Pottawattamie County, Iowa: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+20%. Republican peak: R+41 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+20MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 93,4242024 5-year
- Median household income
- $73,6022024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 87.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 9.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+27 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+41 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Richland County, ND · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Pottawattamie CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Pottawattamie 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 | +2.3% |
| 1896 | −3.0% |
| 1900 | −9.6% |
| 1904 | −27.9% |
| 1908 | −5.1% |
| 1912 | +27.3% |
| 1916 | +2.2% |
| 1920 | −32.8% |
| 1924 | −31.9% |
| 1928 | −18.3% |
| 1932 | +26.7% |
| 1936 | +14.0% |
| 1940 | −2.3% |
| 1944 | −8.7% |
| 1948 | −4.0% |
| 1952 | −22.7% |
| 1956 | −16.1% |
| 1960 | −15.6% |
| 1964 | +10.6% |
| 1968 | −23.0% |
| 1972 | −40.9% |
| 1976 | −7.7% |
| 1980 | −28.7% |
| 1984 | −27.0% |
| 1988 | −6.9% |
| 1992 | −6.6% |
| 1996 | −7.2% |
| 2000 | −11.8% |
| 2004 | −18.3% |
| 2008 | −1.9% |
| 2012 | −5.2% |
| 2016 | −21.1% |
| 2020 | −16.8% |
| 2024 | −19.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 17,468 | 26,335 | 44,559 | ||
| R | 18,575 | 26,247 | 45,744 | ||
| R | 15,355 | 24,447 | 43,058 | ||
| R | 19,644 | 21,860 | 42,301 | ||
| R | 20,436 | 21,237 | 42,320 | ||
| R | 16,906 | 24,558 | 41,820 | ||
| R | 14,726 | 18,783 | 34,467 | ||
| R | 13,276 | 15,648 | 32,821 | ||
| R | 13,228 | 15,671 | 37,115 | ||
| R | 14,958 | 17,193 | 32,405 | ||
| R | 12,329 | 21,527 | 34,112 | ||
| R | 10,709 | 20,222 | 33,170 | ||
| R | 14,754 | 17,264 | 32,519 | ||
| R | 8,074 | 19,722 | 28,450 | ||
| R | 9,495 | 16,038 | 28,399 | ||
| D | 17,569 | 14,208 | 31,799 | ||
| R | 14,025 | 19,223 | 33,261 | ||
| R | 12,731 | 17,632 | 30,468 | ||
| R | 11,897 | 18,894 | 30,854 | ||
| R | 11,430 | 12,384 | 24,095 | ||
| R | 11,752 | 14,007 | 25,818 | ||
| R | 15,221 | 15,929 | 31,188 | ||
| D | 16,259 | 12,223 | 28,913 | ||
| D | 16,674 | 9,565 | 26,616 | ||
| R | 9,905 | 14,354 | 24,368 | ||
| R | 5,305 | 13,380 | 25,352 | ||
| R | 6,659 | 13,506 | 20,887 | ||
| D | 6,263 | 5,992 | 12,529 | ||
| O | 4,993 | 1,753 | 11,866 | ||
| R | 5,520 | 6,137 | 11,995 | ||
| R | 3,731 | 6,868 | 11,233 | ||
| R | 5,373 | 6,525 | 12,052 | ||
| R | 5,468 | 5,810 | 11,392 | ||
| D | 4,905 | 4,675 | 10,145 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
28.1%
Irish
12.5%
English
12.3%
American
6.1%
Italian
2.7%
Polish
1.7%
Scottish
1.7%
African American
1.5%
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: 40.1 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
$73,602
Pottawattamie County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Pottawattamie County$73,602
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Pottawattamie 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 1817.2%
Working age (18–64)10.3%
Seniors (65+)13.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.1%
speak English only
Spanish5.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other Indo-European0.4%
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 66.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Council Bluffs and sitting at Iowa's western edge across from Omaha, Pottawattamie gave Republicans a nearly 20-point margin in 2024 — a swing of roughly 30 points from its competitive posture two decades ago.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached twenty-seven points in 1912; the Republican margin reached forty-one points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 88% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $73,602, and a 12% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Richland County and Cass 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.
Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19155/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Pottawattamie County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Pottawattamie County, Iowa voted Republican by 19.9 points (R+20), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 44,559 votes cast, 17,468 went Democratic and 26,335 went Republican.
What is Pottawattamie County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Pottawattamie County, Iowa in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. 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 5 times, Republican 28 times, and other 1 times.
When did Pottawattamie County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Pottawattamie County, Iowa voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Pottawattamie County, Iowa?
Pottawattamie County, Iowa has a population of 93,424 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Pottawattamie County, Iowa?
Median household income in Pottawattamie County, Iowa is $73,602 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Pottawattamie County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Pottawattamie County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.