Shelby County, Iowa: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+43%. Republican peak: R+43 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+43MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 11,7782024 5-year
- Median household income
- $72,7382024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+33 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+43 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Johnson County, NE · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Shelby CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Shelby 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 | +5.7% |
| 1896 | +3.7% |
| 1900 | −4.1% |
| 1904 | −18.1% |
| 1908 | −1.0% |
| 1912 | +25.1% |
| 1916 | +4.1% |
| 1920 | −41.8% |
| 1924 | −14.1% |
| 1928 | +2.0% |
| 1932 | +32.7% |
| 1936 | +9.4% |
| 1940 | −9.5% |
| 1944 | −12.9% |
| 1948 | +2.9% |
| 1952 | −29.9% |
| 1956 | −14.4% |
| 1960 | −10.2% |
| 1964 | +17.1% |
| 1968 | −23.0% |
| 1972 | −27.8% |
| 1976 | −7.2% |
| 1980 | −34.8% |
| 1984 | −29.2% |
| 1988 | −3.6% |
| 1992 | −10.9% |
| 1996 | −14.8% |
| 2000 | −24.6% |
| 2004 | −28.5% |
| 2008 | −9.7% |
| 2012 | −22.2% |
| 2016 | −41.9% |
| 2020 | −40.3% |
| 2024 | −42.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,811 | 4,600 | 6,505 | ||
| R | 1,959 | 4,697 | 6,795 | ||
| R | 1,662 | 4,362 | 6,448 | ||
| R | 2,469 | 3,911 | 6,483 | ||
| R | 2,863 | 3,488 | 6,453 | ||
| R | 2,355 | 4,256 | 6,670 | ||
| R | 2,179 | 3,655 | 6,009 | ||
| R | 2,176 | 3,056 | 5,941 | ||
| R | 2,094 | 2,809 | 6,544 | ||
| R | 2,806 | 3,019 | 5,860 | ||
| R | 2,291 | 4,200 | 6,537 | ||
| R | 1,892 | 4,147 | 6,477 | ||
| R | 2,851 | 3,301 | 6,261 | ||
| R | 2,259 | 4,052 | 6,439 | ||
| R | 2,365 | 3,886 | 6,626 | ||
| D | 4,148 | 2,928 | 7,137 | ||
| R | 3,427 | 4,210 | 7,644 | ||
| R | 3,300 | 4,425 | 7,793 | ||
| R | 2,762 | 5,135 | 7,939 | ||
| D | 3,499 | 3,301 | 6,935 | ||
| R | 2,978 | 3,873 | 6,933 | ||
| R | 3,811 | 4,613 | 8,460 | ||
| D | 4,264 | 3,490 | 8,231 | ||
| D | 4,940 | 2,478 | 7,540 | ||
| D | 3,604 | 3,459 | 7,081 | ||
| R | 2,297 | 3,252 | 6,780 | ||
| R | 1,882 | 4,621 | 6,550 | ||
| D | 2,060 | 1,898 | 3,996 | ||
| D | 1,841 | 872 | 3,853 | ||
| R | 1,935 | 1,973 | 3,999 | ||
| R | 1,584 | 2,310 | 4,004 | ||
| R | 2,010 | 2,182 | 4,239 | ||
| D | 2,175 | 2,019 | 4,219 | ||
| D | 1,890 | 1,674 | 3,769 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
37.2%
Irish
10.3%
English
6.3%
American
3.4%
French
1.6%
Italian
1.1%
Scottish
1.1%
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: 44.3 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
$72,738
Shelby County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Shelby County$72,738
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Shelby 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
7.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 182.1%
Working age (18–64)6.8%
Seniors (65+)25.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.3%
speak English only
Spanish2.3%
Other Indo-European0.3%
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 38.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Shelby County's 2024 presidential margin of R+42.9 reflects a broader rural Iowa realignment; its small, agriculture-rooted population has shifted decisively toward Republican candidates across multiple election cycles.
The Republican margin here reached forty-three points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-three points.
A population of 11,778, a 92% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $72,738 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Johnson County and Greeley 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.
Shelby County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19165/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Shelby County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Shelby County, Iowa voted Republican by 42.9 points (R+43), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 6,505 votes cast, 1,811 went Democratic and 4,600 went Republican.
What is Shelby County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Shelby 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 9 times, Republican 25 times, and other 0 times.
When did Shelby County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Shelby County, Iowa voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Shelby County, Iowa?
Shelby County, Iowa has a population of 11,778 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Shelby County, Iowa?
Median household income in Shelby County, Iowa is $72,738 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Shelby County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Shelby County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.