† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupDeKalbIllinoisUnited States
German20.2%16.1%12.5%
Irish13.0%10.6%9.4%
English7.6%6.9%9.5%
Italian5.5%5.4%4.8%
Polish4.9%6.0%2.2%
Swedish3.5%1.5%—
Norwegian3.4%——
American2.9%3.3%5.3%
Mexican15.8%14.4%11.3%
Puerto Rican2.1%1.7%1.8%
Colombian0.4%0.3%0.4%
Spanish0.4%——
Honduran0.3%0.2%0.3%
Chilean0.3%——
African American†12.9%12.1%9.9%
Sudanese0.4%——
Filipino1.1%1.0%0.9%
Asian Indian0.9%2.1%1.4%
Chinese0.7%1.0%1.3%
Vietnamese0.4%0.2%0.6%
Korean0.4%0.4%0.4%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
DeKalb
Illinois
United States
Median age
26.1
39.1
39.1
Age 18–24
29.8%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
11.0%
16.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
DeKalb
Illinois
United States
Median household income
$46,481
$83,390
$84,427
Poverty rate
24.9%
11.8%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
33.7%
37.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
DeKalb
Illinois
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
17.8%
24.1%
22.3%
Spanish
11.8%
14.0%
13.6%
Other Indo-European
1.6%
2.6%
2.0%
Religious landscape
Measure
DeKalb
Illinois
United States
Catholic
—
24.2%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
11.7%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
49.2%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
DeKalb, Illinois
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+19.7%
2008
+39.1%
2012
+28.3%
2016
+31.7%
2020
+36.0%
2024
+31.5%
DemocraticRepublican
6 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
64.3%Harris9,339
32.8%Trump4,766
2.9%
D+31.5
R+4.5
D+33.0
14,527
D
66.4%Biden10,430
30.4%Trump4,782
3.2%
D+36.0
D+4.3
D+31.5
15,707
D
60.9%Clinton9,273
29.3%Trump4,453
9.8%
D+31.7
D+3.4
D+29.6
15,219
D
62.8%Obama8,738
34.5%Romney4,806
2.7%
D+28.3
R+10.8
D+24.4
13,915
D
68.6%Obama11,853
29.5%McCain5,103
1.9%
D+39.1
D+19.3
D+31.8
17,280
D
59.6%Kerry8,829
39.9%Bush5,905
0.5%
D+19.7
—
D+22.2
14,810
DeKalb's electorate swings with the Northern Illinois University academic calendar — student registration surges reliably push countywide turnout figures and shift margin calculations in ways that confound off-cycle comparisons.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 39.1 points in 2008. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 4.5 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 31.5 points.
A population of 40,443, a 58% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $46,481 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of East Lansing and Athens.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
In 2024, DeKalb, Illinois voted Democratic by 31.5 points (D+31.5), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 14,527 votes cast, 9,339 went Democratic and 4,766 went Republican.
How many people live in DeKalb, Illinois?
DeKalb, Illinois has a population of 40,443 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in DeKalb, Illinois?
Median household income in DeKalb, Illinois is $46,481 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of DeKalb, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in DeKalb, Illinois from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
