Ottawa, IL, Illinois: Industrial Catholic Metro metro. In 2024, voted R+20%. Republican peak: R+54 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+20MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 147,1812024 5-year
- Median household income
- $72,2962024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 10.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+15 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+54 in 1920MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Ottawa, IL
TrumpR+20
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 59.2% | 42,515 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 39.2% | 28,183 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.6% | 1,143 |
D+60R+60
3 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | +3.6% |
| 1896 | −16.7% |
| 1900 | −16.8% |
| 1904 | −36.0% |
| 1908 | −20.9% |
| 1912 | +10.5% |
| 1916 | −17.1% |
| 1920 | −54.2% |
| 1924 | −44.6% |
| 1928 | −13.4% |
| 1932 | +15.0% |
| 1936 | +5.0% |
| 1940 | −1.4% |
| 1944 | −16.7% |
| 1948 | −15.5% |
| 1952 | −26.3% |
| 1956 | −32.4% |
| 1960 | −6.6% |
| 1964 | +12.9% |
| 1968 | −11.5% |
| 1972 | −22.8% |
| 1976 | −7.8% |
| 1980 | −24.4% |
| 1984 | −17.2% |
| 1988 | −2.1% |
| 1992 | +12.0% |
| 1996 | +12.9% |
| 2000 | +2.3% |
| 2004 | −5.0% |
| 2008 | +10.0% |
| 2012 | −0.2% |
| 2016 | −15.9% |
| 2020 | −16.2% |
| 2024 | −19.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 28,183 | 42,515 | 71,841 | ||
| R | 30,449 | 42,517 | 74,576 | ||
| R | 26,719 | 37,737 | 69,426 | ||
| R | 32,766 | 32,922 | 67,234 | ||
| D | 38,232 | 31,161 | 70,635 | ||
| R | 33,928 | 37,546 | 71,983 | ||
| D | 32,766 | 31,239 | 66,009 | ||
| D | 30,719 | 22,814 | 61,328 | ||
| D | 32,401 | 23,883 | 71,146 | ||
| R | 31,226 | 32,578 | 64,140 | ||
| R | 28,944 | 41,041 | 70,317 | ||
| R | 23,729 | 40,766 | 69,836 | ||
| R | 32,015 | 37,540 | 70,472 | ||
| R | 28,650 | 45,641 | 74,426 | ||
| R | 30,232 | 38,621 | 72,818 | ||
| D | 41,368 | 31,899 | 73,267 | ||
| R | 36,478 | 41,606 | 78,151 | ||
| R | 25,012 | 49,094 | 74,214 | ||
| R | 28,504 | 48,848 | 77,478 | ||
| R | 27,034 | 37,065 | 64,524 | ||
| R | 29,330 | 41,502 | 73,103 | ||
| R | 39,173 | 40,332 | 79,991 | ||
| D | 37,879 | 34,137 | 74,424 | ||
| D | 39,363 | 28,950 | 69,518 | ||
| R | 28,162 | 36,983 | 65,631 | ||
| R | 8,471 | 32,238 | 53,298 | ||
| R | 9,342 | 35,342 | 47,928 | ||
| R | 21,203 | 30,319 | 53,360 | ||
| O | 10,260 | 7,077 | 30,399 | ||
| R | 10,873 | 17,273 | 30,584 | ||
| R | 7,900 | 18,344 | 28,998 | ||
| R | 12,644 | 17,997 | 31,807 | ||
| R | 12,548 | 17,728 | 30,985 | ||
| D | 13,434 | 12,442 | 27,358 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
25.1%
Irish
15.4%
English
10.3%
Italian
8.4%
Polish
6.0%
American
4.4%
French
2.6%
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: 42.8 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.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$72,296
Ottawa, IL ranks near the middle of US counties.
Ottawa, IL$72,296
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
13.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1818.9%
Working age (18–64)11.7%
Seniors (65+)8.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.4%
speak English only
Spanish5.6%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 61.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Ottawa anchors the La Salle County micropolitan area, where a historically unionized industrial base has shifted alongside broader rural realignment, producing notable swings in presidential margins over the past three election cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of fifteen points in 1932 and a Republican high of fifty-four points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty points.
A population of 147,181, a 86% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $72,296 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.
Ottawa, IL, Illinois. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/36837/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Ottawa, IL, Illinois vote in 2024?
In 2024, Ottawa, IL, Illinois voted Republican by 19.9 points (R+20), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 71,841 votes cast, 28,183 went Democratic and 42,515 went Republican.
What is Ottawa, IL, Illinois's political typology?
Akashic places Ottawa, IL, Illinois in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" 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 8 times, Republican 25 times, and other 1 times.
When did Ottawa, IL, Illinois last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Ottawa, IL, Illinois voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Ottawa, IL, Illinois?
Ottawa, IL, Illinois has a population of 147,181 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Ottawa, IL, Illinois?
Median household income in Ottawa, IL, Illinois is $72,296 — below the national median of $80,734. The Illinois state median is $83,390.
What is the political history of Ottawa, IL, Illinois?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Ottawa, IL, Illinois from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.