[5] The Potawatomi people occupied the area of Racine County until European settlement.

Racine County originally extended to Wisconsin's southern border and encompassed the land that is now Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

The racial makeup of the county was 72.0% White, 11.8% Black or African American, 1.2% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 5.4% from other races, and 9.0% from two or more races.

As of the census[16] of 2000, there were 188,831 people, 70,819 households, and 49,856 families residing in the county.

The racial makeup of the county was 83.04% White, 10.47% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.69% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races.

The County Board has 21 members, each elected from single-member districts.

The only exceptions to this were when it voted for Charles Evans Hughes in 1916, Gerald Ford in 1976, Michael Dukakis in 1988, and Donald Trump in 2020.