Buena Vista County, Iowa: New American county. In 2024, voted R+33%. Republican peak: R+59 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+33MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- New AmericanAkashic typology
- Population
- 20,7532024 5-year
- Median household income
- $71,7192024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 60.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 29.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+22 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+59 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Marion County, IA · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Buena Vista CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Buena Vista 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 | −24.5% |
| 1896 | −36.6% |
| 1900 | −45.9% |
| 1904 | −57.6% |
| 1908 | −36.2% |
| 1912 | +4.6% |
| 1916 | −16.6% |
| 1920 | −59.4% |
| 1924 | −43.0% |
| 1928 | −31.9% |
| 1932 | +20.4% |
| 1936 | +22.2% |
| 1940 | +2.2% |
| 1944 | +3.4% |
| 1948 | +4.5% |
| 1952 | −39.6% |
| 1956 | −22.6% |
| 1960 | −27.2% |
| 1964 | +16.6% |
| 1968 | −28.2% |
| 1972 | −24.0% |
| 1976 | −9.4% |
| 1980 | −18.6% |
| 1984 | −11.5% |
| 1988 | +4.6% |
| 1992 | −5.3% |
| 1996 | −2.7% |
| 2000 | −13.3% |
| 2004 | −16.1% |
| 2008 | −1.8% |
| 2012 | −10.2% |
| 2016 | −24.4% |
| 2020 | −25.7% |
| 2024 | −33.2% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,462 | 4,962 | 7,537 | ||
| R | 2,961 | 5,056 | 8,167 | ||
| R | 2,856 | 4,903 | 8,381 | ||
| R | 3,700 | 4,554 | 8,383 | ||
| R | 4,075 | 4,223 | 8,418 | ||
| R | 3,520 | 4,887 | 8,490 | ||
| R | 3,297 | 4,354 | 7,977 | ||
| R | 3,420 | 3,636 | 7,965 | ||
| R | 3,374 | 3,863 | 9,257 | ||
| D | 4,580 | 4,170 | 8,825 | ||
| R | 4,109 | 5,193 | 9,405 | ||
| R | 3,468 | 5,272 | 9,676 | ||
| R | 4,227 | 5,126 | 9,567 | ||
| R | 3,460 | 5,685 | 9,281 | ||
| R | 3,051 | 5,599 | 9,050 | ||
| D | 5,245 | 3,747 | 8,997 | ||
| R | 3,637 | 6,351 | 9,996 | ||
| R | 4,083 | 6,470 | 10,563 | ||
| R | 3,254 | 7,539 | 10,813 | ||
| D | 4,340 | 3,959 | 8,493 | ||
| D | 4,277 | 3,993 | 8,309 | ||
| D | 4,784 | 4,576 | 9,399 | ||
| D | 5,287 | 3,334 | 8,785 | ||
| D | 4,835 | 3,162 | 8,210 | ||
| R | 2,609 | 5,087 | 7,770 | ||
| R | 683 | 3,812 | 7,277 | ||
| R | 1,204 | 4,927 | 6,270 | ||
| R | 1,454 | 2,045 | 3,564 | ||
| O | 921 | 755 | 3,635 | ||
| R | 1,054 | 2,337 | 3,544 | ||
| R | 605 | 2,483 | 3,260 | ||
| R | 936 | 2,632 | 3,694 | ||
| R | 1,178 | 2,568 | 3,797 | ||
| R | 982 | 1,712 | 2,982 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
23.7%
Irish
6.2%
English
5.0%
American
2.2%
Italian
1.0%
French
0.7%
Scottish
0.7%
African American
2.6%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
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: 35.6 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
$71,719
Buena Vista County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Buena Vista County$71,719
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Buena Vista County ranks near the middle 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
7.8%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 189.4%
Working age (18–64)7.3%
Seniors (65+)5.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
63.5%
speak English only
Spanish24.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander9.6%
Other languages2.1%
Other Indo-European0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Buena Vista County's population of roughly 20,000 includes a sizable Latino community centered in Storm Lake, creating a demographic mix that has made its shifting margins a closely watched indicator of rural realignment.
Buena Vista County has leaned Republican in recent presidential elections, reaching a Democratic margin of twenty-two points in 1936. Between 2020 and 2024 it moved eight points toward the Republican candidate — part of the sharpest rightward shift recorded among any group of places in the country.
Its demographics describe the shift: a 60% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $71,719, and a population of 20,753. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Marion County and Harrison 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.
Buena Vista County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19021/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Buena Vista County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Buena Vista County, Iowa voted Republican by 33.2 points (R+33), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 7,537 votes cast, 2,462 went Democratic and 4,962 went Republican.
What is Buena Vista County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Buena Vista County, Iowa in the "New American" typology — Communities where a large share of households speak a language other than English — multilingual, Democratic-leaning overall, yet the hardest-swinging bloc toward the Republican Party in 2024. 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 7 times, Republican 26 times, and other 1 times.
When did Buena Vista County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Buena Vista County, Iowa voted Democratic was 1988.
How many people live in Buena Vista County, Iowa?
Buena Vista County, Iowa has a population of 20,753 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Buena Vista County, Iowa?
Median household income in Buena Vista County, Iowa is $71,719 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Buena Vista County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Buena Vista County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The county's typology — "New American" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.