Cerro Gordo County, Iowa: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+12%. Republican peak: R+55 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+12MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 42,6322024 5-year
- Median household income
- $68,1892024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+25 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+55 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Des Moines County, IA · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Cerro Gordo CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Cerro Gordo 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 | −26.2% |
| 1896 | −35.9% |
| 1900 | −42.1% |
| 1904 | −54.5% |
| 1908 | −31.5% |
| 1912 | +7.8% |
| 1916 | −21.1% |
| 1920 | −54.7% |
| 1924 | −49.4% |
| 1928 | −32.1% |
| 1932 | +8.8% |
| 1936 | +11.8% |
| 1940 | +5.4% |
| 1944 | +4.5% |
| 1948 | +9.6% |
| 1952 | −22.5% |
| 1956 | −14.1% |
| 1960 | −12.2% |
| 1964 | +25.0% |
| 1968 | −10.4% |
| 1972 | −11.0% |
| 1976 | +2.6% |
| 1980 | −8.0% |
| 1984 | +1.6% |
| 1988 | +15.6% |
| 1992 | +13.0% |
| 1996 | +21.3% |
| 2000 | +12.6% |
| 2004 | +9.8% |
| 2008 | +20.8% |
| 2012 | +13.4% |
| 2016 | −7.6% |
| 2020 | −6.3% |
| 2024 | −11.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 9,955 | 12,627 | 23,020 | ||
| R | 10,941 | 12,442 | 23,801 | ||
| R | 9,862 | 11,621 | 23,137 | ||
| D | 13,316 | 10,128 | 23,824 | ||
| D | 14,405 | 9,375 | 24,140 | ||
| D | 13,372 | 10,960 | 24,516 | ||
| D | 12,185 | 9,397 | 22,162 | ||
| D | 11,943 | 7,427 | 21,227 | ||
| D | 11,415 | 8,250 | 24,293 | ||
| D | 12,857 | 9,358 | 22,365 | ||
| D | 11,570 | 11,214 | 22,950 | ||
| R | 9,363 | 11,189 | 22,828 | ||
| D | 11,189 | 10,604 | 22,196 | ||
| R | 9,460 | 11,856 | 21,693 | ||
| R | 8,554 | 10,661 | 20,310 | ||
| D | 13,156 | 7,884 | 21,071 | ||
| R | 10,044 | 12,830 | 22,889 | ||
| R | 9,362 | 12,449 | 21,841 | ||
| R | 8,354 | 13,207 | 21,608 | ||
| D | 9,544 | 7,840 | 17,682 | ||
| D | 9,088 | 8,311 | 17,459 | ||
| D | 10,839 | 9,728 | 20,612 | ||
| D | 9,694 | 7,599 | 17,794 | ||
| D | 8,752 | 7,317 | 16,218 | ||
| R | 4,908 | 9,582 | 14,567 | ||
| R | 1,345 | 8,410 | 14,291 | ||
| R | 2,302 | 8,293 | 10,951 | ||
| R | 2,289 | 3,556 | 5,999 | ||
| O | 1,742 | 1,334 | 5,202 | ||
| R | 1,520 | 2,990 | 4,668 | ||
| R | 836 | 3,108 | 4,169 | ||
| R | 1,320 | 3,345 | 4,811 | ||
| R | 1,408 | 3,048 | 4,568 | ||
| R | 1,209 | 2,133 | 3,525 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
34.6%
Irish
10.6%
English
7.6%
American
4.7%
French
2.0%
Italian
1.1%
Polish
1.1%
African American
1.8%
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: 44.0 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
$68,189
Cerro Gordo County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Cerro Gordo County$68,189
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Cerro Gordo 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
10.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.7%
Working age (18–64)9.7%
Seniors (65+)9.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.3%
speak English only
Spanish2.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.9%
Other Indo-European0.7%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 42.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Cerro Gordo, anchored by Mason City, was a Democratic-leaning industrial county as recently as the 2000s but posted an R+11.6 margin in 2024, reflecting a broader working-class realignment across Iowa's small manufacturing cities.
The Democratic margin here peaked at twenty-five points in 1964. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twelve points.
A population of 42,632, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $68,189 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Des Moines County and Mower 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.
Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19033/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Cerro Gordo County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa voted Republican by 11.6 points (R+12), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 23,020 votes cast, 9,955 went Democratic and 12,627 went Republican.
What is Cerro Gordo County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Cerro Gordo County, Iowa 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 15 times, Republican 18 times, and other 1 times.
When did Cerro Gordo County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Cerro Gordo County, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa?
Cerro Gordo County, Iowa has a population of 42,632 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa?
Median household income in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa is $68,189 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.