akashic
1876–2024
Shelby County, Illinois
Shelby County·Illinois

Shelby County has voted Republican for as long as anyone can remember.

One of Illinois's most lopsided rural presidential margins in 2024

18762024·38 elections
Shelby County, Illinois · Nyttend · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+60
in 2024
Archetype
Republican loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
20,720
2024 ACS
Most similar
St. Clair County
MO · similarity 1.00
33 precincts · 11,670 votes cast
Trump · R+60
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−60.2%
2,2409,26711,670
2020R
−57.1%
2,5049,42612,115
2016R
−53.8%
2,2888,22911,049
2012R
−33.5%
3,3426,84310,439
2008R
−19.8%
4,2456,39610,868
2004R
−28.4%
3,7446,75310,577
2000R
−18.0%
4,0185,85110,163
1996D
+0.3%
4,2494,2159,788
1992D
+13.2%
5,1013,63111,175
1988R
−7.1%
4,6505,37010,078
1984R
−19.2%
4,3176,37210,730
1980R
−22.5%
3,9886,44110,894
1976D
+8.2%
6,1725,23411,493
1972R
−24.3%
4,3897,21711,626
1968R
−8.6%
4,5285,48711,137
1964D
+24.7%
7,0884,28111,369
1960R
−9.1%
5,7206,87212,603
1956R
−14.0%
5,3377,07512,425
1952R
−15.4%
5,2687,18912,469
1948D
+2.8%
5,5895,28211,029
1944R
−2.3%
5,9196,20112,243
1940D
+3.0%
7,7047,25015,197
1936D
+16.8%
8,1865,79514,201
1932D
+26.5%
8,0934,65712,969
1928R
−27.3%
4,0717,21411,528
1924R
−2.9%
5,2655,60511,646
1920R
−10.5%
5,1136,35111,776
1916D
+11.6%
7,5155,91113,866
1912D
+26.7%
3,4671,6296,889
1908D
+9.6%
4,0653,3127,830
1904R
−3.7%
2,9623,2206,920
1900D
+14.1%
4,5143,3658,131
1896D
+20.7%
4,7093,0717,925
1892D
+17.2%
3,5232,3047,100
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Other Christian
16.7%
Mainline Protestant
8.5%
Catholic & Orthodox
7.7%
Methodist
6.9%
Baptist
5.1%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.9%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Shelby County's R+60.2 margin in 2024 places it among the most heavily one-sided counties in a state often defined by its Chicago-versus-downstate divide, reflecting the deep rural consolidation seen across central Illinois farmland.

The Republican margin in Shelby County reached its widest at sixty points in 2024. The margin in 2024 was sixty points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.

Shelby County's loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $72,095, a 97% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 20,720 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 St. Clair County and Vernon County.