2024 presidential election
Charleston
TrumpR+1.9
Constituent county margins for Charleston, ILOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 49.4% | 3,441 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 47.5% | 3,311 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 3.1% | 216 |
D+60R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2008–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 2008 | +18.2% |
| 2012 | +8.3% |
| 2016 | −1.7% |
| 2020 | +1.2% |
| 2024 | −1.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
5 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Other | Margin | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 47.5%Harris3,311 | 49.4%Trump3,441 | 3.1% | 6,968 | ||
| D | 49.2%Biden3,681 | 47.9%Trump3,589 | 2.9%incl. Jorgensen | 7,487 | ||
| R | 44.9%Clinton3,349 | 46.6%Trump3,477 | 8.6%incl. Johnson | 7,465 | ||
| D | 54.1%Obama3,919 | 45.9%Romney3,319 | 0.0% | 7,238 | ||
| D | 58.1%Obama4,845 | 39.9%McCain3,331 | 2.0% | 8,341 |
Demographics
Demographic profile
Demographic Profile
Key indicators compared across containing geographies
| Indicator | CharlestonCity | IllinoisState | United StatesNation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Race & Ethnicity | |||
| White | 85.4% | 61.0% | 61.0% |
| Black | 6.9% | 13.6% | 12.2% |
| Asian | 2.0% | 6.0% | 6.0% |
| Two or more races | 4.1% | 10.9% | 12.6% |
| Other race | 1.6% | 8.6% | 8.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 4.5% | 18.8% | 19.3% |
| Income & Age | |||
| Median household income | $49,300 | $83,390 | $84,427 |
| Poverty rate | 26.3% | 11.8% | 12.5% |
| Median age | 29.6 | 39.1 | 39.1 |
| Age 18–24 | 16.9% | 9.1% | 9.2% |
| Age 65 and older | 18.4% | 16.9% | 17.2% |
| Education & Language | |||
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 26.9% | 37.9% | 35.6% |
| Speaks a non-English language at home | 5.1% | 24.1% | 22.3% |
| Spanish | 2.3% | 14.0% | 13.6% |
| Ancestry | |||
| Largest ancestry | German 22.1% | German 16.1% | German 12.5% |
| 2nd-largest ancestry | Irish 14.2% | Mexican 14.4% | Mexican 11.3% |
| 3rd-largest ancestry | English 11.4% | Irish 10.6% | English 9.5% |
| Religion | |||
| Catholic | 11.1%County context | 24.2% | 18.6% |
| Evangelical Protestant | 29.5%County context | 11.7% | 16.5% |
| Unaffiliated or unclaimed | 51.0%County context | 49.2% | 51.5% |
| Mainline Protestant | 6.2%County context | 5.3% | 5.2% |
ACS values are survey estimates and may include margins of error.
Religion data may be available only at county or larger geographies. Sub-county values are labeled when inherited, modeled, or contextual.
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the origins and ancestries reported within it.
Reported ancestry · ACS B04006
German
22.1%
Irish
14.2%
English
11.4%
American
5.9%
Italian
1.8%
Scottish
1.3%
Dutch
1.2%
Polish
1.0%
African American identity is recorded by the ACS race question; the ancestry item enumerates specific African and Caribbean ancestries, none of which clears the display floor here.
Specific origin · ACS B03001
Mexican
2.9%
Puerto Rican
0.4%
Colombian
0.2%
The ACS does not publish subgroup detail for people reporting two or more races.
Detailed group · ACS B02015
Asian Indian
0.4%
Filipino
0.4%
Chinese
0.2%
Korean
0.2%
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other single-race responses combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Race shares: B02001 · B03003. Subgroup detail: B03001 (Hispanic or Latino specific origin), B02015 (Asian groups), B02020 · B02016 (American Indian/Alaska Native tribes and Pacific Islander groups), B04006 (reported ancestry). Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so group shares can total more than 100%. All subgroup rows are shares of total population; ancestry is self-reported and multiple-response, so rows do not sum to the parent group's share.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 29.6 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
$49,300
Charleston$49,300
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
26.3%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.8%
Working age (18–64)19.0%
Seniors (65+)10.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.9%
speak English only
Spanish2.3%
Other Indo-European0.9%
German or other West Germanic0.8%
French (incl. Cajun & Haitian)0.2%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)0.2%
Other Asian & Pacific Island0.2%
Other languages0.2%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic0.1%
Vietnamese0.1%
Tagalog (incl. Filipino)0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Unaffiliated or not counted51.0%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. The unaffiliated-or-not-counted share is everyone not claimed as an adherent by any reporting body — uncounted congregations as well as the religiously unaffiliated.
Charleston sits in the Upper Midwest. In 2024 it voted Republican.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 18.2 points in 2008 and a Republican high of 1.9 points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 3.1 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 1.9 points.
A population of 17,062, a 85% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $49,300 describe the city.
Compare two places, side by side
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Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Charleston, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/city/1712567/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Charleston, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Charleston, Illinois voted Republican by 1.9 points (R+1.9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 6,968 votes cast, 3,311 went Democratic and 3,441 went Republican.
What is Charleston, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Charleston, Illinois in the "" typology. 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 5 elections in the dataset, the city has voted Democratic 3 times, Republican 2 times, and other 0 times.
When did Charleston, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Charleston, Illinois voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Charleston, Illinois?
Charleston, Illinois has a population of 17,062 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Charleston, Illinois?
Median household income in Charleston, Illinois is $49,300 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Charleston, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 5 presidential elections in Charleston, Illinois from 2008 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 2 went Republican. The city's typology — "" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.