Wapello County, Iowa: Florida Surge county. In 2024, voted R+31%. Democratic peak: D+43 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+31MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Florida SurgeAkashic typology
- Population
- 35,3622024 5-year
- Median household income
- $64,7662024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 79.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 13.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+43 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+40 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Boone County, IA · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Wapello CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Wapello 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 | −3.4% |
| 1896 | −3.3% |
| 1900 | −9.4% |
| 1904 | −30.1% |
| 1908 | −9.1% |
| 1912 | +4.1% |
| 1916 | −4.4% |
| 1920 | −39.6% |
| 1924 | −39.4% |
| 1928 | −33.0% |
| 1932 | +13.2% |
| 1936 | +15.8% |
| 1940 | +13.5% |
| 1944 | +13.0% |
| 1948 | +15.6% |
| 1952 | −5.1% |
| 1956 | +2.6% |
| 1960 | +0.4% |
| 1964 | +43.2% |
| 1968 | +8.3% |
| 1972 | −5.2% |
| 1976 | +20.1% |
| 1980 | +8.2% |
| 1984 | +19.4% |
| 1988 | +30.8% |
| 1992 | +23.7% |
| 1996 | +24.4% |
| 2000 | +13.5% |
| 2004 | +10.3% |
| 2008 | +13.5% |
| 2012 | +11.9% |
| 2016 | −20.4% |
| 2020 | −23.6% |
| 2024 | −31.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 4,896 | 9,479 | 14,583 | ||
| R | 5,821 | 9,516 | 15,633 | ||
| R | 5,594 | 8,715 | 15,277 | ||
| D | 8,663 | 6,789 | 15,770 | ||
| D | 8,820 | 6,663 | 15,931 | ||
| D | 9,125 | 7,403 | 16,707 | ||
| D | 8,355 | 6,313 | 15,139 | ||
| D | 8,437 | 4,828 | 14,770 | ||
| D | 8,670 | 4,852 | 16,083 | ||
| D | 10,177 | 5,350 | 15,673 | ||
| D | 10,545 | 7,098 | 17,800 | ||
| D | 8,923 | 7,475 | 17,668 | ||
| D | 10,249 | 6,786 | 17,268 | ||
| R | 8,348 | 9,301 | 18,171 | ||
| D | 9,375 | 7,825 | 18,647 | ||
| D | 13,971 | 5,524 | 19,546 | ||
| D | 11,116 | 11,036 | 22,167 | ||
| D | 10,960 | 10,401 | 21,381 | ||
| R | 10,449 | 11,571 | 22,150 | ||
| D | 10,841 | 7,875 | 18,976 | ||
| D | 10,732 | 8,244 | 19,089 | ||
| D | 11,880 | 9,039 | 21,006 | ||
| D | 10,578 | 7,647 | 18,512 | ||
| D | 9,504 | 7,256 | 17,076 | ||
| R | 5,793 | 11,586 | 17,528 | ||
| R | 3,039 | 9,870 | 17,329 | ||
| R | 4,131 | 9,884 | 14,537 | ||
| R | 3,994 | 4,398 | 9,229 | ||
| D | 3,102 | 2,755 | 8,470 | ||
| R | 3,724 | 4,541 | 8,959 | ||
| R | 2,473 | 4,912 | 8,105 | ||
| R | 3,902 | 4,742 | 8,912 | ||
| R | 4,041 | 4,319 | 8,510 | ||
| R | 3,380 | 3,643 | 7,804 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
17.6%
English
12.5%
Irish
9.9%
American
6.4%
Italian
1.7%
French
1.5%
Scottish
1.4%
African American
2.4%
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: 39.2 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
$64,766
Wapello County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Wapello County$64,766
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Wapello 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
15.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.4%
Working age (18–64)14.3%
Seniors (65+)11.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
84.9%
speak English only
Spanish9.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.5%
Other Indo-European1.2%
Other languages1.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 70.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Wapello County, anchored by Ottumwa along the Des Moines River, was a union-labor stronghold that backed Democrats into the 2000s; by 2024 it recorded an R+31 presidential margin, tracing one of Iowa's steepest partisan realignments.
The Democratic margin here once reached forty-three points in 1964. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved eight points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-one points.
A population of 35,362, a 79% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $64,766 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Boone County and Lee 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.
Wapello County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19179/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Wapello County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Wapello County, Iowa voted Republican by 31.4 points (R+31), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 14,583 votes cast, 4,896 went Democratic and 9,479 went Republican.
What is Wapello County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Wapello County, Iowa in the "Florida Surge" typology — Florida coastal and retiree counties that moved sharply Republican across the Trump era. 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 20 times, Republican 14 times, and other 0 times.
When did Wapello County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Wapello County, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Wapello County, Iowa?
Wapello County, Iowa has a population of 35,362 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Wapello County, Iowa?
Median household income in Wapello County, Iowa is $64,766 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Wapello County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Wapello County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 20 went Democratic and 14 went Republican. The county's typology — "Florida Surge" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.