† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
2 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupAmes, IAIowaUnited States
German29.9%30.5%12.5%
Irish11.1%12.8%9.4%
English10.8%10.2%9.5%
Norwegian8.0%4.1%—
American3.2%4.6%5.3%
Swedish3.0%1.9%—
Dutch2.3%2.7%—
Italian1.8%1.6%4.8%
Chinese1.5%0.3%1.3%
Asian Indian1.1%0.5%1.4%
Korean0.9%0.2%0.4%
Filipino0.2%0.2%0.9%
Vietnamese0.2%0.3%0.6%
Bangladeshi0.2%——
Mexican2.8%5.0%11.3%
Puerto Rican0.3%0.3%1.8%
Guatemalan0.2%0.4%0.5%
Cuban0.2%—0.7%
Venezuelan0.2%——
Spanish0.2%——
African American†1.5%2.6%9.9%
African0.4%0.3%0.5%
Sudanese0.2%0.2%—
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Ames, IA
Iowa
United States
Median age
30.2
38.8
39.1
Age 18–24
26.0%
10.0%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
14.5%
18.1%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Ames, IA
Iowa
United States
Median household income
$72,589
$75,059
$84,427
Poverty rate
15.7%
11.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
49.3%
31.8%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Ames, IA
Iowa
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
9.3%
9.2%
22.3%
Spanish
2.4%
4.7%
13.6%
Other Indo-European
2.1%
0.6%
2.0%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)
1.3%
0.3%
1.1%
Religious landscape
Measure
Ames, IA
Iowa
United States
Catholic
8.9%
14.7%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
10.1%
10.9%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
63.0%
55.2%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
14.7%
15.8%
5.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Ames, IA
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−26.4%
1896
−25.0%
1900
−37.1%
1904
−54.1%
1908
−35.9%
1912
+7.0%
1916
−22.8%
1920
−56.1%
1924
−45.1%
1928
−47.6%
1932
+2.2%
1936
+14.1%
1940
+4.5%
1944
+2.4%
1948
−3.1%
1952
−35.9%
1956
−24.3%
1960
−22.2%
1964
+26.0%
1968
−11.3%
1972
−9.1%
1976
−3.1%
1980
−5.9%
1984
−1.6%
1988
+18.1%
1992
+12.7%
1996
+15.5%
2000
+4.0%
2004
+4.5%
2008
+14.2%
2012
+12.2%
2016
+6.6%
2020
+9.7%
2024
+2.8%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
50.3%Harris32,660
47.5%Trump30,864
2.2%
D+2.8
R+6.9
D+4.2
64,929
D
53.4%Biden35,478
43.7%Trump29,035
2.8%
D+9.7
D+3.1
D+5.3
66,378
D
47.9%Clinton31,250
41.3%Trump26,942
10.9%
D+6.6
R+5.6
D+4.5
65,284
D
54.8%Obama33,704
42.6%Romney26,224
2.6%
D+12.2
R+2.1
D+8.3
61,538
D
56.0%Obama33,904
41.8%McCain25,288
2.2%
D+14.2
D+9.8
D+7.0
60,504
D
51.7%Kerry30,323
47.2%Bush27,689
1.1%
D+4.5
D+0.5
D+6.9
58,661
D
49.9%Gore23,748
45.9%Bush21,853
4.2%
D+4.0
R+11.6
D+3.5
47,613
D
53.2%Clinton23,680
37.6%Dole16,761
9.2%
D+15.5
D+2.8
D+7.0
44,530
D
47.5%Clinton23,031
34.7%Bush16,850
17.8%
D+12.7
R+5.4
D+7.2
48,530
D
58.7%Dukakis26,283
40.6%Bush18,163
0.8%
D+18.1
D+19.7
D+25.9
44,791
R
48.9%Mondale24,762
50.4%Reagan25,550
0.7%
R+1.6
D+4.3
D+16.7
50,687
R
37.7%Carter18,655
43.6%Reagan21,561
18.7%
R+5.9
R+2.7
D+3.9
49,458
R
46.7%Carter22,312
49.9%Ford23,807
3.4%
R+3.1
D+5.9
R+5.2
47,739
R
44.7%McGovern19,029
53.8%Nixon22,888
1.5%
R+9.1
D+2.2
D+14.1
42,576
R
42.2%Humphrey14,675
53.5%Nixon18,587
4.3%
R+11.3
R+37.2
R+10.6
34,771
D
62.7%Johnson20,028
36.7%Goldwater11,731
0.6%
D+26.0
D+48.1
D+3.4
31,945
R
38.9%Kennedy13,040
61.0%Nixon20,469
0.1%
R+22.2
D+2.2
R+22.3
33,531
R
37.8%Stevenson12,167
62.1%Eisenhower20,004
0.1%
R+24.3
D+11.5
R+8.9
32,204
R
31.6%Stevenson10,195
67.5%Eisenhower21,758
0.9%
R+35.9
R+32.7
R+25.1
32,243
R
45.9%Truman11,693
49.0%Dewey12,490
5.1%
R+3.1
R+5.5
R+7.6
25,473
D
50.8%Roosevelt12,616
48.5%Dewey12,031
0.7%
D+2.4
R+2.1
R+5.1
24,821
D
52.0%Roosevelt14,320
47.5%Willkie13,080
0.5%
D+4.5
R+9.6
R+5.4
27,539
D
55.6%Roosevelt14,013
41.5%Landon10,468
2.9%
D+14.1
