† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
20042024
Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · 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
GroupWaterlooIowaUnited States
German26.1%30.5%12.5%
Irish9.8%12.8%9.4%
English7.3%10.2%9.5%
American4.1%4.6%5.3%
Norwegian3.6%4.1%—
Dutch1.7%2.7%—
Italian1.4%1.6%4.8%
French1.4%—1.6%
African American†14.4%2.6%9.9%
African0.9%0.3%0.5%
Haitian0.5%—0.3%
Liberian0.4%——
Mexican5.0%5.0%11.3%
Guatemalan1.3%0.4%0.5%
Puerto Rican0.6%0.3%1.8%
Cuban0.3%—0.7%
Burmese1.1%0.3%—
Asian Indian0.5%0.5%1.4%
Vietnamese0.4%0.3%0.6%
Korean0.4%0.2%0.4%
Chinese0.2%0.3%1.3%
Filipino0.2%0.2%0.9%
Marshallese1.9%——
Aztec0.9%——
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
Waterloo
Iowa
United States
Median age
36.7
38.8
39.1
Age 18–24
9.1%
10.0%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
17.0%
18.1%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Waterloo
Iowa
United States
Median household income
$57,480
$75,059
$84,427
Poverty rate
16.6%
11.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
21.8%
31.8%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Waterloo
Iowa
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
14.0%
9.2%
22.3%
Spanish
5.4%
4.7%
13.6%
French (incl. Cajun & Haitian)
1.5%
0.3%
0.7%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic
2.7%
0.4%
0.7%
Other Asian & Pacific Island
2.7%
1.0%
1.1%
Religious landscape
Measure
Waterloo
Iowa
United States
Catholic
—
14.7%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
—
10.9%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
—
55.2%
51.5%
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.
Waterloo, Iowa
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2004–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
2004
+22.1%
2008
+32.5%
2012
+33.4%
2016
+18.7%
2020
+20.0%
2024
+10.7%
DemocraticRepublican
6 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. Third-party votes in 2012 are allocated from certified county totals by this place's share of each county's two-party vote — that cycle's precinct source records two-party splits. † 2004 sub-county results are estimated: the source's block-level detail for this cycle was unreliable — either county/municipality-level consolidated reporting (COVID-era) or a precinct-to-block allocation that misplaced votes — so the figures are allocated from the constituent county totals in proportion to the place and scaled to certified totals.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
54.5%Harris14,804
43.9%Trump11,904
1.6%
D+10.7
R+9.3
D+12.2
27,146
D
59.0%Biden17,823
39.0%Trump11,788
2.0%
D+20.0
D+1.3
D+15.5
30,200
D
56.0%Clinton16,407
37.3%Trump10,932
6.7%
D+18.7
R+14.7
D+16.6
29,307
D
65.9%Obama21,501
32.5%Romney10,614
1.6%
D+33.4
D+0.8
D+29.5
32,643
D
65.5%Obama20,916
33.0%McCain10,532
1.5%
D+32.5
D+10.4
D+25.2
31,934
D
60.4%Kerry18,876
38.3%Bush11,972
1.3%
D+22.1
—
D+24.6
31,246
Waterloo's economy traces to meatpacking and manufacturing, leaving a unionized working-class electorate that has made it one of Iowa's more competitive mid-size cities despite the state's broader rightward drift.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 33.4 points in 2012. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 9.3 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 10.7 points.
A population of 67,008, a 67% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $57,480 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Davenport and Canton.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities 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.
In 2024, Waterloo, Iowa voted Democratic by 10.7 points (D+10.7), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 27,146 votes cast, 14,804 went Democratic and 11,904 went Republican.
How many people live in Waterloo, Iowa?
Waterloo, Iowa has a population of 67,008 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Waterloo, Iowa?
Median household income in Waterloo, Iowa is $57,480 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Waterloo, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Waterloo, Iowa from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 0 went Republican.
