† 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
GroupColumbus, NENebraskaUnited States
German31.1%31.0%12.5%
Irish7.6%11.7%9.4%
Polish6.6%2.7%2.2%
Czech6.1%3.4%—
English5.7%9.4%9.5%
American2.6%3.5%5.3%
Swedish2.5%3.1%—
Danish1.5%——
Mexican17.1%8.7%11.3%
Guatemalan4.9%1.0%0.5%
Honduran2.2%0.2%0.3%
Cuban2.0%0.4%0.7%
Nicaraguan0.8%——
Salvadoran0.6%0.6%0.7%
Puerto Rican0.5%0.3%1.8%
Peruvian0.2%——
Sudanese0.4%0.2%—
African0.2%0.3%0.5%
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
Columbus, NE
Nebraska
United States
Median age
37.2
37.3
39.1
Age 18–24
8.4%
9.8%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
17.2%
16.8%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Columbus, NE
Nebraska
United States
Median household income
$74,127
$76,475
$84,427
Poverty rate
9.1%
10.6%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
21.1%
34.7%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Columbus, NE
Nebraska
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
25.2%
12.8%
22.3%
Spanish
23.6%
8.5%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Columbus, NE
Nebraska
United States
Catholic
44.1%
19.1%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
15.8%
14.2%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
29.8%
50.8%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
8.5%
12.1%
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.
Columbus, NE
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−5.3%
1896
+20.8%
1900
+13.4%
1904
−14.3%
1908
+15.3%
1912
+30.2%
1916
+17.5%
1920
−43.8%
1924
−0.9%
1928
+21.2%
1932
+61.6%
1936
+34.0%
1940
−9.4%
1944
−9.6%
1948
−4.8%
1952
−41.9%
1956
−35.8%
1960
−15.1%
1964
+4.9%
1968
−31.7%
1972
−45.8%
1976
−27.6%
1980
−53.4%
1984
−61.7%
1988
−40.1%
1992
−34.5%
1996
−36.6%
2000
−53.9%
2004
−57.2%
2008
−38.9%
2012
−48.3%
2016
−54.6%
2020
−54.2%
2024
−56.7%
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
21.0%Harris4,036
77.7%Trump14,962
0.5%Oliver99 +3
R+56.7
R+2.6
R+55.3
19,255
All 6 candidates in 2024 · 4 minor / independent
Donald J TrumpRepublican77.7%14,962
Kamala D HarrisDemocratic21.0%4,036
Chase OliverNonpartisan0.5%99
OtherAll other candidates0.4%81
Cornel WestNonpartisan0.2%41
Jill SteinNonpartisan0.2%36
R
22.0%Biden4,285
76.2%Trump14,822
1.7%
R+54.2
D+0.4
R+58.6
19,447
R
19.9%Clinton3,505
74.4%Trump13,136
5.7%
R+54.6
R+6.2
R+56.7
17,647
R
24.9%Obama4,117
73.2%Romney12,112
1.9%
R+48.3
R+9.4
R+52.2
16,542
R
29.6%Obama4,921
68.5%McCain11,391
1.9%
R+38.9
D+18.2
R+46.2
16,623
R
20.7%Kerry3,647
77.9%Bush13,719
1.4%
R+57.2
R+3.2
R+54.7
17,620
R
21.5%Gore3,475
75.4%Bush12,199
3.1%
R+53.9
R+17.4
R+54.5
16,174
R
25.6%Clinton4,075
62.1%Dole9,902
12.3%
R+36.6
R+2.1
R+45.1
15,936
R
19.1%Clinton3,435
53.6%Bush9,651
27.4%
R+34.5
D+5.7
R+40.1
18,021
R
29.6%Dukakis4,827
69.8%Bush11,369
0.6%
R+40.1
D+21.6
R+32.4
16,294
R
18.7%Mondale3,042
80.5%Reagan13,068
0.8%
R+61.7
R+8.3
R+43.5
16,238
R
20.0%Carter3,282
73.4%Reagan12,062
6.6%
R+53.4
R+25.9
R+43.7
16,429
R
35.0%Carter5,359
62.6%Ford9,581
2.4%
R+27.6
D+18.3
R+29.7
15,302
R
27.1%McGovern3,962
72.9%Nixon10,670
0.0%
R+45.8
R+14.2
R+22.7
14,632
R
30.0%Humphrey3,931
61.7%Nixon8,081
8.3%
R+31.7
R+36.6
R+31.0
13,095
D
52.5%Johnson7,367
47.5%Goldwater6,677
0.0%
D+4.9
D+20.1
R+17.7
14,044
R
42.4%Kennedy6,362
57.6%Nixon8,633
0.0%
R+15.1
D+20.7
R+15.3
14,995
R
32.1%Stevenson4,448
67.9%Eisenhower9,417
0.0%
R+35.8
D+6.1
R+20.4
13,865
R
29.0%Stevenson4,103
71.0%Eisenhower10,027
0.0%
R+41.9
R+37.1
