Clayton County, Iowa: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+34%. Republican peak: R+57 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+34MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 17,0132024 5-year
- Median household income
- $67,2422024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.7%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+33 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Mitchell County, IA · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Clayton CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Clayton County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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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 | +15.2% |
| 1896 | −6.2% |
| 1900 | −7.6% |
| 1904 | −11.6% |
| 1908 | +4.3% |
| 1912 | +28.7% |
| 1916 | −16.6% |
| 1920 | −56.7% |
| 1924 | −26.0% |
| 1928 | −23.0% |
| 1932 | +32.5% |
| 1936 | +14.0% |
| 1940 | −19.9% |
| 1944 | −15.7% |
| 1948 | −2.9% |
| 1952 | −34.5% |
| 1956 | −19.6% |
| 1960 | −16.5% |
| 1964 | +17.8% |
| 1968 | −22.1% |
| 1972 | −23.0% |
| 1976 | −11.6% |
| 1980 | −19.7% |
| 1984 | −18.5% |
| 1988 | +5.8% |
| 1992 | +7.6% |
| 1996 | +16.4% |
| 2000 | +2.4% |
| 2004 | +4.6% |
| 2008 | +17.2% |
| 2012 | +7.0% |
| 2016 | −22.6% |
| 2020 | −28.8% |
| 2024 | −34.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,017 | 6,255 | 9,400 | ||
| R | 3,340 | 6,106 | 9,594 | ||
| R | 3,237 | 5,317 | 9,217 | ||
| D | 4,806 | 4,164 | 9,138 | ||
| D | 5,195 | 3,651 | 8,989 | ||
| D | 4,736 | 4,312 | 9,168 | ||
| D | 4,238 | 4,034 | 8,571 | ||
| D | 4,284 | 2,944 | 8,194 | ||
| D | 3,742 | 3,044 | 9,190 | ||
| D | 4,320 | 3,839 | 8,242 | ||
| R | 3,446 | 5,029 | 8,553 | ||
| R | 3,297 | 5,115 | 9,206 | ||
| R | 3,804 | 4,826 | 8,807 | ||
| R | 3,366 | 5,447 | 9,048 | ||
| R | 3,168 | 5,132 | 8,878 | ||
| D | 5,624 | 3,923 | 9,550 | ||
| R | 4,612 | 6,441 | 11,057 | ||
| R | 4,384 | 6,529 | 10,926 | ||
| R | 3,730 | 7,669 | 11,408 | ||
| R | 4,857 | 5,151 | 10,111 | ||
| R | 4,259 | 5,855 | 10,163 | ||
| R | 4,973 | 7,443 | 12,434 | ||
| D | 6,731 | 5,017 | 12,236 | ||
| D | 7,347 | 3,725 | 11,134 | ||
| R | 4,231 | 6,774 | 11,054 | ||
| O | 1,556 | 4,168 | 10,049 | ||
| R | 1,808 | 6,747 | 8,706 | ||
| R | 2,379 | 3,347 | 5,817 | ||
| D | 2,919 | 1,239 | 5,861 | ||
| D | 3,026 | 2,773 | 5,895 | ||
| R | 2,628 | 3,339 | 6,117 | ||
| R | 2,884 | 3,366 | 6,342 | ||
| R | 2,910 | 3,302 | 6,331 | ||
| D | 3,337 | 2,443 | 5,869 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
46.6%
Irish
11.6%
English
6.7%
American
6.3%
Polish
0.9%
Scottish
0.8%
French
0.7%
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: 46.4 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
$67,242
Clayton County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Clayton County$67,242
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Clayton 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
10.9%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.4%
Working age (18–64)10.6%
Seniors (65+)10.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.3%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.6%
Spanish2.5%
Other languages0.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 39.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Clayton's rugged Driftless Area landscape anchors a rural, largely white agricultural county that delivered a 34.5-point Republican margin in 2024 — a dramatic shift from the competitive results it posted in earlier cycles.
The Democratic margin here peaked at thirty-three points in 1932. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-four points.
A population of 17,013, a 95% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $67,242 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Mitchell County and Henderson 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.
Clayton County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19043/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Clayton County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Clayton County, Iowa voted Republican by 34.4 points (R+34), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 9,400 votes cast, 3,017 went Democratic and 6,255 went Republican.
What is Clayton County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Clayton 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 13 times, Republican 20 times, and other 1 times.
When did Clayton County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Clayton County, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Clayton County, Iowa?
Clayton County, Iowa has a population of 17,013 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Clayton County, Iowa?
Median household income in Clayton County, Iowa is $67,242 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Clayton County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Clayton County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.