† 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
GroupSpencer, IAIowaUnited States
German42.9%30.5%12.5%
Norwegian11.0%4.1%—
Irish10.1%12.8%9.4%
English7.3%10.2%9.5%
American5.9%4.6%5.3%
Danish4.9%——
Dutch4.4%2.7%—
Swedish4.4%1.9%—
Mexican2.8%5.0%11.3%
Honduran1.6%0.2%0.3%
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
Spencer, IA
Iowa
United States
Median age
42.3
38.8
39.1
Age 18–24
7.1%
10.0%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
22.4%
18.1%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Spencer, IA
Iowa
United States
Median household income
$65,428
$75,059
$84,427
Poverty rate
11.4%
11.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
27.5%
31.8%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Spencer, IA
Iowa
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
3.2%
9.2%
22.3%
Spanish
2.3%
4.7%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Spencer, IA
Iowa
United States
Catholic
13.9%
14.7%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
16.9%
10.9%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
35.6%
55.2%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
30.6%
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.
Spencer, IA
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−36.5%
1896
−33.2%
1900
−48.0%
1904
−60.9%
1908
−41.5%
1912
+1.0%
1916
−13.9%
1920
−62.1%
1924
−54.5%
1928
−31.6%
1932
+19.9%
1936
+25.3%
1940
+8.2%
1944
+8.7%
1948
+8.8%
1952
−46.4%
1956
−26.1%
1960
−20.1%
1964
+21.1%
1968
−19.5%
1972
−21.8%
1976
−9.1%
1980
−14.8%
1984
−8.1%
1988
+6.8%
1992
+4.0%
1996
+6.9%
2000
−9.2%
2004
−15.7%
2008
−5.1%
2012
−18.4%
2016
−41.7%
2020
−38.7%
2024
−43.1%
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
27.7%Harris2,367
70.8%Trump6,047
1.5%
R+43.1
R+4.3
R+41.6
8,541
R
29.7%Biden2,662
68.4%Trump6,137
1.9%
R+38.7
D+2.9
R+43.2
8,969
R
25.8%Clinton2,249
67.5%Trump5,877
6.7%
R+41.7
R+23.3
R+43.8
8,706
R
39.8%Obama3,385
58.2%Romney4,951
2.0%
R+18.4
R+13.3
R+22.3
8,502
R
46.7%Obama3,925
51.9%McCain4,355
1.4%
R+5.1
D+10.6
R+12.4
8,398
R
41.3%Kerry3,547
57.0%Bush4,898
1.7%
R+15.7
R+6.5
R+13.3
8,588
R
43.5%Gore3,294
52.7%Bush3,992
3.9%
R+9.2
R+16.1
R+9.7
7,578
D
47.8%Clinton3,659
40.9%Dole3,129
11.3%
D+6.9
D+2.9
R+1.6
7,655
D
39.9%Clinton3,346
35.9%Bush3,011
24.1%
D+4.0
R+2.8
R+1.6
8,380
D
53.0%Dukakis4,173
46.3%Bush3,641
0.7%
D+6.8
D+14.9
D+14.5
7,870
R
45.4%Mondale3,774
53.5%Reagan4,450
1.1%
R+8.1
D+6.7
D+10.1
8,316
R
36.3%Carter3,179
51.1%Reagan4,479
12.6%
R+14.8
R+5.8
R+5.1
8,764
R
44.4%Carter3,776
53.5%Ford4,548
2.1%
R+9.1
D+12.7
R+11.1
8,500
R
37.5%McGovern2,887
59.3%Nixon4,564
3.2%
R+21.8
R+2.3
D+1.4
7,696
R
37.2%Humphrey2,840
56.7%Nixon4,325
6.1%
R+19.5
R+40.5
R+18.8
7,628
D
59.8%Johnson4,631
38.7%Goldwater2,999
1.5%
D+21.1
D+41.1
R+1.5
7,749
R
39.9%Kennedy3,437
60.0%Nixon5,165
0.0%
R+20.1
D+6.0
R+20.2
8,604
R
36.3%Stevenson2,970
62.4%Eisenhower5,107
1.4%
R+26.1
D+20.3
R+10.7
8,190
R
26.1%Stevenson2,258
72.6%Eisenhower6,271
1.3%
R+46.4
R+55.2
R+35.7
8,641
D
52.4%Truman3,649
43.6%Dewey3,036
4.0%
D+8.8
D+0.1
D+4.3
6,961
D
54.1%Roosevelt3,639
45.4%Dewey3,055
0.4%
D+8.7
D+0.5
D+1.2
6,724
D
53.9%Roosevelt4,328
45.8%Willkie3,673
0.3%
D+8.2
R+17.1
R+1.8
8,025
D
61.8%Roosevelt4,691
36.6%Landon2,774
1.6%
D+25.3
D+5.4
D+1.0
7,586
D
58.3%Roosevelt3,944
