Clay County, Minnesota: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted a near-tie. Republican peak: R+64 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- TiedMIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 66,0592024 5-year
- Median household income
- $81,1722024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 84.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+39 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+64 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Blaine County, MT · similarity 0.86
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Clay CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Clay 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 | +15.3% |
| 1896 | +8.7% |
| 1900 | −23.1% |
| 1904 | −64.3% |
| 1908 | −23.1% |
| 1912 | +12.9% |
| 1916 | +4.8% |
| 1920 | −53.3% |
| 1924 | −38.2% |
| 1928 | −23.3% |
| 1932 | +38.6% |
| 1936 | +35.4% |
| 1940 | +17.1% |
| 1944 | +8.7% |
| 1948 | +20.8% |
| 1952 | −17.5% |
| 1956 | −5.6% |
| 1960 | −6.7% |
| 1964 | +25.0% |
| 1968 | +0.5% |
| 1972 | −9.9% |
| 1976 | +2.6% |
| 1980 | −6.7% |
| 1984 | −5.8% |
| 1988 | +3.7% |
| 1992 | +0.8% |
| 1996 | +8.0% |
| 2000 | −6.8% |
| 2004 | −5.0% |
| 2008 | +16.0% |
| 2012 | +7.9% |
| 2016 | −1.9% |
| 2020 | +4.1% |
| 2024 | +0.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 16,121 | 15,965 | 32,874 | ||
| D | 16,357 | 15,043 | 32,239 | ||
| R | 12,971 | 13,543 | 29,398 | ||
| D | 15,208 | 12,920 | 28,886 | ||
| D | 16,666 | 11,978 | 29,259 | ||
| R | 12,989 | 14,365 | 27,737 | ||
| R | 10,128 | 11,712 | 23,358 | ||
| D | 10,476 | 8,764 | 21,319 | ||
| D | 9,845 | 9,666 | 23,478 | ||
| D | 11,186 | 10,380 | 21,705 | ||
| R | 10,294 | 11,565 | 21,978 | ||
| R | 8,940 | 10,447 | 22,508 | ||
| D | 10,876 | 10,317 | 21,708 | ||
| R | 9,076 | 11,089 | 20,400 | ||
| D | 7,987 | 7,910 | 16,560 | ||
| D | 10,161 | 6,085 | 16,285 | ||
| R | 7,241 | 8,278 | 15,544 | ||
| R | 6,057 | 6,783 | 12,855 | ||
| R | 5,036 | 7,178 | 12,234 | ||
| D | 6,624 | 4,302 | 11,145 | ||
| D | 5,230 | 4,392 | 9,674 | ||
| D | 6,295 | 4,450 | 10,793 | ||
| D | 6,282 | 2,880 | 9,621 | ||
| D | 5,938 | 2,556 | 8,764 | ||
| R | 3,128 | 5,057 | 8,272 | ||
| O | 439 | 3,081 | 6,916 | ||
| R | 1,335 | 4,943 | 6,771 | ||
| D | 1,716 | 1,549 | 3,458 | ||
| O | 942 | 549 | 3,052 | ||
| R | 1,125 | 1,857 | 3,164 | ||
| R | 388 | 2,185 | 2,796 | ||
| R | 1,165 | 1,903 | 3,201 | ||
| D | 1,908 | 1,594 | 3,592 | ||
| D | 959 | 594 | 2,386 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
29.7%
Irish
6.6%
English
5.7%
French
2.9%
Polish
2.6%
American
2.1%
Italian
1.4%
African American
3.9%
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: 33.7 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
$81,172
Clay County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Clay County$81,172
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Clay County ranks in the top 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
13.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.9%
Working age (18–64)13.4%
Seniors (65+)12.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.1%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.5%
Other languages1.9%
Spanish1.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Moorhead and Minnesota State University Moorhead, Clay County swings on college-town turnout balanced against surrounding agricultural precincts, producing presidential margins that have narrowed from double digits to fractions of a point over two decades.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached thirty-nine points in 1932; the Republican margin reached sixty-four points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was zero points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 85% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $81,172, and a 13% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Blaine County and St. Joseph 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.
Clay County, Minnesota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/27027/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Clay County, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Clay County, Minnesota voted a near-tie (Tied), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 32,874 votes cast, 16,121 went Democratic and 15,965 went Republican.
What is Clay County, Minnesota's political typology?
Akashic places Clay 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 18 times, Republican 14 times, and other 2 times.
When did Clay County, Minnesota last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Clay County, Minnesota voted Republican was 2016.
How many people live in Clay County, Minnesota?
Clay County, Minnesota has a population of 66,059 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Clay County, Minnesota?
Median household income in Clay County, Minnesota is $81,172 — above the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Clay County, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Clay County, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 14 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.