akashic
1876–2024
Kankakee, IL·Illinois

Kankakee, IL delivered R+21 in 2024.

One of Illinois's most lopsided presidential metros outside Chicago's orbit

1876 — 2024·38 elections
IL
LatestR+21in 2024
TypologySunbelt Conservativecluster typology
Population106,6352024 ACS

Kankakee, IL, Illinois: Sunbelt Conservative metro. In 2024, voted R+21%. Republican peak: R+62 in 1920.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+21MIT Election Lab
Political typology
Sunbelt ConservativeAkashic typology
Population
106,6352024 5-year
Median household income
$71,2812024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
73.4%2024 5-year
Black
14.3%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
12.7%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+13 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+62 in 1920MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Kankakee, IL
TrumpR+21
—
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
Donald Trump ✓Republican59.5%28,285
Kamala HarrisDemocratic38.7%18,399
OtherAll other candidates1.9%885
D+60
R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over timeDemocratic-minus-Republican presidential margin from 1876 to 2024. Most recent: −20.8% in 2024.flipped R · 2012−20.8%DR18762024
Presidential margin over time
YearMargin (D minus R)
1876No data
1880No data
1884No data
1888No data
1892−12.4%
1896−38.7%
1900−36.3%
1904−54.8%
1908−40.4%
1912−7.4%
1916−26.5%
1920−61.9%
1924−54.0%
1928−7.4%
1932+10.8%
1936+8.4%
1940−7.6%
1944−14.7%
1948−16.2%
1952−23.2%
1956−32.9%
1960−8.5%
1964+12.8%
1968−14.5%
1972−33.3%
1976−10.9%
1980−22.5%
1984−21.6%
1988−14.5%
1992+4.5%
1996+6.3%
2000−2.2%
2004−10.5%
2008+4.6%
2012−3.4%
2016−13.0%
2020−16.5%
2024−20.8%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−20.8%
18,39928,28547,569
R
−16.5%
20,27128,53250,040
R
−13.0%
18,97125,12947,305
R
−3.4%
21,59523,13645,654
D
+4.6%
24,75022,52748,016
R
−10.5%
20,00324,73945,036
R
−2.2%
19,18020,04940,183
D
+6.3%
16,82014,59535,241
D
+4.5%
17,22915,41140,071
R
−14.5%
15,14720,31635,755
R
−21.6%
15,24623,80739,665
R
−22.5%
14,62623,81040,873
R
−10.9%
18,39423,00342,108
R
−33.3%
13,43426,86640,373
R
−14.5%
14,46020,02538,250
D
+12.8%
20,79216,08236,874
R
−8.5%
17,11520,31137,452
R
−32.9%
11,08821,99333,128
R
−23.2%
12,63620,27933,005
R
−16.2%
11,30515,69927,201
R
−14.7%
11,34215,25626,688
R
−7.6%
13,71615,99829,838
D
+8.4%
13,16210,93526,538
D
+10.8%
13,55510,87324,792
R
−7.4%
10,24711,90522,279
R
−54.0%
2,48812,46218,471
R
−61.9%
2,82812,85316,201
R
−26.5%
6,09610,59416,993
R
−7.4%
2,5323,1788,728
R
−40.4%
2,4615,9998,763
R
−54.8%
1,6526,1628,224
R
−36.3%
2,6745,7988,597
R
−38.7%
2,3705,4718,022
R
−12.4%
2,7633,5776,573
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Demographics

2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
19.6%
Irish
11.3%
English
7.1%
Polish
5.6%
French
5.5%
Italian
4.8%
American
3.2%
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.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 39.0 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.7%
85+
1.1%
2.6%
75–84
3.1%
5.0%
65–74
5.4%
6.4%
55–64
6.6%
6.0%
45–54
6.0%
6.0%
35–44
6.1%
6.3%
25–34
6.2%
4.9%
18–24
4.9%
8.7%
5–17
8.3%
2.9%
<5
2.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$71,281
Kankakee, IL ranks near the middle of US counties.
Kankakee, IL$71,281
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
12.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.5%
Working age (18–64)11.4%
Seniors (65+)9.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
89.1%
speak English only
Spanish9.5%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
20.8%
Other Christian
6.8%
Mainline Protestant
6.5%
Pentecostal & Holiness
5.7%
Baptist
5.0%
Methodist
2.9%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 52.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Kankakee's small industrial metro on the Kankakee River has shifted decisively Republican over successive cycles, posting a nearly 49-point margin in 2024 that places it among the state's most one-sided presidential results.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of thirteen points in 1964 and a Republican high of sixty-two points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-one points.

A population of 106,635, a 73% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $71,281 describe the metro.

Compare two places, side by side

Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Kankakee, IL, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/28100/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Kankakee, IL, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Kankakee, IL, Illinois voted Republican by 20.8 points (R+21), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 47,569 votes cast, 18,399 went Democratic and 28,285 went Republican.
What is Kankakee, IL, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Kankakee, IL, Illinois in the "Sunbelt Conservative" 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 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 6 times, Republican 28 times, and other 0 times.
When did Kankakee, IL, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Kankakee, IL, Illinois voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Kankakee, IL, Illinois?
Kankakee, IL, Illinois has a population of 106,635 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Kankakee, IL, Illinois?
Median household income in Kankakee, IL, Illinois is $71,281 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Kankakee, IL, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Kankakee, IL, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Sunbelt Conservative" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.