Winnebago County, Iowa: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+31%. Republican peak: R+82 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+31MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 10,5832024 5-year
- Median household income
- $67,6422024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+23 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+82 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Monroe County, WI · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Winnebago CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Winnebago 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 | −45.9% |
| 1896 | −45.2% |
| 1900 | −61.2% |
| 1904 | −81.7% |
| 1908 | −54.3% |
| 1912 | −6.4% |
| 1916 | −48.1% |
| 1920 | −76.7% |
| 1924 | −42.9% |
| 1928 | −43.8% |
| 1932 | +23.1% |
| 1936 | +9.1% |
| 1940 | −4.0% |
| 1944 | −2.8% |
| 1948 | −0.2% |
| 1952 | −41.1% |
| 1956 | −21.8% |
| 1960 | −24.7% |
| 1964 | +22.4% |
| 1968 | −23.2% |
| 1972 | −29.6% |
| 1976 | −5.8% |
| 1980 | −24.7% |
| 1984 | −15.0% |
| 1988 | −1.0% |
| 1992 | −1.4% |
| 1996 | +8.5% |
| 2000 | +0.5% |
| 2004 | −7.9% |
| 2008 | +8.6% |
| 2012 | −0.1% |
| 2016 | −25.9% |
| 2020 | −26.3% |
| 2024 | −30.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,909 | 3,636 | 5,642 | ||
| R | 2,135 | 3,707 | 5,970 | ||
| R | 1,931 | 3,447 | 5,864 | ||
| R | 2,903 | 2,906 | 5,918 | ||
| D | 3,254 | 2,730 | 6,082 | ||
| R | 2,707 | 3,175 | 5,952 | ||
| D | 2,691 | 2,662 | 5,527 | ||
| D | 2,679 | 2,211 | 5,521 | ||
| R | 2,322 | 2,407 | 6,078 | ||
| R | 2,804 | 2,863 | 5,703 | ||
| R | 2,669 | 3,616 | 6,314 | ||
| R | 2,208 | 3,808 | 6,479 | ||
| R | 2,950 | 3,315 | 6,346 | ||
| R | 2,324 | 4,300 | 6,669 | ||
| R | 2,163 | 3,543 | 5,954 | ||
| D | 3,677 | 2,331 | 6,017 | ||
| R | 2,463 | 4,082 | 6,549 | ||
| R | 2,521 | 3,926 | 6,453 | ||
| R | 1,905 | 4,574 | 6,499 | ||
| R | 2,626 | 2,636 | 5,451 | ||
| R | 2,654 | 2,808 | 5,480 | ||
| R | 3,051 | 3,308 | 6,388 | ||
| D | 3,133 | 2,592 | 5,927 | ||
| D | 3,281 | 2,012 | 5,499 | ||
| R | 1,268 | 3,386 | 4,831 | ||
| O | 225 | 2,445 | 5,172 | ||
| R | 469 | 3,931 | 4,514 | ||
| R | 584 | 1,713 | 2,349 | ||
| O | 390 | 532 | 2,231 | ||
| R | 489 | 1,710 | 2,248 | ||
| R | 174 | 2,002 | 2,238 | ||
| R | 474 | 2,052 | 2,577 | ||
| R | 714 | 1,912 | 2,651 | ||
| R | 342 | 1,083 | 1,614 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
40.0%
Irish
7.9%
English
7.2%
American
5.1%
Italian
2.0%
Polish
1.5%
French
1.0%
African American
1.8%
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: 42.7 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
$67,642
Winnebago County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Winnebago County$67,642
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Winnebago 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
11.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.9%
Working age (18–64)10.9%
Seniors (65+)8.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.7%
speak English only
Spanish2.5%
Other Indo-European1.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.0%
Other languages1.0%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 29.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Winnebago County's roughly 11,700 residents are concentrated in Forest City, the county seat, and have shifted steadily rightward in presidential voting over the past decade, reaching a 30-point Republican margin in 2024.
The Democratic margin here peaked at twenty-three points in 1932. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-one points.
A population of 10,583, a 89% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $67,642 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Monroe County and Kewaunee 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.
Winnebago County, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/19189/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Winnebago County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Winnebago County, Iowa voted Republican by 30.6 points (R+31), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 5,642 votes cast, 1,909 went Democratic and 3,636 went Republican.
What is Winnebago County, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Winnebago 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 6 times, Republican 26 times, and other 2 times.
When did Winnebago County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Winnebago County, Iowa voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Winnebago County, Iowa?
Winnebago County, Iowa has a population of 10,583 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Winnebago County, Iowa?
Median household income in Winnebago County, Iowa is $67,642 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Winnebago County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Winnebago County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.