Story County, Iowa: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted D+10%. Republican peak: R+64 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+10MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 100,4662024 5-year
- Median household income
- $69,6852024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+20 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+64 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Polk County, IA · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Story CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Story 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 | −34.0% |
| 1896 | −38.6% |
| 1900 | −48.0% |
| 1904 | −63.6% |
| 1908 | −48.7% |
| 1912 | −0.4% |
| 1916 | −34.7% |
| 1920 | −63.1% |
| 1924 | −51.1% |
| 1928 | −53.0% |
| 1932 | −8.4% |
| 1936 | +4.2% |
| 1940 | −4.7% |
| 1944 | −4.4% |
| 1948 | −14.1% |
| 1952 | −44.4% |
| 1956 | −35.2% |
| 1960 | −30.6% |
| 1964 | +20.1% |
| 1968 | −16.4% |
| 1972 | −8.5% |
| 1976 | −7.5% |
| 1980 | −6.2% |
| 1984 | −4.0% |
| 1988 | +15.9% |
| 1992 | +12.2% |
| 1996 | +14.6% |
| 2000 | +3.5% |
| 2004 | +5.5% |
| 2008 | +16.2% |
| 2012 | +13.8% |
| 2016 | +12.3% |
| 2020 | +17.3% |
| 2024 | +10.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 26,765 | 21,665 | 49,526 | ||
| D | 29,175 | 20,340 | 51,038 | ||
| D | 25,709 | 19,458 | 50,974 | ||
| D | 26,192 | 19,668 | 47,150 | ||
| D | 26,548 | 18,995 | 46,575 | ||
| D | 23,296 | 20,819 | 44,652 | ||
| D | 17,478 | 16,228 | 35,364 | ||
| D | 17,234 | 12,468 | 32,695 | ||
| D | 17,118 | 12,702 | 36,311 | ||
| D | 19,051 | 13,782 | 33,105 | ||
| R | 18,277 | 19,804 | 38,410 | ||
| R | 13,529 | 15,829 | 37,371 | ||
| R | 15,717 | 18,394 | 35,476 | ||
| R | 13,972 | 16,617 | 31,025 | ||
| R | 9,456 | 13,327 | 23,675 | ||
| D | 12,329 | 8,188 | 20,610 | ||
| R | 7,281 | 13,708 | 21,004 | ||
| R | 6,352 | 13,264 | 19,640 | ||
| R | 5,299 | 13,857 | 19,296 | ||
| R | 6,152 | 8,307 | 15,251 | ||
| R | 6,554 | 7,163 | 13,818 | ||
| R | 7,152 | 7,853 | 15,070 | ||
| D | 6,933 | 6,358 | 13,588 | ||
| R | 5,638 | 6,735 | 12,992 | ||
| R | 2,714 | 9,035 | 11,932 | ||
| R | 1,310 | 6,916 | 10,968 | ||
| R | 1,909 | 8,713 | 10,784 | ||
| R | 1,772 | 3,722 | 5,624 | ||
| O | 1,224 | 1,247 | 5,234 | ||
| R | 1,195 | 3,790 | 5,334 | ||
| R | 752 | 3,919 | 4,977 | ||
| R | 1,343 | 4,032 | 5,607 | ||
| R | 1,589 | 3,630 | 5,282 | ||
| R | 1,321 | 2,797 | 4,336 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
28.6%
Irish
10.7%
English
10.3%
American
2.9%
Italian
2.3%
Polish
1.7%
Scottish
1.6%
African American
2.2%
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: 26.9 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
$69,685
Story County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Story County$69,685
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Story 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
18.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 189.7%
Working age (18–64)21.1%
Seniors (65+)7.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.9%
speak English only
Asian & Pacific Islander4.0%
Other Indo-European3.5%
Spanish2.5%
Other languages1.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 65.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Story County's Democratic lean in an otherwise Republican-trending state traces directly to Ames and Iowa State University, where students and faculty form a durable left-of-center voting bloc that has held margins in double digits across recent cycles.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached twenty points in 1964; the Republican margin reached sixty-four points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved seven points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was ten points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 82% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $69,685, and a 18% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Polk County and Presidio 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.
Story County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19169/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Story County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Story County, Iowa voted Democratic by 10.3 points (D+10), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 49,526 votes cast, 26,765 went Democratic and 21,665 went Republican.
What is Story County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Story 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 12 times, Republican 21 times, and other 1 times.
When did Story County, Iowa last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Story County, Iowa voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Story County, Iowa?
Story County, Iowa has a population of 100,466 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Story County, Iowa?
Median household income in Story County, Iowa is $69,685 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Story County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Story County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.