How did the Chicago media market vote in the 2024 presidential election?

The Chicago DMA leaned Democratic in 2024 with a margin of D+23.1 percentage points, aggregated across 16 constituent counties.

What is the population of the Chicago media market?

The Chicago designated market area has a population of approximately 9,698,861 across 16 counties according to Census data.

How many counties are in the Chicago media market?

The Chicago DMA comprises 16 counties.

Chicago

Latest: 2024↓ R+7.7 vs 2020

Safe Democratic — shifted 7.7pp toward Republicans in 2024 — 9.7M residents — 16 counties

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Race & ancestry

Group	%
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13)	50.2%
▶Hispanic / Latino(20)	23.6%
▶Black / African American(15)	15.8%
▶Asian(6)	7.1%
▶Middle Eastern / North African(11)	1.2%
▶Native American / Alaska Native(2)	0.8%
Multiracial / Other	2.5%

View full demographics →

Religious adherence

Tradition	% Pop	% Adherents
Catholic	28.6%	54.3%
Evangelical Protestant	8.4%	16.0%
Other	7.5%	14.1%
Mainline Protestant	3.8%	7.3%
Black Protestant	3.6%	6.9%
Orthodox Christian	0.7%	1.4%
LDS (Mormon)	0.3%	0.7%
Non-religious	47.3%	—

View full religion →

Presidential results

Year	Result
2024	Harris+23.1
2020	Biden+30.8
2016	Clinton+32.0
2012	Obama+28.4
2008	Obama+35.1
2004	Kerry+20.0
2000	Gore+20.3
1996	Clinton+23.6
1992	Clinton+16.6

View full election history →

Similarity Explorer

Similar media markets

Nearest neighbors matched on the same place-page feature set used across the dossier system.

8 visible matches

San Francisco-Oak-San Jose

Educated rural democratic

D+47.6

Similarity score95%

Philadelphia

Educated rural competitive

D+20.2

Similarity score94%

New York

Educated rural democratic

D+13.9

Similarity score93%

Washington, DC (Hagrstwn)

Educated rural democratic

D+32.2

Similarity score92%

Los Angeles

Educated rural democratic

D+17.9

Similarity score91%

Boston (Manchester)

Educated rural democratic

D+22.8

Similarity score91%

Sacramnto-Stkton-Modesto

Educated rural democratic

D+5.7

Similarity score90%

Providence-New Bedford

Educated rural competitive

D+9.3

Similarity score89%

Constituent Geography

Counties in Chicago

2024 presidential results across the counties that make up this geography.

Sort:

County	Pop.	Margin	Dem	Rep	Total
Cook	5.2M	D+41.5	1,447,821	583,852	2,079,239
DuPage	930K	D+13.1	251,164	191,243	456,882
Lake	714K	D+20.7	184,642	120,402	310,913
Will	701K	D+1.6	162,874	157,672	327,604
Kane	517K	D+9.3	120,077	99,260	223,534
Lake	500K	D+5.6	109,086	97,270	209,551
McHenry	313K	R+5.3	75,370	83,933	162,283
Porter	175K	R+10.5	37,213	46,109	84,969
Kendall	138K	D+1.5	32,977	31,970	66,397
LaPorte	112K	R+14.1	20,007	26,726	47,553
LaSalle	109K	R+18.4	21,029	30,717	52,508
Kankakee	107K	R+20.8	18,399	28,285	47,569
DeKalb	101K	D+2.0	23,648	22,716	47,401
Grundy	53K	R+29.5	9,143	16,997	26,589
Jasper	33K	R+54.3	3,489	12,082	15,826
Newton	14K	R+57.0	1,370	5,131	6,601

16 countiesTotal votes: 4,165,419

Historian Query

Ask the Historian

Explore Chicago's political evolution with the Historian

“How has the Chicago media market voted in presidential elections?”

Race & Ancestry

Who Lives Here

A race-first Census view with ancestry expansion where source coverage is strong enough to support detail.

ChicagoCensus ACS 2024Ancestry detail available

Census race profile

Major Census race and ethnicity groups shown as a share of total population.

Expand rows for ancestry detail

White (Non-Hispanic) 50.2%Hispanic 23.6%Black 15.8%Asian 7.1%Multiracial 2.5%Native American 0.8%

Group	Chicago	National
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13)	50.2%	57.4%
▶Hispanic / Latino(20)	23.6%	19.3%
▶Black / African American(15)	15.8%	12.2%
▶Asian(6)	7.1%	6.0%
Multiracial / Other	2.5%	4.0%
▶Middle Eastern / North African(11)	1.2%	0.9%
▶Native American / Alaska Native(2)	0.8%	0.9%

Method notes

Census treats race and Hispanic/Latino origin as separate questions. Race categories other than Hispanic reflect total populations (small Hispanic overlap in Black, Asian, AIAN, NHPI). “Multiracial / Other” is derived as a non-overlapping remainder.

Click rows to expand ancestry detail. Ancestry from ACS B04006, B03001, B02020, B02016. Totals may differ from race — individuals can report multiple ancestries.

Black / African American (estimated remainder) is derived as Black population share minus reported Sub-Saharan African and West Indian ancestry. It is shown as an estimated ancestry detail, not a standalone Census ancestry category.

MENA estimated from ancestry reporting — Census does not have a separate MENA race category. Not shown in bar (overlaps with other race groups).

Religious Adherents

Population that are religious adherents:

52.7%(5.1M people)

U.S. Religion Census 2020

Browse all religions

Tradition	% Pop	% Adherents	US Pop	US Adherents
Catholic	28.6%	54.3%	—	—
Evangelical Protestant	8.4%	16.0%	—	—
Other	7.5%	14.1%	—	—
Mainline Protestant	3.8%	7.3%	—	—
Black Protestant	3.6%	6.9%	—	—
Orthodox Christian	0.7%	1.4%	—	—
LDS (Mormon)	0.3%	0.7%	—	—
Non-religiousPopulation	47.3%	—	—	—

Click the chevron to expand denominations. Tradition and denomination rows label both share of total population and share of all religious adherents. Non-religious is shown as a share of total population only.

Who lives in the Chicago media market? 9,698,861 residents across 16 counties.

Demographic Comparison

Demographics

Read this geography's profile in three layers: local, state (where available), and national baseline.

Chicago vs National9.7M residents

Population & electorate

Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.

Total population

Local vs state vs U.S.

9.7M

local

9.7MNational 334.9M

Share of U.S. population

Local vs state vs U.S.

2.90%

local

2.90%National 100%

Voting-age population

Local vs state vs U.S.

76.3%

local

76.3%National 75.7%

Economic profile

Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.

Median household income

Local vs state vs U.S.

$90,617

local

$90,617National $83,960

Poverty rate

Local vs state vs U.S.

11.3%

local

11.3%National 12.5%

College degree

Local vs state vs U.S.

40.9%

local

40.9%National 35.6%

Homeownership

Local vs state vs U.S.

65.8%

local

65.8%National 65.2%

Community profile

Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.

Median age

Local vs state vs U.S.

38.7 yrs

local

38.7 yrsNational 39.1 yrs

Age 18–29

Local vs state vs U.S.

15.8%

local

15.8%National 15.7%

Age 65+

Local vs state vs U.S.

16.1%

local

16.1%National 17.0%

Foreign born

Local vs state vs U.S.

18.1%

local

18.1%National 14.1%

Non-English at home

Local vs state vs U.S.

29.8%

local

29.8%National 22.2%

English only

Local vs state vs U.S.

70.2%

local

70.2%National 77.8%

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