Coles County, Illinois: Republican loyalist county. In 2024, voted R+28%. Republican peak: R+39 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+28MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Republican loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 46,7772024 5-year
- Median household income
- $56,4782024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+20 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+39 in 1928MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Cass County, MI · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Coles CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Coles County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 7,495 | 13,606 | 21,507 | ||
| R | 8,067 | 14,037 | 22,668 | ||
| R | 7,309 | 13,003 | 21,918 | ||
| R | 9,262 | 11,631 | 21,437 | ||
| D | 11,716 | 10,978 | 23,076 | ||
| R | 9,566 | 13,015 | 22,780 | ||
| R | 8,904 | 10,495 | 20,093 | ||
| D | 8,950 | 8,038 | 19,298 | ||
| D | 9,402 | 8,098 | 22,300 | ||
| R | 8,327 | 11,043 | 19,504 | ||
| R | 7,156 | 14,044 | 21,295 | ||
| R | 6,743 | 11,994 | 20,671 | ||
| R | 8,639 | 11,021 | 20,162 | ||
| R | 7,988 | 13,681 | 21,751 | ||
| R | 7,337 | 10,449 | 19,766 | ||
| D | 11,377 | 8,878 | 20,255 | ||
| R | 8,629 | 12,166 | 20,814 | ||
| R | 7,569 | 12,436 | 20,015 | ||
| R | 7,876 | 12,660 | 20,556 | ||
| R | 8,393 | 8,638 | 17,084 | ||
| R | 8,936 | 9,473 | 18,463 | ||
| D | 11,409 | 10,528 | 22,014 | ||
| D | 11,931 | 8,800 | 20,868 | ||
| D | 11,081 | 7,313 | 18,559 | ||
| R | 5,071 | 11,479 | 16,607 | ||
| R | 5,544 | 8,342 | 15,194 | ||
| R | 5,811 | 8,563 | 14,574 | ||
| R | 7,772 | 8,314 | 16,351 | ||
| D | 3,453 | 2,263 | 8,426 | ||
| R | 3,957 | 4,388 | 8,632 | ||
| R | 3,435 | 4,901 | 8,828 | ||
| R | 3,921 | 4,706 | 8,779 | ||
| R | 3,982 | 4,534 | 8,633 | ||
| R | 3,611 | 3,693 | 7,604 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
22.1%
Irish
14.2%
English
11.4%
American
5.9%
Italian
1.8%
Scottish
1.3%
Polish
1.0%
African American
2.9%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 37.5 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.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$56,478
Coles County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Coles County$56,478
Illinois$83,390
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
18.7%
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.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.9%
speak English only
Spanish2.3%
Other Indo-European1.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Coles County has shifted steadily toward Republican margins over the past two decades despite the moderating presence of a college-town electorate, posting R+28.4 in 2024.
The Republican margin in Coles County reached its widest at thirty-nine points in 1928. The margin in 2024 was twenty-eight points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $56,478, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 46,777 together describe a community whose political habits are deeply settled. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Cass County and Cheboygan County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Coles County, Illinois — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/17029/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More republican loyalist counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Coles County, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Coles County, Illinois voted Republican by 28.4 points (R+28), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 21,507 votes cast, 7,495 went Democratic and 13,606 went Republican.
What is Coles County, Illinois's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Coles County, Illinois as a "Republican loyalist" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 8 times, Republican 26 times, and other 0 times.
When did Coles County, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Coles County, Illinois voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Coles County, Illinois?
Coles County, Illinois has a population of 46,777 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Coles County, Illinois?
Median household income in Coles County, Illinois is $56,478 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Coles County, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Coles County, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Republican loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.