Richland County, Illinois: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+53%. Republican peak: R+54 in 2016.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+53MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 15,5982024 5-year
- Median household income
- $62,4552024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 93.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+25 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+54 in 2016MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Wabash County, IL · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Richland CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Richland 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 | +1.2% |
| 1896 | +9.7% |
| 1900 | +6.3% |
| 1904 | −4.7% |
| 1908 | +6.7% |
| 1912 | +25.2% |
| 1916 | +6.6% |
| 1920 | −16.1% |
| 1924 | −5.4% |
| 1928 | −22.5% |
| 1932 | +21.6% |
| 1936 | +2.7% |
| 1940 | −7.3% |
| 1944 | −22.9% |
| 1948 | −22.5% |
| 1952 | −36.9% |
| 1956 | −36.2% |
| 1960 | −27.7% |
| 1964 | +4.2% |
| 1968 | −28.1% |
| 1972 | −37.0% |
| 1976 | −11.8% |
| 1980 | −34.2% |
| 1984 | −44.2% |
| 1988 | −19.6% |
| 1992 | +2.9% |
| 1996 | −6.7% |
| 2000 | −30.0% |
| 2004 | −33.9% |
| 2008 | −15.0% |
| 2012 | −32.9% |
| 2016 | −54.0% |
| 2020 | −52.7% |
| 2024 | −53.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,747 | 5,889 | 7,755 | ||
| R | 1,830 | 6,089 | 8,077 | ||
| R | 1,584 | 5,739 | 7,694 | ||
| R | 2,362 | 4,756 | 7,282 | ||
| R | 3,181 | 4,329 | 7,650 | ||
| R | 2,529 | 5,153 | 7,749 | ||
| R | 2,491 | 4,718 | 7,428 | ||
| R | 2,679 | 3,137 | 6,815 | ||
| D | 3,286 | 3,053 | 8,061 | ||
| R | 2,863 | 4,264 | 7,153 | ||
| R | 2,182 | 5,665 | 7,874 | ||
| R | 2,463 | 5,241 | 8,126 | ||
| R | 3,485 | 4,434 | 8,057 | ||
| R | 2,553 | 5,558 | 8,125 | ||
| R | 2,495 | 4,781 | 8,137 | ||
| D | 4,239 | 3,901 | 8,140 | ||
| R | 3,015 | 5,329 | 8,353 | ||
| R | 2,485 | 5,304 | 7,794 | ||
| R | 2,565 | 5,569 | 8,139 | ||
| R | 2,438 | 3,884 | 6,413 | ||
| R | 2,858 | 4,577 | 7,514 | ||
| R | 4,335 | 5,022 | 9,446 | ||
| D | 4,268 | 4,040 | 8,492 | ||
| D | 4,318 | 2,765 | 7,182 | ||
| R | 2,550 | 4,042 | 6,623 | ||
| R | 2,749 | 3,082 | 6,155 | ||
| R | 2,174 | 3,026 | 5,304 | ||
| D | 3,431 | 2,992 | 6,634 | ||
| D | 1,800 | 862 | 3,720 | ||
| D | 1,938 | 1,684 | 3,816 | ||
| R | 1,604 | 1,778 | 3,689 | ||
| D | 2,042 | 1,793 | 3,934 | ||
| D | 2,062 | 1,693 | 3,800 | ||
| D | 1,542 | 1,500 | 3,460 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
33.1%
English
11.2%
Irish
10.8%
American
8.3%
French
1.5%
Scottish
1.3%
Polish
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: 42.3 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
$62,455
Richland County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Richland County$62,455
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Richland 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
12.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.2%
Working age (18–64)11.4%
Seniors (65+)14.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.1%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.6%
Spanish1.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Richland County, tucked in southeastern Illinois's oil-patch belt, recorded an R+53.4 presidential margin in 2024 — among the widest in a state whose statewide results run sharply the other direction.
The Republican margin here reached fifty-four points in 2016. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-three points.
A population of 15,598, a 94% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $62,455 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Wabash County and Crawford 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.
Richland County, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/17159/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Richland County, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Richland County, Illinois voted Republican by 53.4 points (R+53), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 7,755 votes cast, 1,747 went Democratic and 5,889 went Republican.
What is Richland County, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Richland 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 10 times, Republican 24 times, and other 0 times.
When did Richland County, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Richland County, Illinois voted Democratic was 1992.
How many people live in Richland County, Illinois?
Richland County, Illinois has a population of 15,598 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Richland County, Illinois?
Median household income in Richland County, Illinois is $62,455 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Richland County, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Richland County, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 10 went Democratic and 24 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.