Washington County, Illinois: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+57%. Republican peak: R+57 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+57MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 13,6272024 5-year
- Median household income
- $78,2242024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+20 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Crawford County, PA · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Washington CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Washington 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 | −2.1% |
| 1896 | −8.4% |
| 1900 | −5.9% |
| 1904 | −21.0% |
| 1908 | −12.0% |
| 1912 | +8.3% |
| 1916 | −24.4% |
| 1920 | −53.5% |
| 1924 | −28.3% |
| 1928 | −12.1% |
| 1932 | +20.4% |
| 1936 | −4.7% |
| 1940 | −24.1% |
| 1944 | −33.0% |
| 1948 | −24.7% |
| 1952 | −32.5% |
| 1956 | −30.5% |
| 1960 | −24.0% |
| 1964 | −2.3% |
| 1968 | −35.7% |
| 1972 | −37.9% |
| 1976 | −16.1% |
| 1980 | −41.2% |
| 1984 | −36.8% |
| 1988 | −20.9% |
| 1992 | −0.2% |
| 1996 | −8.6% |
| 2000 | −24.0% |
| 2004 | −25.7% |
| 2008 | −14.3% |
| 2012 | −31.5% |
| 2016 | −55.4% |
| 2020 | −56.5% |
| 2024 | −57.2% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,564 | 5,892 | 7,562 | ||
| R | 1,641 | 6,115 | 7,921 | ||
| R | 1,448 | 5,571 | 7,438 | ||
| R | 2,450 | 4,792 | 7,435 | ||
| R | 3,342 | 4,473 | 7,932 | ||
| R | 2,986 | 5,072 | 8,104 | ||
| R | 2,638 | 4,353 | 7,138 | ||
| R | 2,744 | 3,339 | 6,927 | ||
| R | 2,986 | 3,003 | 7,555 | ||
| R | 2,689 | 4,127 | 6,874 | ||
| R | 2,363 | 5,129 | 7,516 | ||
| R | 2,158 | 5,354 | 7,762 | ||
| R | 3,222 | 4,485 | 7,844 | ||
| R | 2,327 | 5,179 | 7,522 | ||
| R | 2,093 | 4,793 | 7,569 | ||
| R | 3,670 | 3,840 | 7,510 | ||
| R | 3,093 | 5,053 | 8,157 | ||
| R | 2,820 | 5,299 | 8,135 | ||
| R | 2,824 | 5,546 | 8,381 | ||
| R | 2,737 | 4,544 | 7,330 | ||
| R | 2,723 | 5,428 | 8,186 | ||
| R | 3,479 | 5,701 | 9,222 | ||
| R | 4,119 | 4,540 | 8,868 | ||
| D | 4,696 | 3,076 | 7,926 | ||
| R | 2,848 | 3,638 | 6,508 | ||
| R | 1,717 | 3,444 | 6,103 | ||
| R | 1,102 | 4,519 | 6,386 | ||
| R | 2,794 | 4,657 | 7,641 | ||
| D | 1,654 | 1,304 | 4,234 | ||
| R | 1,830 | 2,355 | 4,372 | ||
| R | 1,504 | 2,374 | 4,143 | ||
| R | 2,081 | 2,351 | 4,538 | ||
| R | 1,979 | 2,351 | 4,411 | ||
| R | 1,868 | 1,956 | 4,131 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
45.9%
Irish
13.0%
Polish
10.8%
English
9.8%
American
4.7%
Italian
2.7%
French
1.6%
African American
1.2%
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: 44.2 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
$78,224
Washington County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Washington County$78,224
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Washington 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
7.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 188.5%
Working age (18–64)7.3%
Seniors (65+)6.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.0%
speak English only
Other Indo-European0.9%
Spanish0.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 42.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Washington County's 2024 presidential margin of R+57.2 places it among the state's most lopsided rural counties, reflecting a broader realignment of small downstate communities away from competitive voting patterns over the past two decades.
The Republican margin here reached fifty-seven points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-seven points.
A population of 13,627, a 95% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $78,224 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Crawford County and Ozark 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.
Washington County, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/17189/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Washington County, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Washington County, Illinois voted Republican by 57.2 points (R+57), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 7,562 votes cast, 1,564 went Democratic and 5,892 went Republican.
What is Washington County, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Washington 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 2 times, Republican 32 times, and other 0 times.
When did Washington County, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Washington County, Illinois voted Democratic was 1932.
How many people live in Washington County, Illinois?
Washington County, Illinois has a population of 13,627 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Washington County, Illinois?
Median household income in Washington County, Illinois is $78,224 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Washington County, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Washington County, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 2 went Democratic and 32 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.