Kootenai County, Idaho: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+52%. Democratic peak: D+62 in 1896.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+52MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 181,9962024 5-year
- Median household income
- $81,8612024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 87.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+62 in 1896MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+52 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Washington County, KY · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Kootenai CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Kootenai County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −47.9% |
| 1896 | +61.7% |
| 1900 | +11.7% |
| 1904 | −48.4% |
| 1908 | −27.5% |
| 1912 | +11.3% |
| 1916 | +1.8% |
| 1920 | −31.9% |
| 1924 | −34.1% |
| 1928 | −41.5% |
| 1932 | +23.4% |
| 1936 | +35.2% |
| 1940 | +15.9% |
| 1944 | +13.7% |
| 1948 | +9.9% |
| 1952 | −14.5% |
| 1956 | −8.8% |
| 1960 | +7.2% |
| 1964 | +14.8% |
| 1968 | −6.0% |
| 1972 | −29.5% |
| 1976 | −18.0% |
| 1980 | −35.3% |
| 1984 | −31.2% |
| 1988 | −12.8% |
| 1992 | −4.2% |
| 1996 | −13.0% |
| 2000 | −33.5% |
| 2004 | −34.0% |
| 2008 | −26.3% |
| 2012 | −34.3% |
| 2016 | −42.5% |
| 2020 | −43.1% |
| 2024 | −51.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 22,113 | 72,059 | 96,340 | ||
| R | 24,312 | 62,837 | 89,467 | ||
| R | 16,264 | 44,449 | 66,286 | ||
| R | 18,851 | 39,381 | 59,828 | ||
| R | 22,120 | 38,387 | 61,932 | ||
| R | 17,584 | 36,173 | 54,603 | ||
| R | 13,488 | 28,162 | 43,812 | ||
| R | 13,627 | 18,740 | 39,186 | ||
| R | 11,553 | 13,065 | 36,328 | ||
| R | 11,621 | 15,093 | 27,130 | ||
| R | 9,004 | 17,330 | 26,689 | ||
| R | 7,521 | 17,022 | 26,912 | ||
| R | 7,225 | 10,493 | 18,159 | ||
| R | 5,162 | 9,958 | 16,238 | ||
| R | 6,207 | 7,092 | 14,771 | ||
| D | 8,215 | 6,096 | 14,311 | ||
| D | 7,744 | 6,704 | 14,448 | ||
| R | 6,149 | 7,330 | 13,479 | ||
| R | 5,414 | 7,272 | 12,774 | ||
| D | 5,284 | 4,265 | 10,262 | ||
| D | 5,792 | 4,388 | 10,222 | ||
| D | 5,997 | 4,333 | 10,462 | ||
| D | 5,752 | 2,586 | 8,999 | ||
| D | 4,743 | 2,813 | 8,262 | ||
| R | 2,020 | 4,973 | 7,114 | ||
| R | 790 | 3,289 | 7,335 | ||
| R | 1,818 | 3,518 | 5,336 | ||
| D | 2,855 | 2,741 | 6,422 | ||
| O | 2,506 | 1,690 | 7,200 | ||
| R | 2,206 | 4,407 | 8,010 | ||
| R | 1,178 | 4,165 | 6,166 | ||
| D | 1,871 | 1,472 | 3,417 | ||
| D | 1,432 | 334 | 1,779 | ||
| O | 0 | 713 | 1,487 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
21.6%
English
16.5%
Irish
12.0%
Italian
4.5%
American
4.0%
Scottish
3.5%
French
2.1%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 40.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$81,861
Kootenai County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Kootenai County$81,861
Idaho$77,800
United States$80,734
Kootenai County ranks in the top 25% of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.0%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.0%
Working age (18–64)8.3%
Seniors (65+)9.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.8%
speak English only
Spanish1.8%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 36.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Anchored by Coeur d'Alene on the shores of its namesake lake, Kootenai has drawn steady in-migration from the Pacific Northwest, yet its presidential margins have widened each cycle, reaching R+51.8 in 2024.
The Democratic margin here peaked at sixty-two points in 1896. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved nine points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-two points.
A population of 181,996, a 87% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $81,861 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Washington County and Stillwater County.
Most similar counties
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.
Kootenai County, Idaho. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/16055/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Kootenai County, Idaho vote in 2024?
In 2024, Kootenai County, Idaho voted Republican by 51.8 points (R+52), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 96,340 votes cast, 22,113 went Democratic and 72,059 went Republican.
What is Kootenai County, Idaho's political typology?
Akashic places Kootenai County, Idaho in the "Heartland Swing" typology — Industrial Midwest swing counties drifting steadily toward the Republican Party. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 10 times, Republican 22 times, and other 2 times.
When did Kootenai County, Idaho last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Kootenai County, Idaho voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Kootenai County, Idaho?
Kootenai County, Idaho has a population of 181,996 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Kootenai County, Idaho?
Median household income in Kootenai County, Idaho is $81,861 — above the national median of $80,734. The Idaho state median is $77,800.
What is the political history of Kootenai County, Idaho?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Kootenai County, Idaho from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 10 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.