† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
1 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
GroupFort Dodge, IAIowaUnited States
German27.2%30.5%12.5%
Irish11.5%12.8%9.4%
English9.7%10.2%9.5%
Norwegian7.4%4.1%—
Swedish4.6%1.9%—
American3.9%4.6%5.3%
Italian2.6%1.6%4.8%
Scottish1.5%—1.3%
Mexican3.5%5.0%11.3%
Guatemalan0.4%0.4%0.5%
Spanish0.4%——
Puerto Rican0.3%0.3%1.8%
African American†2.7%2.6%9.9%
African0.3%0.3%0.5%
Korean0.5%0.2%0.4%
Chinese0.4%0.3%1.3%
Filipino0.2%0.2%0.9%
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
Fort Dodge, IA
Iowa
United States
Median age
39.7
38.8
39.1
Age 18–24
11.4%
10.0%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
19.7%
18.1%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Fort Dodge, IA
Iowa
United States
Median household income
$68,975
$75,059
$84,427
Poverty rate
12.9%
11.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
22.0%
31.8%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Fort Dodge, IA
Iowa
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
4.9%
9.2%
22.3%
Spanish
3.0%
4.7%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Fort Dodge, IA
Iowa
United States
Catholic
16.6%
14.7%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
11.9%
10.9%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
50.3%
55.2%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
19.4%
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.
Fort Dodge, IA
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−7.7%
1896
−17.8%
1900
−29.3%
1904
−40.6%
1908
−19.8%
1912
+3.5%
1916
−9.8%
1920
−42.4%
1924
−31.6%
1928
−13.4%
1932
+24.6%
1936
+19.7%
1940
+17.1%
1944
+15.4%
1948
+15.0%
1952
−17.1%
1956
−5.7%
1960
−0.3%
1964
+32.7%
1968
−4.1%
1972
−13.9%
1976
+7.4%
1980
−6.8%
1984
+1.6%
1988
+19.2%
1992
+8.3%
1996
+12.9%
2000
+1.8%
2004
+3.2%
2008
+8.5%
2012
+5.8%
2016
−21.3%
2020
−24.3%
2024
−31.1%
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
33.7%Harris5,641
64.8%Trump10,850
1.5%
R+31.1
R+6.8
R+29.6
16,748
R
37.1%Biden6,613
61.4%Trump10,938
1.5%
R+24.3
R+2.9
R+28.7
17,822
R
35.8%Clinton6,305
57.2%Trump10,056
7.0%
R+21.3
R+27.2
R+23.4
17,593
D
52.1%Obama9,537
46.3%Romney8,469
1.6%
D+5.8
R+2.7
D+2.0
18,292
D
53.4%Obama9,917
44.9%McCain8,337
1.6%
D+8.5
D+5.3
D+1.2
18,554
D
51.3%Kerry9,561
48.1%Bush8,959
0.6%
D+3.2
D+1.4
D+5.7
18,631
D
49.7%Gore8,479
47.9%Bush8,172
2.3%
D+1.8
R+11.1
D+1.3
17,048
D
51.3%Clinton8,380
38.4%Dole6,275
10.2%
D+12.9
D+4.6
D+4.4
16,328
D
45.3%Clinton8,562
37.0%Bush6,992
17.8%
D+8.3
R+10.9
D+2.7
18,921
D
59.0%Dukakis10,267
39.8%Bush6,926
1.1%
D+19.2
D+17.6
D+26.9
17,393
D
50.1%Mondale9,930
48.6%Reagan9,619
1.3%
D+1.6
D+8.4
D+19.8
19,802
R
42.8%Carter9,001
49.6%Reagan10,438
7.6%
R+6.8
R+14.2
D+2.9
21,030
D
52.7%Carter10,543
45.4%Ford9,068
1.9%
D+7.4
D+21.3
D+5.3
19,995
R
42.0%McGovern8,358
56.0%Nixon11,133
2.0%
R+13.9
R+9.9
D+9.2
19,893
R
44.9%Humphrey8,572
49.0%Nixon9,349
6.2%
R+4.1
R+36.8
R+3.4
19,097
D
66.2%Johnson13,005
33.5%Goldwater6,576
0.3%
D+32.7
D+33.0
D+10.2
19,635
R
49.8%Kennedy10,680
50.1%Nixon10,741
0.1%
R+0.3
D+5.4
R+0.4
21,435
R
47.0%Stevenson9,901
52.7%Eisenhower11,097
0.2%
R+5.7
D+11.4
D+9.7
21,049
R
40.6%Stevenson8,681
57.7%Eisenhower12,336
1.7%
R+17.1
R+32.1
R+6.3
21,385
D
55.7%Truman9,508
40.7%Dewey6,951
3.6%
D+15.0
R+0.5
D+10.5
17,066
D
57.5%Roosevelt9,477
42.1%Dewey6,935
0.3%
D+15.4
R+1.7
D+7.9
16,468
D
58.4%Roosevelt10,731
41.3%Willkie7,583
