A Rust Belt small city where deindustrialization reshaped the electorate
Galesburg anchors Knox County, which swung sharply toward Republicans after Maytag's 2004 plant closure eliminated roughly 1,600 jobs and accelerated a demographic shift toward older, working-class white voters.
| Group | Galesburg, IL | National |
|---|---|---|
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13) | 84.8% | 57.4% |
▶Black / African American(5) | 7.5% | 12.2% |
▶Hispanic / Latino(11) | 4.7% | 19.3% |
Multiracial / Other | 1.8% | 4.0% |
▶Asian(6) | 1.0% | 6.0% |
▶Native American / Alaska Native(2) | 0.2% | 0.9% |
▶Middle Eastern / North African(4) | 0.1% | 0.9% |
Catholic-Evangelical edge: -21.9pp (vs national 4.5pp). A strongly Evangelical-leaning religious profile, which nationally correlates with Republican-leaning rural and exurban communities.
| Tradition | % Pop | % Adherents | US Pop | US Adherents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.7% | 42.8% | — | — | |
| 8.1% | 32.1% | — | — | |
| 3.7% | 14.7% | — | — | |
| 1.6% | 6.4% | — | — | |
| 1.0% | 4.0% | — | — | |
LDS (Mormon) | 0.7% | 2.7% | — | — |
Non-religiousPopulation | 74.9% | — | — | — |
Who lives in the Galesburg, IL metro area? 208,711 residents across 4 counties.
17% of adults hold a bachelor's degree — 16pp below the national average. Places with similar education levels vote R+22 on average nationally.
Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.
Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.
Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.
| Offices | Margin A | Margin B | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate vs Governor | R+6.0 | R+12.0 | 6.0pp |