Otsego County, Michigan: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+35%. Republican peak: R+62 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+35MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 25,5842024 5-year
- Median household income
- $68,1832024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 93.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+30 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+62 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Nye County, NV · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Otsego CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Otsego 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 | +0.5% |
| 1896 | −20.7% |
| 1900 | −38.9% |
| 1904 | −61.9% |
| 1908 | −49.3% |
| 1912 | −24.3% |
| 1916 | −1.1% |
| 1920 | −29.9% |
| 1924 | −57.7% |
| 1928 | −37.4% |
| 1932 | +14.9% |
| 1936 | +7.3% |
| 1940 | −9.4% |
| 1944 | −15.9% |
| 1948 | −21.7% |
| 1952 | −38.2% |
| 1956 | −27.6% |
| 1960 | −12.2% |
| 1964 | +29.8% |
| 1968 | −5.5% |
| 1972 | −19.5% |
| 1976 | −7.2% |
| 1980 | −15.7% |
| 1984 | −37.1% |
| 1988 | −27.2% |
| 1992 | −2.9% |
| 1996 | −3.4% |
| 2000 | −19.7% |
| 2004 | −22.7% |
| 2008 | −8.9% |
| 2012 | −19.6% |
| 2016 | −37.4% |
| 2020 | −34.1% |
| 2024 | −35.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 5,052 | 10,693 | 15,999 | ||
| R | 4,743 | 9,779 | 14,757 | ||
| R | 3,556 | 8,266 | 12,610 | ||
| R | 4,681 | 7,011 | 11,891 | ||
| R | 5,634 | 6,752 | 12,616 | ||
| R | 4,674 | 7,470 | 12,307 | ||
| R | 4,034 | 6,108 | 10,505 | ||
| R | 3,351 | 3,638 | 8,320 | ||
| R | 3,129 | 3,393 | 9,207 | ||
| R | 2,635 | 4,620 | 7,298 | ||
| R | 2,117 | 4,639 | 6,795 | ||
| R | 2,666 | 3,771 | 7,023 | ||
| R | 2,724 | 3,155 | 5,952 | ||
| R | 1,912 | 2,854 | 4,843 | ||
| R | 1,661 | 1,871 | 3,793 | ||
| D | 2,245 | 1,214 | 3,462 | ||
| R | 1,521 | 1,944 | 3,469 | ||
| R | 1,095 | 1,930 | 3,028 | ||
| R | 865 | 1,941 | 2,818 | ||
| R | 888 | 1,392 | 2,320 | ||
| R | 912 | 1,259 | 2,182 | ||
| R | 1,119 | 1,353 | 2,480 | ||
| D | 1,280 | 1,102 | 2,447 | ||
| D | 1,377 | 1,006 | 2,493 | ||
| R | 476 | 1,049 | 1,531 | ||
| R | 249 | 1,144 | 1,550 | ||
| R | 466 | 874 | 1,365 | ||
| R | 519 | 531 | 1,080 | ||
| R | 194 | 448 | 1,047 | ||
| R | 276 | 864 | 1,192 | ||
| R | 266 | 1,239 | 1,572 | ||
| R | 436 | 1,020 | 1,501 | ||
| R | 560 | 859 | 1,446 | ||
| D | 531 | 525 | 1,103 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
23.2%
Irish
15.5%
English
14.4%
Polish
12.4%
American
7.6%
French
5.1%
Italian
4.0%
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: 44.4 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
$68,183
Otsego County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Otsego County$68,183
Michigan$72,875
United States$80,734
Otsego 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
8.0%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.4%
Working age (18–64)7.2%
Seniors (65+)8.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.6%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.4%
Spanish0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
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 69.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Otsego's population of roughly 23,000 clusters around Gaylord in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, and the county has delivered Republican presidential margins exceeding 30 points in recent cycles, making it one of the state's most reliably one-sided rural counties.
The Republican margin here reached sixty-two points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-five points.
A population of 25,584, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $68,183 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Nye County and Barry 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.
Otsego County, Michigan. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/26137/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Otsego County, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Otsego County, Michigan voted Republican by 35.3 points (R+35), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 15,999 votes cast, 5,052 went Democratic and 10,693 went Republican.
What is Otsego County, Michigan's political typology?
Akashic places Otsego County, Michigan 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 4 times, Republican 30 times, and other 0 times.
When did Otsego County, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Otsego County, Michigan voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Otsego County, Michigan?
Otsego County, Michigan has a population of 25,584 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Otsego County, Michigan?
Median household income in Otsego County, Michigan is $68,183 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Otsego County, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Otsego County, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 30 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.