Palo Alto County, Iowa: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+45%. Republican peak: R+45 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+45MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 8,8632024 5-year
- Median household income
- $72,7812024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+34 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+45 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Monroe County, IA · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Palo Alto CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Palo Alto 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 | −0.4% |
| 1896 | −1.5% |
| 1900 | −12.5% |
| 1904 | −29.1% |
| 1908 | −9.6% |
| 1912 | +10.2% |
| 1916 | +1.1% |
| 1920 | −44.6% |
| 1924 | −39.5% |
| 1928 | −9.8% |
| 1932 | +26.1% |
| 1936 | +25.9% |
| 1940 | +14.8% |
| 1944 | +14.6% |
| 1948 | +19.1% |
| 1952 | −21.1% |
| 1956 | −2.3% |
| 1960 | +2.0% |
| 1964 | +33.6% |
| 1968 | −3.9% |
| 1972 | −4.9% |
| 1976 | +9.5% |
| 1980 | −9.4% |
| 1984 | +5.2% |
| 1988 | +24.5% |
| 1992 | +10.9% |
| 1996 | +11.8% |
| 2000 | −0.3% |
| 2004 | −3.7% |
| 2008 | +2.8% |
| 2012 | −10.7% |
| 2016 | −35.4% |
| 2020 | −37.3% |
| 2024 | −44.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,338 | 3,576 | 4,982 | ||
| R | 1,519 | 3,370 | 4,958 | ||
| R | 1,398 | 3,081 | 4,760 | ||
| R | 2,139 | 2,660 | 4,887 | ||
| D | 2,428 | 2,294 | 4,806 | ||
| R | 2,482 | 2,674 | 5,191 | ||
| R | 2,326 | 2,341 | 4,823 | ||
| D | 2,371 | 1,817 | 4,703 | ||
| D | 2,374 | 1,789 | 5,379 | ||
| D | 3,377 | 2,041 | 5,463 | ||
| D | 3,018 | 2,715 | 5,810 | ||
| R | 2,463 | 3,025 | 5,968 | ||
| D | 3,182 | 2,623 | 5,904 | ||
| R | 2,845 | 3,141 | 6,066 | ||
| R | 2,874 | 3,114 | 6,223 | ||
| D | 4,441 | 2,206 | 6,647 | ||
| D | 3,695 | 3,551 | 7,249 | ||
| R | 3,624 | 3,795 | 7,421 | ||
| R | 2,993 | 4,595 | 7,597 | ||
| D | 3,858 | 2,594 | 6,601 | ||
| D | 3,726 | 2,772 | 6,533 | ||
| D | 4,482 | 3,322 | 7,822 | ||
| D | 4,515 | 2,613 | 7,333 | ||
| D | 4,094 | 2,378 | 6,568 | ||
| R | 2,843 | 3,463 | 6,355 | ||
| R | 593 | 2,943 | 5,947 | ||
| R | 1,467 | 3,904 | 5,466 | ||
| D | 1,630 | 1,594 | 3,287 | ||
| D | 1,274 | 953 | 3,145 | ||
| R | 1,340 | 1,639 | 3,103 | ||
| R | 1,081 | 1,999 | 3,157 | ||
| R | 1,477 | 1,908 | 3,440 | ||
| R | 1,547 | 1,595 | 3,190 | ||
| R | 1,101 | 1,110 | 2,382 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
40.1%
Irish
21.3%
English
6.6%
American
4.8%
French
1.7%
Italian
1.3%
Polish
0.7%
African American
1.3%
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: 41.9 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
$72,781
Palo Alto County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Palo Alto County$72,781
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Palo Alto 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
11.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.4%
Working age (18–64)9.8%
Seniors (65+)10.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.3%
speak English only
Spanish1.8%
Other languages1.2%
Other Indo-European0.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 43.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Palo Alto County's roughly 10,000 residents are concentrated in small agricultural towns, and its R+44.9 presidential margin in 2024 reflects a long realignment in Iowa's northwest quadrant away from its once-competitive swing-county status.
The Democratic margin here peaked at thirty-four points in 1964. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved eight points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-five points.
A population of 8,863, a 92% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $72,781 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Monroe County and Mountrail 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.
Palo Alto County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19147/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Palo Alto County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Palo Alto County, Iowa voted Republican by 44.9 points (R+45), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 4,982 votes cast, 1,338 went Democratic and 3,576 went Republican.
What is Palo Alto County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Palo Alto 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 19 times, and other 0 times.
When did Palo Alto County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Palo Alto County, Iowa voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Palo Alto County, Iowa?
Palo Alto County, Iowa has a population of 8,863 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Palo Alto County, Iowa?
Median household income in Palo Alto County, Iowa is $72,781 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Palo Alto County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Palo Alto County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.