† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
4 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
GroupTraverse City, MIMichiganUnited States
German24.6%17.7%12.5%
English17.2%10.5%9.5%
Irish13.8%9.9%9.4%
Polish8.5%7.2%2.2%
French4.5%3.0%1.6%
American3.8%4.2%5.3%
Scottish3.3%—1.3%
Italian3.3%4.2%4.8%
Mexican2.2%4.0%11.3%
Spaniard0.3%——
Puerto Rican0.2%0.5%1.8%
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
Traverse City, MI
Michigan
United States
Median age
46.3
40.3
39.1
Age 18–24
6.9%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
24.3%
18.5%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Traverse City, MI
Michigan
United States
Median household income
$81,911
$72,875
$84,427
Poverty rate
9.5%
13.2%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
39.3%
32.6%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Traverse City, MI
Michigan
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
2.7%
10.4%
22.3%
Spanish
1.4%
3.1%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Traverse City, MI
Michigan
United States
Catholic
9.0%
14.8%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
11.2%
12.1%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
72.2%
60.3%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
5.9%
4.7%
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.
Traverse City, MI
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−22.0%
1896
−25.1%
1900
−41.9%
1904
−63.9%
1908
−38.6%
1912
−7.1%
1916
−7.8%
1920
−56.1%
1924
−63.4%
1928
−50.4%
1932
+3.0%
1936
+0.2%
1940
−27.9%
1944
−34.8%
1948
−37.5%
1952
−51.5%
1956
−44.2%
1960
−27.1%
1964
+9.4%
1968
−27.6%
1972
−32.5%
1976
−25.6%
1980
−27.3%
1984
−39.4%
1988
−23.3%
1992
−4.5%
1996
−7.2%
2000
−18.2%
2004
−17.5%
2008
−1.2%
2012
−10.6%
2016
−14.2%
2020
−6.5%
2024
−5.5%
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
46.5%Harris48,731
52.0%Trump54,502
0.5%Oliver549 +7
R+5.5
D+1.0
R+4.0
104,832
All 10 candidates in 2024 · 8 minor / independent
Donald J TrumpRepublican52.0%54,502
Kamala D HarrisDemocratic46.5%48,731
Chase OliverLibertarian0.5%549
Robert F KennedyIndependent0.5%515
Jill SteinIndependent0.3%323
Randall TerryIndependent0.1%98
Cornel WestIndependent0.1%56
Joseph KishoreIndependent0.0%40
Peter SonskiIndependent0.0%16
Claudia De La CruzIndependent0.0%2
R
45.9%Biden45,960
52.4%Trump52,455
1.6%
R+6.5
D+7.7
R+10.9
100,029
R
39.7%Clinton34,127
53.9%Trump46,307
6.4%
R+14.2
R+3.5
R+16.3
85,938
R
43.9%Obama35,408
54.6%Romney43,993
1.5%
R+10.6
R+9.4
R+14.5
80,616
R
48.6%Obama39,844
49.8%McCain40,868
1.6%
R+1.2
D+16.2
R+8.5
82,005
R
40.7%Kerry31,876
58.2%Bush45,547
1.1%
R+17.5
D+0.8
R+15.0
78,266
R
38.9%Gore25,326
57.1%Bush37,212
4.0%
R+18.2
R+11.0
R+18.8
65,159
R
40.3%Clinton22,753
47.5%Dole26,821
12.2%
R+7.2
R+2.7
R+15.7
56,446
R
33.8%Clinton19,605
38.4%Bush22,233
27.8%
R+4.5
D+18.8
R+10.1
57,926
R
37.9%Dukakis17,958
61.2%Bush29,015
0.9%
R+23.3
D+16.0
R+15.6
47,380
R
30.0%Mondale13,230
69.4%Reagan30,605
0.7%
R+39.4
R+12.1
R+21.2
44,126
R
30.5%Carter13,147
57.8%Reagan24,925
11.7%
R+27.3
R+1.7
R+17.6
43,105
R
36.3%Carter13,548
62.0%Ford23,110
1.7%
R+25.6
D+6.9
R+27.7
37,282
R
32.6%McGovern9,899
65.2%Nixon19,771
2.2%
R+32.5
R+5.0
R+9.4
30,343
R
32.9%Humphrey8,203
60.4%Nixon15,086
6.7%
R+27.6
R+36.9
R+26.9
24,969
D
54.6%Johnson13,047
45.2%Goldwater10,807
0.2%
D+9.4
D+36.5
R+13.2
23,890
R
36.4%Kennedy8,695
63.4%Nixon15,173
0.2%
R+27.1
D+17.2
R+27.2
23,920
R
27.7%Stevenson6,225
72.0%Eisenhower16,152
0.3%
R+44.2
D+7.3
R+28.8
22,435
R
24.0%Stevenson5,101
75.5%Eisenhower16,038
