Blue Earth County, Minnesota: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+1%. Republican peak: R+62 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+1MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 69,8712024 5-year
- Median household income
- $74,4772024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 85.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+18 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+62 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Nicollet County, MN · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Blue Earth CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Blue Earth 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 | +4.8% |
| 1896 | −18.6% |
| 1900 | −22.4% |
| 1904 | −40.6% |
| 1908 | −18.9% |
| 1912 | +12.9% |
| 1916 | −12.3% |
| 1920 | −61.5% |
| 1924 | −46.0% |
| 1928 | −22.0% |
| 1932 | +17.3% |
| 1936 | +18.3% |
| 1940 | −24.1% |
| 1944 | −29.7% |
| 1948 | −1.7% |
| 1952 | −41.0% |
| 1956 | −35.1% |
| 1960 | −16.9% |
| 1964 | +14.2% |
| 1968 | −1.6% |
| 1972 | −8.7% |
| 1976 | +3.6% |
| 1980 | −4.0% |
| 1984 | −9.2% |
| 1988 | +1.7% |
| 1992 | +9.8% |
| 1996 | +13.2% |
| 2000 | −2.2% |
| 2004 | +3.4% |
| 2008 | +13.0% |
| 2012 | +9.5% |
| 2016 | −3.7% |
| 2020 | +4.4% |
| 2024 | −1.2% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 17,558 | 18,001 | 36,442 | ||
| D | 18,330 | 16,731 | 36,051 | ||
| R | 14,428 | 15,667 | 33,593 | ||
| D | 18,164 | 14,916 | 34,274 | ||
| D | 19,325 | 14,782 | 35,070 | ||
| D | 16,865 | 15,737 | 33,119 | ||
| R | 12,329 | 12,942 | 27,402 | ||
| D | 12,420 | 9,082 | 25,261 | ||
| D | 11,531 | 8,813 | 27,847 | ||
| D | 12,375 | 11,959 | 24,552 | ||
| R | 11,877 | 14,298 | 26,347 | ||
| R | 10,930 | 11,966 | 26,138 | ||
| D | 12,930 | 11,998 | 25,688 | ||
| R | 10,638 | 12,702 | 23,662 | ||
| R | 9,254 | 9,571 | 19,537 | ||
| D | 10,687 | 8,009 | 18,797 | ||
| R | 8,052 | 11,328 | 19,413 | ||
| R | 5,467 | 11,398 | 16,886 | ||
| R | 4,952 | 11,867 | 16,870 | ||
| R | 7,272 | 7,520 | 14,954 | ||
| R | 5,098 | 9,429 | 14,581 | ||
| R | 5,880 | 9,642 | 15,584 | ||
| D | 8,255 | 5,550 | 14,769 | ||
| D | 7,925 | 5,550 | 13,691 | ||
| R | 5,177 | 8,120 | 13,376 | ||
| R | 1,123 | 6,773 | 12,295 | ||
| R | 1,974 | 8,894 | 11,251 | ||
| R | 2,211 | 2,864 | 5,308 | ||
| D | 2,025 | 1,344 | 5,291 | ||
| R | 2,191 | 3,297 | 5,867 | ||
| R | 1,419 | 3,573 | 5,300 | ||
| R | 2,254 | 3,647 | 6,215 | ||
| R | 2,744 | 4,055 | 7,052 | ||
| D | 2,680 | 2,399 | 5,826 | ||
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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
8.7%
English
5.7%
American
3.7%
French
2.5%
Polish
2.4%
Scottish
0.9%
African American
3.8%
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: 31.6 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
$74,477
Blue Earth County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Blue Earth County$74,477
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Blue Earth 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
15.7%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.4%
Working age (18–64)17.6%
Seniors (65+)7.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.3%
speak English only
Other languages2.9%
Spanish2.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.5%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 47.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Mankato and Minnesota State University, Blue Earth County has trended sharply rightward over two decades, narrowing from a reliably Democratic county to a near-even split driven by shifting rural and small-city voting patterns.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached eighteen points in 1936; the Republican margin reached sixty-two points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was one point.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 85% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $74,477, and a 16% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Nicollet County and Franklin 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.
Blue Earth County, Minnesota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/27013/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Blue Earth County, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Blue Earth County, Minnesota voted Republican by 1.2 points (R+1), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 36,442 votes cast, 17,558 went Democratic and 18,001 went Republican.
What is Blue Earth County, Minnesota's political typology?
Akashic places Blue Earth County, Minnesota 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 13 times, Republican 21 times, and other 0 times.
When did Blue Earth County, Minnesota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Blue Earth County, Minnesota voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Blue Earth County, Minnesota?
Blue Earth County, Minnesota has a population of 69,871 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Blue Earth County, Minnesota?
Median household income in Blue Earth County, Minnesota is $74,477 — below the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Blue Earth County, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Blue Earth County, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 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.