R+31.2
14,130
R
47.6%Truman5,214
52.4%Dewey5,740
0.0%
R+4.8
D+4.8
R+9.3
10,954
R
45.2%Roosevelt5,626
54.8%Dewey6,823
0.0%
R+9.6
R+0.2
R+17.1
12,449
R
45.3%Roosevelt6,223
54.7%Willkie7,516
0.0%
R+9.4
R+43.4
R+19.4
13,739
D
64.8%Roosevelt9,459
30.8%Landon4,494
4.3%
D+34.0
R+27.5
D+9.8
14,587
D
80.3%Roosevelt10,767
18.7%Hoover2,512
0.9%
D+61.6
D+40.4
D+43.8
13,406
D
60.4%Smith7,494
39.2%Hoover4,867
0.3%
D+21.2
D+22.0
D+38.6
12,404
O
32.8%Davis3,466
33.6%Coolidge3,558
33.6%
La Follette +0.0
D+43.0
D+24.3
10,583
R
27.3%Cox2,324
71.2%Harding6,050
1.5%
R+43.8
R+61.4
R+17.7
8,498
D
57.8%Wilson4,040
40.3%Hughes2,815
1.8%
D+17.5
R+12.6
D+14.4
6,984
D
50.4%Wilson3,013
20.2%Taft1,209
29.4%
D+30.2
D+14.9
D+10.6
5,980
D
56.6%Bryan3,754
41.4%Taft2,743
2.0%
D+15.3
D+29.6
D+24.8
6,629
R
38.5%Parker2,279
52.8%Roosevelt3,127
8.7%
R+14.3
R+27.7
D+5.4
5,924
D
56.0%Bryan3,474
42.6%McKinley2,641
1.4%
D+13.4
R+7.4
D+21.0
6,201
D
59.2%Bryan3,519
38.4%McKinley2,282
2.4%
D+20.8
D+26.2
D+26.9
5,941
O
26.3%Cleveland1,254
31.6%Harrison1,509
42.1%
Weaver +10.5
—
R+7.0
4,775
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
30.2%5,762
69.6%13,290
19,093
2020
R
15.6%2,930
78.1%14,707
18,831
2018
R
22.4%3,036
74.6%10,103
13,536
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2026R+45.0
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+56.7
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 12 points more Democratic.
Domestic migration in Columbus, NE in Columbus, NE: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−56
2012
−242
2013
−567
2014
−89
2015
−360
2016
−489
2017
−379
2018
−429
2019
−336
2021
−397
2022
−442
2023
−276
2024
−430
2025
−646
Columbus anchors Platte County, where a growing Latino population tied to meatpacking and food-processing industries has reshaped the demographic mix — yet the metro still swung decisively toward Democrats by 43 points in 2024.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 61.6 points in 1932 and a Republican high of 61.7 points in 1984. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 2.6 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 56.7 points.
A population of 45,357, a 66% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $74,127 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Grand Island, NE and Lexington, NE.
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 →
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All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Columbus, NE, Nebraska. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/18100/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Columbus, NE, Nebraska voted Republican by 56.7 points (R+56.7), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 19,255 votes cast, 4,036 went Democratic and 14,962 went Republican.
When did Columbus, NE, Nebraska last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Columbus, NE, Nebraska voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Columbus, NE, Nebraska?
Columbus, NE, Nebraska has a population of 45,357 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Columbus, NE, Nebraska?
Median household income in Columbus, NE, Nebraska is $74,127 — below the national median of $80,734. The Nebraska state median is $76,475.
What is the political history of Columbus, NE, Nebraska?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Columbus, NE, Nebraska from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 23 went Republican.
