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

Lake County changed direction in the last decade.

Chicago's northern collar county swings harder Democratic each cycle

18762024·38 elections
Lake County, Illinois · Nyttend · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
D+21
in 2024
Archetype
Recent convert
since the recent cycles
Population
714,223
2024 ACS
Most similar
Ventura County
CA · similarity 0.97
431 precincts · 310,913 votes cast
Harris · D+21
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024D
+20.7%
184,642120,402310,913
2020D
+24.0%
204,032123,594335,675
2016D
+20.2%
171,095109,767303,520
2012D
+8.3%
153,757129,764287,493
2008D
+19.6%
177,242118,545299,105
2004R
−1.7%
134,352139,081275,295
2000R
−2.4%
115,058120,988242,164
1996D
+0.1%
93,31593,149204,764
1992R
−7.7%
81,69399,000223,987
1988R
−27.7%
64,327114,115179,633
1984R
−37.2%
53,947118,401173,224
1980R
−29.2%
48,28796,350164,853
1976R
−22.6%
57,74192,231152,894
1972R
−31.9%
47,41692,052139,812
1968R
−21.0%
43,40968,999121,903
1964D
+3.2%
62,78558,840121,667
1960R
−18.2%
46,94167,809114,899
1956R
−34.8%
32,27966,78199,189
1952R
−25.8%
32,35354,92987,427
1948R
−27.7%
22,19239,45662,368
1944R
−16.7%
25,45335,67461,310
1940R
−20.9%
24,96538,24263,461
1936R
−5.6%
24,52427,54853,675
1932R
−6.1%
21,13923,99447,122
1928R
−36.8%
12,25226,81439,587
1924R
−67.2%
2,00818,22924,150
1920R
−70.1%
2,32115,71219,096
1916R
−38.7%
5,44712,90519,251
1912D
+2.5%
2,4362,18310,113
1908R
−44.0%
2,2646,3929,379
1904R
−58.6%
1,5926,6358,605
1900R
−38.2%
2,2355,1367,588
1896R
−46.9%
1,7775,0276,937
1892R
−18.9%
1,9642,9325,129
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%
African American
5.4%
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. 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
Catholic & Orthodox
31.4%
Other Christian
7.2%
Non-Christian
5.4%
Mainline Protestant
4.0%
Baptist
1.7%
Methodist
0.8%
Pentecostal & Holiness
0.7%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 48.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Once a reliably Republican suburban stronghold, Lake County has shifted markedly leftward over the past decade as college-educated voters in communities like Waukegan and Lake Forest realigned, delivering a 20-point Democratic margin in 2024.

The 2008 election was the turning point, when the Democratic candidate carried the county by twenty points. The 2024 margin was twenty-one points, in line with the county's new direction.

The demographics suggest why. A population of 714,223, a 61% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $110,416 situate the county in the broader realignment patterns of recent cycles. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Ventura County and Prince William County.