D+11.8
R+10.2
25,217
D
48.1%Roosevelt10,931
45.9%Hoover10,429
6.0%
D+2.2
D+49.8
R+15.6
22,714
R
25.4%Smith5,763
73.0%Hoover16,556
1.6%
R+47.6
R+2.5
R+30.1
22,674
R
9.2%Davis2,012
54.3%Coolidge11,896
36.5%
R+45.1
D+11.0
R+20.0
21,896
R
20.0%Cox4,149
76.1%Harding15,806
3.9%
R+56.1
R+33.3
R+30.0
20,764
R
36.5%Wilson4,110
59.3%Hughes6,677
4.2%
R+22.8
R+29.8
R+25.9
11,262
O
25.4%Wilson2,825
18.4%Taft2,049
56.1%
Roosevelt +30.7
D+42.8
R+12.6
11,114
R
28.2%Bryan3,153
64.1%Taft7,158
7.7%
R+35.9
D+18.3
R+26.3
11,170
R
17.6%Parker1,900
71.7%Roosevelt7,749
10.7%
R+54.1
R+17.0
R+34.4
10,810
R
29.2%Bryan3,607
66.3%McKinley8,183
4.5%
R+37.1
R+12.0
R+29.5
12,348
R
36.9%Bryan4,390
61.9%McKinley7,371
1.3%
R+25.0
D+1.4
R+18.9
11,912
R
34.2%Cleveland3,246
60.6%Harrison5,756
5.2%
R+26.4
—
R+28.1
9,499
Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
D
53.4%25,640
46.5%22,326
48,052
2020
D
52.6%34,532
44.3%29,065
65,652
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024D+1.8
vs
Presidential vote · 2024D+2.8
Registration and the presidential vote track closely here — within 1.0 points.
DemocraticRepublicanUnaffiliatedOther parties
Voter registration in Ames, IA
Year
Total registered
Democratic
Republican
Unaffiliated
Other
2008
91,146
30,281
23,766
36,941
158
2010
83,536
26,877
23,187
33,277
195
2012
87,652
27,385
24,874
35,106
287
2014
83,983
24,835
24,057
34,623
468
2016
88,421
27,935
26,279
33,355
852
2018
89,128
28,289
25,369
34,319
1,151
2020
92,264
32,627
26,491
31,992
1,154
2022
90,379
30,716
25,940
32,562
1,161
2024
90,250
28,239
26,629
34,269
1,113
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
−645 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net −2,942 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Ames, IA in Ames, IA: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+64
2012
−339
2013
+632
2014
+599
2015
−83
2016
−822
2017
−745
2018
−1,310
2019
−409
2021
+615
2022
−567
2023
+346
2024
−278
2025
−645
Home to Iowa State University, Ames pulls its metro's median age down and its college-educated share up, producing a voting coalition that has swung between parties by double digits in recent presidential cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 26.0 points in 1964 and a Republican high of 56.1 points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 6.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 2.8 points.
A population of 127,134, a 84% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $72,589 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Iowa City, IA and Vermillion, SD.
Akashic
Political twins — metros
The metros whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
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.
Ames, IA, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/11180/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Embed this page
A live widget for your site — no API key, attribution built in, CC BY 4.0. All widgets & sizes →
In 2024, Ames, IA, Iowa voted Democratic by 2.8 points (D+2.8), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 64,929 votes cast, 32,660 went Democratic and 30,864 went Republican.
When did Ames, IA, Iowa last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Ames, IA, Iowa voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Ames, IA, Iowa?
Ames, IA, Iowa has a population of 127,134 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Ames, IA, Iowa?
Median household income in Ames, IA, Iowa is $72,589 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Ames, IA, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Ames, IA, Iowa from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 18 went Republican.