0.5%
R+51.5
R+14.0
R+40.7
21,236
R
30.1%Truman4,564
67.6%Dewey10,251
2.4%
R+37.5
R+2.7
R+42.0
15,175
R
32.2%Roosevelt5,044
67.0%Dewey10,494
0.7%
R+34.8
R+6.9
R+42.3
15,652
R
35.8%Roosevelt6,465
63.8%Willkie11,500
0.4%
R+27.9
R+28.2
R+37.9
18,034
D
47.3%Roosevelt8,007
47.1%Landon7,965
5.6%
D+0.2
R+2.8
R+24.0
16,913
D
49.9%Roosevelt7,734
46.9%Hoover7,269
3.2%
D+3.0
D+53.4
R+14.8
15,505
R
24.5%Smith2,873
74.9%Hoover8,787
0.7%
R+50.4
D+13.1
R+32.9
11,739
R
10.8%Davis1,262
74.2%Coolidge8,691
15.0%
R+63.4
R+7.3
R+38.3
11,710
R
19.3%Cox2,210
75.5%Harding8,622
5.2%
R+56.1
R+48.3
R+29.9
11,426
R
41.5%Wilson3,811
49.3%Hughes4,525
9.2%
R+7.8
R+0.7
R+10.9
9,178
O
21.3%Wilson1,900
28.4%Taft2,536
50.3%
Roosevelt +21.8
D+31.4
R+26.7
8,921
R
27.3%Bryan2,762
65.9%Taft6,659
6.8%
R+38.6
D+25.3
R+29.0
10,108
R
15.1%Parker1,489
79.0%Roosevelt7,783
5.9%
R+63.9
R+22.0
R+44.2
9,851
R
27.2%Bryan2,907
69.1%McKinley7,379
3.7%
R+41.9
R+16.8
R+34.3
10,679
R
35.6%Bryan3,660
60.7%McKinley6,241
3.8%
R+25.1
R+3.1
R+19.0
10,288
R
32.3%Cleveland2,380
54.3%Harrison3,996
13.4%
R+22.0
—
R+23.6
7,359
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
45.8%47,460
51.6%53,466
103,631
2020
R
44.2%43,909
54.5%54,192
99,357
2018
R
45.9%37,194
52.0%42,098
81,021
voter registration
Registered voters
Total registered voters, over time
Registered voters
Voter registration in Traverse City, MI
Year
Total registered
2016
123,754
2018
125,273
2020
135,061
2022
137,491
2024
140,739
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+987 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net +13,011 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Traverse City, MI in Traverse City, MI: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+976
2012
+602
2013
+1,199
2014
+1,013
2015
+566
2016
+505
2017
+408
2018
+1,270
2019
+903
2021
+1,702
2022
+1,367
2023
+878
2024
+635
2025
+987
Traverse City anchors a Grand Traverse County metro that has shifted from reliably Republican to a closely contested swing zone, driven by an influx of remote workers and college-educated migrants drawn to its recreation economy.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 9.4 points in 1964 and a Republican high of 63.9 points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 1.0 points toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was 5.5 points.
A population of 155,449, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $81,911 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Petoskey, MI and Midland, MI.
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.
Traverse City, MI, Michigan. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/45900/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Traverse City, MI, Michigan voted Republican by 5.5 points (R+5.5), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 104,832 votes cast, 48,731 went Democratic and 54,502 went Republican.
When did Traverse City, MI, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Traverse City, MI, Michigan voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Traverse City, MI, Michigan?
Traverse City, MI, Michigan has a population of 155,449 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Traverse City, MI, Michigan?
Median household income in Traverse City, MI, Michigan is $81,911 — above the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Traverse City, MI, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Traverse City, MI, Michigan from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 30 went Republican.