38.4%Hoover2,599
3.3%
D+19.9
D+51.5
D+2.1
6,769
R
33.9%Smith2,064
65.5%Hoover3,986
0.6%
R+31.6
D+22.9
R+14.1
6,085
R
6.5%Davis378
60.9%Coolidge3,549
32.6%
R+54.5
D+7.7
R+29.3
5,823
R
17.9%Cox1,001
80.1%Harding4,471
2.0%
R+62.1
R+48.2
R+35.9
5,585
R
41.5%Wilson1,234
55.4%Hughes1,649
3.1%
R+13.9
R+14.9
R+17.1
2,976
O
25.0%Wilson707
24.0%Taft679
50.9%
Roosevelt +25.9
D+42.4
R+18.6
2,824
R
28.2%Bryan778
69.7%Taft1,921
2.1%
R+41.5
D+19.4
R+31.9
2,757
R
17.8%Parker487
78.7%Roosevelt2,154
3.5%
R+60.9
R+12.9
R+41.2
2,737
R
24.8%Bryan781
72.8%McKinley2,292
2.4%
R+48.0
R+14.7
R+40.4
3,150
R
32.7%Bryan933
66.0%McKinley1,880
1.3%
R+33.2
D+3.3
R+27.2
2,849
R
27.7%Cleveland654
64.2%Harrison1,516
8.1%
R+36.5
—
R+38.2
2,361
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
28.1%1,795
71.7%4,578
6,383
2020
R
32.3%2,861
64.5%5,716
8,859
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024R+33.9
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+43.1
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 9.1 points more Democratic.
DemocraticRepublicanUnaffiliatedOther parties
Voter registration in Spencer, IA
Year
Total registered
Democratic
Republican
Unaffiliated
Other
2008
12,628
2,992
4,734
4,900
2
2010
12,483
2,942
4,659
4,875
7
2012
12,695
2,841
4,834
5,015
5
2014
12,182
2,655
4,780
4,735
12
2016
12,286
2,230
6,054
3,967
35
2018
11,799
2,133
5,696
3,914
56
2020
12,061
2,340
5,888
3,748
85
2022
11,876
2,155
5,934
3,687
100
2024
11,762
2,013
6,005
3,631
113
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
−292 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net −824 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Spencer, IA in Spencer, IA: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−36
2012
−39
2013
−142
2014
+50
2015
+2
2016
−196
2017
−184
2018
−71
2019
−133
2021
+133
2022
+87
2023
+25
2024
−28
2025
−292
Spencer, IA sits in the Corn Belt. In 2024 it voted Republican.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 25.3 points in 1936 and a Republican high of 62.1 points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 4.3 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 43.1 points.
A population of 16,461, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $65,428 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Watertown, SD and Spirit Lake, 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 →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Spencer, IA, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/43980/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Spencer, IA, Iowa voted Republican by 43.1 points (R+43.1), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 8,541 votes cast, 2,367 went Democratic and 6,047 went Republican.
When did Spencer, IA, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Spencer, IA, Iowa voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Spencer, IA, Iowa?
Spencer, IA, Iowa has a population of 16,461 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Spencer, IA, Iowa?
Median household income in Spencer, IA, Iowa is $65,428 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Spencer, IA, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Spencer, IA, Iowa from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 24 went Republican.
