Dubuque County, Iowa: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+9%. Democratic peak: D+46 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+9MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 99,0302024 5-year
- Median household income
- $77,6302024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 88.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+46 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+23 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Mower County, MN · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Dubuque CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Dubuque 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 | +31.4% |
| 1896 | +11.0% |
| 1900 | +16.5% |
| 1904 | −5.0% |
| 1908 | +16.3% |
| 1912 | +39.4% |
| 1916 | +2.4% |
| 1920 | −22.9% |
| 1924 | −10.1% |
| 1928 | +33.1% |
| 1932 | +46.2% |
| 1936 | +29.3% |
| 1940 | −2.8% |
| 1944 | +1.4% |
| 1948 | +20.9% |
| 1952 | −10.8% |
| 1956 | −15.2% |
| 1960 | +26.7% |
| 1964 | +40.2% |
| 1968 | +12.8% |
| 1972 | +3.1% |
| 1976 | +7.9% |
| 1980 | +0.1% |
| 1984 | +6.4% |
| 1988 | +24.0% |
| 1992 | +15.2% |
| 1996 | +19.6% |
| 2000 | +14.6% |
| 2004 | +13.7% |
| 2008 | +20.8% |
| 2012 | +14.7% |
| 2016 | −1.2% |
| 2020 | −2.9% |
| 2024 | −8.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 23,705 | 28,224 | 52,770 | ||
| R | 25,657 | 27,214 | 53,926 | ||
| R | 22,850 | 23,460 | 50,221 | ||
| D | 28,768 | 21,280 | 50,894 | ||
| D | 28,611 | 18,651 | 47,953 | ||
| D | 26,561 | 20,100 | 47,043 | ||
| D | 22,341 | 16,462 | 40,323 | ||
| D | 20,839 | 13,391 | 38,051 | ||
| D | 20,539 | 14,007 | 42,968 | ||
| D | 23,797 | 14,530 | 38,547 | ||
| D | 21,876 | 19,239 | 41,491 | ||
| D | 18,689 | 18,649 | 41,539 | ||
| D | 20,548 | 17,459 | 39,049 | ||
| D | 18,417 | 17,272 | 36,521 | ||
| D | 18,664 | 14,197 | 34,863 | ||
| D | 23,695 | 10,104 | 33,823 | ||
| D | 22,007 | 12,740 | 34,766 | ||
| R | 13,174 | 17,923 | 31,247 | ||
| R | 14,542 | 18,075 | 32,845 | ||
| D | 15,521 | 10,111 | 25,913 | ||
| D | 12,867 | 12,502 | 25,458 | ||
| R | 13,805 | 14,590 | 28,441 | ||
| D | 16,291 | 8,275 | 27,378 | ||
| D | 19,210 | 6,747 | 26,999 | ||
| D | 19,437 | 9,744 | 29,262 | ||
| O | 5,718 | 8,280 | 25,267 | ||
| R | 7,636 | 12,436 | 21,000 | ||
| D | 6,063 | 5,772 | 12,223 | ||
| D | 6,237 | 1,620 | 11,724 | ||
| D | 6,645 | 4,708 | 11,855 | ||
| R | 4,913 | 5,485 | 11,353 | ||
| D | 6,655 | 4,752 | 11,564 | ||
| D | 6,510 | 5,203 | 11,898 | ||
| D | 6,831 | 3,526 | 10,513 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
44.7%
Irish
19.4%
English
6.7%
American
5.1%
Italian
2.1%
French
1.8%
Polish
1.2%
African American
2.4%
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: 39.1 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
$77,630
Dubuque County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Dubuque County$77,630
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Dubuque 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
9.7%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.6%
Working age (18–64)8.9%
Seniors (65+)13.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.2%
speak English only
Spanish2.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.3%
Other Indo-European1.0%
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 44.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Dubuque County, long anchored by its Catholic, union-influenced workforce in Iowa's oldest city, has moved steadily toward Republican margins over the past decade — a shift that mirrors broader realignment among working-class voters in the Midwest.
The Democratic margin here peaked at forty-six points in 1932. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was nine points.
A population of 99,030, a 89% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $77,630 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Mower County and Carlton 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.
Dubuque County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19061/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Dubuque County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Dubuque County, Iowa voted Republican by 8.6 points (R+9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 52,770 votes cast, 23,705 went Democratic and 28,224 went Republican.
What is Dubuque County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Dubuque 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 25 times, Republican 8 times, and other 1 times.
When did Dubuque County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Dubuque County, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Dubuque County, Iowa?
Dubuque County, Iowa has a population of 99,030 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Dubuque County, Iowa?
Median household income in Dubuque County, Iowa is $77,630 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Dubuque County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Dubuque County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 25 went Democratic and 8 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.