† 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
GroupOttawaIllinoisUnited States
German26.3%16.1%12.5%
Irish17.2%10.6%9.4%
English10.3%6.9%9.5%
Italian8.3%5.4%4.8%
Polish6.6%6.0%2.2%
American4.8%3.3%5.3%
Norwegian4.1%——
French2.8%0.7%1.6%
Mexican8.7%14.4%11.3%
Puerto Rican0.4%1.7%1.8%
African American†2.3%12.1%9.9%
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
Ottawa
Illinois
United States
Median age
39.8
39.1
39.1
Age 18–24
6.3%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
16.4%
16.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Ottawa
Illinois
United States
Median household income
$71,413
$83,390
$84,427
Poverty rate
17.3%
11.8%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
23.3%
37.9%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Ottawa
Illinois
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
5.4%
24.1%
22.3%
Spanish
4.1%
14.0%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Ottawa
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.
Ottawa, Illinois
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+8.7%
2008
+23.4%
2012
+11.4%
2016
+1.1%
2020
+3.7%
2024
+0.1%
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
49.0%Harris4,424
49.0%Trump4,418
2.0%
D+0.1
R+3.6
D+1.5
9,020
D
50.9%Biden4,737
47.2%Trump4,393
2.0%
D+3.7
D+2.6
R+0.8
9,314
D
46.9%Clinton4,009
45.9%Trump3,919
7.2%
D+1.1
R+10.4
R+1.0
8,543
D
54.6%Obama4,918
43.1%Romney3,887
2.3%
D+11.4
R+11.9
D+7.6
9,009
D
60.8%Obama5,560
37.4%McCain3,423
1.8%
D+23.4
D+14.6
D+16.1
9,150
D
54.3%Kerry4,886
45.5%Bush4,100
0.2%
D+8.7
—
D+11.2
9,002
Ottawa anchors a deindustrialized river corridor in north-central Illinois, where working-class white voters have shifted the area's presidential margins rightward by double digits over the past two decades.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 23.4 points in 2008. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 3.6 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 0.1 points.
A population of 18,447, a 83% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $71,413 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of LaSalle and Peru.
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, Ottawa, Illinois voted a near-tie (D+0.1), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 9,020 votes cast, 4,424 went Democratic and 4,418 went Republican.
How many people live in Ottawa, Illinois?
Ottawa, Illinois has a population of 18,447 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Ottawa, Illinois?
Median household income in Ottawa, Illinois is $71,413 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Ottawa, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Ottawa, Illinois from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
