Mills County, Iowa: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+39%. Republican peak: R+52 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+39MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 14,5682024 5-year
- Median household income
- $90,7532024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 93.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+23 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+52 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Miami County, IN · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Mills CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Mills 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 | −8.0% |
| 1896 | −4.7% |
| 1900 | −11.9% |
| 1904 | −26.5% |
| 1908 | −12.3% |
| 1912 | +13.8% |
| 1916 | −3.2% |
| 1920 | −39.2% |
| 1924 | −27.4% |
| 1928 | −22.2% |
| 1932 | +22.7% |
| 1936 | +2.6% |
| 1940 | −15.0% |
| 1944 | −21.8% |
| 1948 | −15.0% |
| 1952 | −38.3% |
| 1956 | −30.1% |
| 1960 | −30.7% |
| 1964 | +0.8% |
| 1968 | −36.4% |
| 1972 | −52.4% |
| 1976 | −17.3% |
| 1980 | −45.1% |
| 1984 | −46.7% |
| 1988 | −20.9% |
| 1992 | −14.6% |
| 1996 | −15.4% |
| 2000 | −27.8% |
| 2004 | −32.4% |
| 2008 | −16.6% |
| 2012 | −19.0% |
| 2016 | −38.3% |
| 2020 | −37.2% |
| 2024 | −39.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,456 | 5,671 | 8,253 | ||
| R | 2,508 | 5,585 | 8,268 | ||
| R | 2,090 | 5,067 | 7,772 | ||
| R | 2,848 | 4,216 | 7,212 | ||
| R | 2,976 | 4,183 | 7,282 | ||
| R | 2,308 | 4,556 | 6,940 | ||
| R | 2,039 | 3,684 | 5,915 | ||
| R | 2,068 | 2,958 | 5,772 | ||
| R | 1,798 | 2,699 | 6,166 | ||
| R | 2,092 | 3,212 | 5,369 | ||
| R | 1,434 | 3,994 | 5,486 | ||
| R | 1,244 | 3,581 | 5,183 | ||
| R | 1,908 | 2,722 | 4,710 | ||
| R | 1,060 | 3,531 | 4,712 | ||
| R | 1,216 | 2,916 | 4,672 | ||
| D | 2,463 | 2,424 | 4,889 | ||
| R | 1,820 | 3,436 | 5,256 | ||
| R | 1,897 | 3,539 | 5,454 | ||
| R | 1,792 | 4,028 | 5,834 | ||
| R | 2,155 | 2,921 | 5,107 | ||
| R | 2,106 | 3,288 | 5,421 | ||
| R | 2,862 | 3,873 | 6,749 | ||
| D | 3,610 | 3,424 | 7,075 | ||
| D | 3,861 | 2,420 | 6,356 | ||
| R | 2,179 | 3,429 | 5,634 | ||
| R | 1,750 | 3,348 | 5,835 | ||
| R | 1,592 | 3,683 | 5,338 | ||
| R | 1,600 | 1,707 | 3,375 | ||
| D | 1,312 | 850 | 3,345 | ||
| R | 1,522 | 1,959 | 3,561 | ||
| R | 1,274 | 2,252 | 3,688 | ||
| R | 1,733 | 2,212 | 4,022 | ||
| R | 1,958 | 2,153 | 4,146 | ||
| R | 1,480 | 1,761 | 3,531 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
30.6%
English
15.6%
Irish
12.9%
American
4.7%
Italian
3.0%
French
2.2%
Scottish
1.5%
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: 42.1 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
$90,753
Mills County ranks in the top 10% of US counties.
Mills County$90,753
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Mills County ranks in the top 10% 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
8.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 186.7%
Working age (18–64)7.8%
Seniors (65+)17.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.1%
speak English only
Spanish1.0%
Other Indo-European0.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 68.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Mills County sits along Iowa's western edge, anchored by Glenwood, and has shifted steadily rightward over the past decade — its 2024 presidential margin of R+39 reflects a rural consolidation pattern common across the Loess Hills corridor.
The Republican margin here reached fifty-two points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-nine points.
A population of 14,568, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $90,753 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Miami County and Otoe 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.
Mills County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19129/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Mills County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Mills County, Iowa voted Republican by 39.0 points (R+39), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 8,253 votes cast, 2,456 went Democratic and 5,671 went Republican.
What is Mills County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Mills County, Iowa in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. 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 4 times, Republican 30 times, and other 0 times.
When did Mills County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Mills County, Iowa voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Mills County, Iowa?
Mills County, Iowa has a population of 14,568 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Mills County, Iowa?
Median household income in Mills County, Iowa is $90,753 — above the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Mills County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Mills County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 30 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.