Cherokee County, Iowa: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+46%. Republican peak: R+57 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+46MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 11,6002024 5-year
- Median household income
- $71,2692024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.7%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Sac County, IA · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Cherokee CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Cherokee 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 | −19.3% |
| 1896 | −22.5% |
| 1900 | −30.6% |
| 1904 | −53.6% |
| 1908 | −34.9% |
| 1912 | +17.8% |
| 1916 | +2.1% |
| 1920 | −57.0% |
| 1924 | −37.7% |
| 1928 | −18.2% |
| 1932 | +28.9% |
| 1936 | +23.1% |
| 1940 | −7.2% |
| 1944 | −7.6% |
| 1948 | +5.9% |
| 1952 | −41.2% |
| 1956 | −19.4% |
| 1960 | −18.3% |
| 1964 | +15.4% |
| 1968 | −23.1% |
| 1972 | −25.6% |
| 1976 | −8.5% |
| 1980 | −18.2% |
| 1984 | −9.3% |
| 1988 | +5.2% |
| 1992 | −2.6% |
| 1996 | +3.5% |
| 2000 | −9.4% |
| 2004 | −11.3% |
| 2008 | −7.6% |
| 2012 | −16.0% |
| 2016 | −39.8% |
| 2020 | −39.3% |
| 2024 | −45.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,611 | 4,398 | 6,105 | ||
| R | 1,936 | 4,495 | 6,518 | ||
| R | 1,679 | 4,192 | 6,315 | ||
| R | 2,634 | 3,662 | 6,415 | ||
| R | 2,890 | 3,372 | 6,365 | ||
| R | 2,988 | 3,758 | 6,796 | ||
| R | 2,845 | 3,463 | 6,592 | ||
| D | 2,853 | 2,629 | 6,370 | ||
| R | 2,590 | 2,768 | 6,893 | ||
| D | 3,574 | 3,218 | 6,855 | ||
| R | 3,349 | 4,046 | 7,470 | ||
| R | 2,719 | 4,087 | 7,500 | ||
| R | 3,358 | 3,993 | 7,478 | ||
| R | 2,780 | 4,726 | 7,594 | ||
| R | 2,705 | 4,436 | 7,496 | ||
| D | 4,336 | 3,180 | 7,525 | ||
| R | 3,309 | 4,791 | 8,106 | ||
| R | 3,254 | 4,821 | 8,079 | ||
| R | 2,502 | 6,018 | 8,541 | ||
| D | 3,739 | 3,318 | 7,144 | ||
| R | 3,197 | 3,723 | 6,949 | ||
| R | 3,855 | 4,458 | 8,332 | ||
| D | 4,716 | 2,902 | 7,845 | ||
| D | 4,701 | 2,570 | 7,382 | ||
| R | 2,701 | 3,909 | 6,635 | ||
| R | 904 | 3,240 | 6,196 | ||
| R | 1,211 | 4,544 | 5,849 | ||
| D | 1,646 | 1,578 | 3,270 | ||
| O | 930 | 381 | 3,092 | ||
| R | 1,084 | 2,300 | 3,481 | ||
| R | 688 | 2,446 | 3,279 | ||
| R | 1,253 | 2,432 | 3,854 | ||
| R | 1,464 | 2,343 | 3,900 | ||
| R | 1,157 | 1,755 | 3,104 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
43.1%
Irish
10.8%
English
9.4%
American
3.7%
Scottish
1.6%
French
1.3%
Italian
1.2%
African American
1.4%
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: 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
$71,269
Cherokee County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Cherokee County$71,269
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Cherokee 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
12.1%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.6%
Working age (18–64)9.9%
Seniors (65+)16.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.9%
speak English only
Spanish5.1%
Other Indo-European0.5%
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 40.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Cherokee County's R+45.6 presidential margin in 2024 reflects the broad rural realignment that has reshaped northwest Iowa over the past decade, leaving Democrats with minimal competitive footing across nearly every precinct.
The Democratic margin here peaked at twenty-nine points in 1932. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-six points.
A population of 11,600, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $71,269 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Sac County and Hancock 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.
Cherokee County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19035/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Cherokee County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Cherokee County, Iowa voted Republican by 45.7 points (R+46), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 6,105 votes cast, 1,611 went Democratic and 4,398 went Republican.
What is Cherokee County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Cherokee 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 7 times, Republican 26 times, and other 1 times.
When did Cherokee County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Cherokee County, Iowa voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Cherokee County, Iowa?
Cherokee County, Iowa has a population of 11,600 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Cherokee County, Iowa?
Median household income in Cherokee County, Iowa is $71,269 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Cherokee County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Cherokee County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.