10,132 | 8,140 | 18,964 | ||
| D | 10,456 | 5,945 | 17,126 | ||
| R | 7,392 | 8,999 | 16,575 | ||
| R | 5,622 | 8,022 | 16,975 | ||
| R | 4,756 | 7,429 | 14,039 | ||
| D | 7,903 | 7,065 | 15,793 | ||
| D | 3,705 | 2,195 | 8,109 | ||
| D | 3,909 | 3,782 | 8,287 | ||
| R | 3,181 | 3,489 | 7,272 | ||
| D | 4,078 | 3,583 | 7,886 | ||
| D | 4,117 | 3,622 | 7,871 | ||
| D | 3,707 | 2,935 | 7,157 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
29.0%
Irish
12.9%
American
12.1%
English
9.7%
Italian
5.6%
Scottish
2.1%
French
1.6%
African American
2.6%
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
$63,620
Montgomery County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Montgomery County$63,620
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Montgomery 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
12.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.9%
Working age (18–64)12.2%
Seniors (65+)12.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.5%
speak English only
Spanish1.5%
Other Indo-European0.7%
Other languages0.3%
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 59.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Montgomery County's R+44 presidential margin in 2024 places it among the most lopsided counties in a state that tilts heavily Democratic statewide, reflecting a largely rural, agricultural population concentrated around the small city of Hillsboro.
The Democratic margin here peaked at twenty-six points in 1932. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-four points.
A population of 27,942, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $63,620 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Crawford County and Randolph 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.
Montgomery County, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/17135/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Montgomery County, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Montgomery County, Illinois voted Republican by 44.0 points (R+44), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 13,203 votes cast, 3,573 went Democratic and 9,378 went Republican.
What is Montgomery County, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Montgomery County, Illinois in the "Heartland Swing" typology — Industrial Midwest swing counties drifting steadily toward the Republican Party. 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 Montgomery County, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Montgomery County, Illinois voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Montgomery County, Illinois?
Montgomery County, Illinois has a population of 27,942 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Montgomery County, Illinois?
Median household income in Montgomery County, Illinois is $63,620 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Montgomery County, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Montgomery County, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.