† 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
GroupBrainerd, MNMinnesotaUnited States
German32.5%29.2%12.5%
Norwegian13.4%12.1%—
Irish10.5%9.9%9.4%
Swedish8.0%6.5%—
English7.9%6.6%9.5%
Polish4.6%3.7%2.2%
American3.9%2.3%5.3%
French3.8%1.8%1.6%
Mexican1.1%3.9%11.3%
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
Brainerd, MN
Minnesota
United States
Median age
47
39
39.1
Age 18–24
6.4%
8.8%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
25.3%
17.2%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Brainerd, MN
Minnesota
United States
Median household income
$71,422
$89,062
$84,427
Poverty rate
10.8%
9.3%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
28.3%
39.4%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Brainerd, MN
Minnesota
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
2.3%
12.5%
22.3%
Religious landscape
Measure
Brainerd, MN
Minnesota
United States
Catholic
12.3%
19.5%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
9.3%
11.8%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
62.6%
50.6%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
14.8%
13.5%
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.
Brainerd, MN
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−18.9%
1896
−20.4%
1900
−35.9%
1904
−63.5%
1908
−34.6%
1912
+2.8%
1916
+2.0%
1920
−55.6%
1924
−46.6%
1928
−37.2%
1932
+14.5%
1936
+26.4%
1940
+7.8%
1944
+7.5%
1948
+14.8%
1952
−14.1%
1956
−12.4%
1960
−7.6%
1964
+25.3%
1968
+1.8%
1972
−12.0%
1976
+12.0%
1980
−8.8%
1984
−14.2%
1988
−6.6%
1992
+1.1%
1996
+4.6%
2000
−12.9%
2004
−14.4%
2008
−7.9%
2012
−13.2%
2016
−31.5%
2020
−29.5%
2024
−31.9%
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
R
33.2%Harris20,473
65.1%Trump40,182
0.7%Kennedy458 +7
R+31.9
R+2.5
R+30.5
61,729
All 10 candidates in 2024 · 8 minor / independent
Donald J TrumpRepublican65.1%40,182
Kamala D HarrisDemocratic33.2%20,473
Robert F KennedyIndependent0.7%458
Chase OliverLibertarian0.3%211
OtherAll other candidates0.3%201
Jill SteinIndependent0.2%125
Shiva AyyaduraiIndependent0.1%40
Cornel WestIndependent0.0%20
Claudia De La CruzIndependent0.0%14
Rachele FruitIndependent0.0%5
R
34.3%Biden20,068
63.8%Trump37,296
1.9%
R+29.5
D+2.0
R+33.9
58,462
R
30.7%Clinton15,931
62.2%Trump32,269
7.0%
R+31.5
R+18.3
R+33.6
51,841
R
42.3%Obama21,618
55.6%Romney28,372
2.1%
R+13.2
R+5.3
R+17.1
51,061
R
44.9%Obama23,135
52.9%McCain27,227
2.2%
R+7.9
D+6.5
R+15.2
51,472
R
42.1%Kerry20,840
56.6%Bush27,981
1.3%
R+14.4
R+1.5
R+12.0
49,455
R
40.2%Gore16,789
53.1%Bush22,169
6.6%
R+12.9
R+17.5
R+13.4
41,721
D
44.9%Clinton16,593
40.2%Dole14,886
14.9%
D+4.6
D+3.5
R+3.9
36,992
D
37.6%Clinton13,797
36.4%Bush13,388
26.0%
D+1.1
D+7.7
R+4.4
36,736
R
46.2%Dukakis14,801
52.8%Bush16,912
1.0%
R+6.6
D+7.6
D+1.1
32,030
R
42.6%Mondale13,492
56.7%Reagan17,981
0.7%
R+14.2
R+5.3
D+4.1
31,702
R
42.3%Carter14,040
51.2%Reagan16,963
6.5%
R+8.8
R+20.8
D+0.9
33,162
D
54.0%Carter16,077
42.0%Ford12,515
4.0%
D+12.0
D+23.9
D+9.9
29,798
R
42.6%McGovern10,675
54.6%Nixon13,680
2.8%
R+12.0
R+13.8
D+11.2
25,054
D
48.3%Humphrey10,980
46.5%Nixon10,575
5.2%
D+1.8
R+23.5
D+2.5
22,745
D
62.6%Johnson13,832
37.3%Goldwater8,241
0.1%
D+25.3
D+32.9
D+2.7
22,103
R
46.1%Kennedy10,413
53.6%Nixon12,126
0.3%
R+7.6
D+4.8
R+7.7
22,605
R
43.7%Stevenson8,304
56.1%Eisenhower10,664
0.2%
R+12.4
D+1.7
D+3.0
19,008
R
42.6%Stevenson8,701
56.7%Eisenhower11,593
0.7%
R+14.1
R+28.9
R+3.4
20,442
D
56.0%Truman10,706