0.3%
D+17.1
R+2.6
D+7.2
18,366
D
57.6%Roosevelt9,885
37.8%Landon6,494
4.6%
D+19.7
R+4.8
R+4.5
17,174
D
59.3%Roosevelt8,957
34.7%Hoover5,243
6.1%
D+24.6
D+38.0
D+6.8
15,117
R
43.0%Smith6,497
56.4%Hoover8,525
0.6%
R+13.4
D+18.2
D+4.1
15,119
R
14.4%Davis2,076
46.0%Coolidge6,641
39.6%
R+31.6
D+10.8
R+6.4
14,438
R
21.6%Cox2,804
64.0%Harding8,312
14.4%
R+42.4
R+32.6
R+16.2
12,988
R
43.7%Wilson3,196
53.5%Hughes3,917
2.8%
R+9.8
R+13.3
R+13.0
7,321
O
33.3%Wilson2,370
29.8%Taft2,123
37.0%
Roosevelt +3.7
D+23.3
R+16.1
7,127
R
36.7%Bryan2,374
56.5%Taft3,658
6.8%
R+19.8
D+20.7
R+10.3
6,472
R
26.3%Parker1,714
66.9%Roosevelt4,358
6.8%
R+40.6
R+11.2
R+20.9
6,517
R
34.0%Bryan2,266
63.3%McKinley4,221
2.7%
R+29.3
R+11.5
R+21.8
6,667
R
40.2%Bryan2,557
58.1%McKinley3,691
1.7%
R+17.8
R+10.1
R+11.8
6,355
R
42.4%Cleveland2,159
50.1%Harrison2,551
7.4%
R+7.7
—
R+9.4
5,088
Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
R
35.5%4,244
64.4%7,704
11,965
2020
R
38.9%6,845
57.9%10,195
17,616
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024R+13.3
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+31.1
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 18 points more Democratic.
DemocraticRepublicanUnaffiliatedOther parties
Voter registration in Fort Dodge, IA
Year
Total registered
Democratic
Republican
Unaffiliated
Other
2008
26,139
10,256
6,768
9,107
8
2010
26,534
9,994
7,405
9,118
17
2012
26,014
9,407
7,228
9,355
24
2014
25,821
9,197
6,975
9,601
48
2016
25,943
8,779
7,349
9,710
105
2018
25,714
8,128
7,445
9,963
178
2020
25,964
8,278
8,350
9,130
206
2022
25,309
7,381
8,664
9,051
213
2024
24,851
6,359
9,652
8,598
242
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
−10 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net −2,814 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Fort Dodge, IA in Fort Dodge, IA: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−170
2012
−424
2013
−15
2014
−302
2015
−66
2016
−351
2017
−179
2018
−360
2019
−467
2021
+284
2022
−534
2023
−218
2024
−2
2025
−10
Fort Dodge anchors a mid-size metro where meatpacking, gypsum mining, and healthcare employment create a blue-collar electorate that has swung both parties' way in recent presidential cycles by margins worth tracking.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 32.7 points in 1964 and a Republican high of 42.4 points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 6.8 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 31.1 points.
A population of 36,886, a 84% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $68,975 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Fort Madison, IA and Clinton, IA.
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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Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/22700/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa voted Republican by 31.1 points (R+31.1), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 16,748 votes cast, 5,641 went Democratic and 10,850 went Republican.
When did Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa?
Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa has a population of 36,886 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa?
Median household income in Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa is $68,975 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 18 went Republican.
