Isabella County, Michigan: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+7%. Republican peak: R+59 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+7MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 64,5652024 5-year
- Median household income
- $55,2372024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 84.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+20 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+59 in 1924MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- LaPorte County, IN · similarity 0.95
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Isabella CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Isabella 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 | −2.4% |
| 1896 | +4.9% |
| 1900 | −19.2% |
| 1904 | −44.5% |
| 1908 | −30.1% |
| 1912 | −0.6% |
| 1916 | −11.1% |
| 1920 | −50.2% |
| 1924 | −59.3% |
| 1928 | −47.0% |
| 1932 | +0.7% |
| 1936 | −2.1% |
| 1940 | −42.4% |
| 1944 | −42.8% |
| 1948 | −36.7% |
| 1952 | −47.8% |
| 1956 | −45.0% |
| 1960 | −28.0% |
| 1964 | +20.2% |
| 1968 | −21.5% |
| 1972 | −12.8% |
| 1976 | −18.0% |
| 1980 | −15.0% |
| 1984 | −30.8% |
| 1988 | −13.0% |
| 1992 | +4.9% |
| 1996 | +11.2% |
| 2000 | +0.8% |
| 2004 | +2.4% |
| 2008 | +19.3% |
| 2012 | +9.2% |
| 2016 | −3.7% |
| 2020 | −2.5% |
| 2024 | −7.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 14,011 | 16,320 | 30,900 | ||
| R | 14,072 | 14,815 | 29,421 | ||
| R | 11,404 | 12,338 | 25,540 | ||
| D | 13,038 | 10,800 | 24,260 | ||
| D | 16,679 | 11,220 | 28,350 | ||
| D | 12,334 | 11,754 | 24,390 | ||
| D | 10,228 | 10,053 | 21,069 | ||
| D | 9,635 | 7,460 | 19,342 | ||
| D | 8,784 | 7,706 | 22,037 | ||
| R | 7,960 | 10,362 | 18,482 | ||
| R | 6,435 | 12,215 | 18,793 | ||
| R | 7,293 | 10,407 | 20,715 | ||
| R | 7,281 | 10,577 | 18,345 | ||
| R | 7,446 | 9,682 | 17,454 | ||
| R | 4,450 | 7,111 | 12,396 | ||
| D | 7,040 | 4,672 | 11,727 | ||
| R | 4,431 | 7,880 | 12,335 | ||
| R | 3,183 | 8,415 | 11,621 | ||
| R | 2,881 | 8,222 | 11,180 | ||
| R | 2,487 | 5,485 | 8,158 | ||
| R | 2,522 | 6,356 | 8,949 | ||
| R | 2,828 | 7,019 | 9,891 | ||
| R | 3,871 | 4,051 | 8,658 | ||
| D | 4,272 | 4,211 | 8,645 | ||
| R | 1,762 | 4,926 | 6,736 | ||
| R | 1,208 | 5,245 | 6,805 | ||
| R | 1,627 | 5,089 | 6,894 | ||
| R | 2,143 | 2,700 | 5,008 | ||
| O | 1,389 | 1,417 | 4,769 | ||
| R | 1,658 | 3,171 | 5,019 | ||
| R | 1,321 | 3,547 | 4,998 | ||
| R | 1,996 | 2,969 | 5,063 | ||
| D | 2,679 | 2,424 | 5,189 | ||
| R | 1,762 | 1,859 | 4,093 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
24.7%
English
13.7%
Irish
12.7%
American
5.3%
Polish
4.4%
French
3.3%
Italian
2.8%
African American
2.0%
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: 30.1 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
$55,237
Isabella County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Isabella County$55,237
Michigan$72,875
United States$80,734
Isabella County ranks in the bottom 25% 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
21.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.3%
Working age (18–64)23.4%
Seniors (65+)10.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.5%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.8%
Spanish1.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
Other languages0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 67.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Isabella County anchors the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe's sovereign territory and Central Michigan University's campus, yet the county has shifted toward Republican presidential margins in recent cycles, finishing 2024 at R+7.5.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached twenty points in 1964; the Republican margin reached fifty-nine points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was seven points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 85% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $55,237, and a 22% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of LaPorte County and Coos 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.
Isabella County, Michigan. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/26073/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Isabella County, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Isabella County, Michigan voted Republican by 7.5 points (R+7), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 30,900 votes cast, 14,011 went Democratic and 16,320 went Republican.
What is Isabella County, Michigan's political typology?
Akashic places Isabella County, Michigan 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 9 times, Republican 24 times, and other 1 times.
When did Isabella County, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Isabella County, Michigan voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Isabella County, Michigan?
Isabella County, Michigan has a population of 64,565 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Isabella County, Michigan?
Median household income in Isabella County, Michigan is $55,237 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Isabella County, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Isabella County, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 24 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.