41.2%Dewey7,881
2.8%
D+14.8
D+7.3
D+10.3
19,123
D
53.5%Roosevelt8,881
46.0%Dewey7,635
0.6%
D+7.5
R+0.4
±0.0
16,614
D
53.4%Roosevelt11,268
45.6%Willkie9,613
1.0%
D+7.8
R+18.6
R+2.1
21,083
D
61.1%Roosevelt11,001
34.7%Landon6,245
4.2%
D+26.4
D+11.9
D+2.1
18,007
D
54.8%Roosevelt8,562
40.3%Hoover6,293
4.9%
D+14.5
D+51.7
R+3.3
15,621
R
30.4%Smith4,598
67.6%Hoover10,217
2.0%
R+37.2
D+9.4
R+19.7
15,125
R
5.0%Davis687
51.6%Coolidge7,030
43.3%
R+46.6
D+9.0
R+21.4
13,622
R
14.8%Cox1,787
70.4%Harding8,504
14.8%
R+55.6
R+57.6
R+29.4
12,079
D
44.0%Wilson2,828
41.9%Hughes2,697
14.1%
D+2.0
R+0.8
R+1.1
6,431
O
23.6%Wilson1,274
20.8%Taft1,122
55.6%
Roosevelt +32.0
D+37.4
R+16.7
5,394
R
24.7%Bryan1,122
59.3%Taft2,690
16.0%
R+34.6
D+28.9
R+25.0
4,538
R
12.7%Parker555
76.2%Roosevelt3,328
11.1%
R+63.5
R+27.6
R+43.8
4,367
R
30.5%Bryan1,322
66.4%McKinley2,877
3.0%
R+35.9
R+15.5
R+28.4
4,330
R
38.2%Bryan1,337
58.7%McKinley2,052
3.1%
R+20.4
R+1.5
R+14.4
3,497
R
30.0%Cleveland752
48.9%Harrison1,227
21.1%
R+18.9
—
R+20.6
2,508
Congressional elections · 3 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
R
39.1%23,745
58.0%35,212
60,716
2020
R
32.7%18,877
60.1%34,669
57,683
2018
R
45.0%20,449
51.6%23,464
45,460
voter registration
Registered voters
Total registered voters, over time
Registered voters
Voter registration in Brainerd, MN
Year
Total registered
2016
61,362
2018
60,745
2020
67,429
2022
68,353
2024
72,558
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+716 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net +8,429 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Brainerd, MN in Brainerd, MN: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−393
2012
−26
2013
+199
2014
+32
2015
+176
2016
+711
2017
+916
2018
+744
2019
+598
2021
+1,935
2022
+1,425
2023
+778
2024
+618
2025
+716
The Brainerd lakes region, anchored by a paper-mill and tourism economy, has swung sharply toward Republican presidential candidates since 2008, making Crow Wing County a reliable bellwether for outstate Minnesota's political drift.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 26.4 points in 1936 and a Republican high of 63.5 points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 2.5 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 31.9 points.
A population of 98,678, a 89% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $71,422 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Rice Lake, WI and Alexandria, MN.
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.
Brainerd, MN, Minnesota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/14660/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Brainerd, MN, Minnesota voted Republican by 31.9 points (R+31.9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 61,729 votes cast, 20,473 went Democratic and 40,182 went Republican.
When did Brainerd, MN, Minnesota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Brainerd, MN, Minnesota voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Brainerd, MN, Minnesota?
Brainerd, MN, Minnesota has a population of 98,678 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Brainerd, MN, Minnesota?
Median household income in Brainerd, MN, Minnesota is $71,422 — below the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Brainerd, MN, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Brainerd, MN, Minnesota from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 22 went Republican.
