Clearwater County, Minnesota: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+50%. Republican peak: R+78 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+50MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 8,6162024 5-year
- Median household income
- $64,4752024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 83.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 0.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+53 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+78 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Van Buren County, IA · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Clearwater CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Clearwater 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 | No data |
| 1896 | No data |
| 1900 | No data |
| 1904 | −77.8% |
| 1908 | −52.2% |
| 1912 | −0.2% |
| 1916 | +4.1% |
| 1920 | −57.3% |
| 1924 | −34.4% |
| 1928 | −22.4% |
| 1932 | +49.9% |
| 1936 | +53.3% |
| 1940 | +41.4% |
| 1944 | +40.2% |
| 1948 | +38.5% |
| 1952 | +2.9% |
| 1956 | +19.4% |
| 1960 | +19.7% |
| 1964 | +39.0% |
| 1968 | +21.4% |
| 1972 | −1.8% |
| 1976 | +26.5% |
| 1980 | +0.9% |
| 1984 | −3.7% |
| 1988 | +0.2% |
| 1992 | +7.2% |
| 1996 | +4.4% |
| 2000 | −17.5% |
| 2004 | −13.0% |
| 2008 | −9.7% |
| 2012 | −14.4% |
| 2016 | −43.0% |
| 2020 | −44.9% |
| 2024 | −50.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,169 | 3,575 | 4,814 | ||
| R | 1,260 | 3,372 | 4,708 | ||
| R | 1,100 | 2,925 | 4,245 | ||
| R | 1,753 | 2,359 | 4,197 | ||
| R | 1,877 | 2,291 | 4,261 | ||
| R | 1,871 | 2,438 | 4,361 | ||
| R | 1,466 | 2,137 | 3,824 | ||
| D | 1,578 | 1,423 | 3,514 | ||
| D | 1,587 | 1,315 | 3,758 | ||
| D | 1,769 | 1,763 | 3,567 | ||
| R | 1,917 | 2,066 | 4,025 | ||
| D | 1,955 | 1,919 | 4,137 | ||
| D | 2,437 | 1,374 | 4,015 | ||
| R | 1,751 | 1,819 | 3,683 | ||
| D | 2,046 | 1,284 | 3,561 | ||
| D | 2,596 | 1,137 | 3,739 | ||
| D | 2,466 | 1,651 | 4,135 | ||
| D | 2,171 | 1,464 | 3,650 | ||
| D | 2,089 | 1,971 | 4,116 | ||
| D | 2,793 | 1,171 | 4,212 | ||
| D | 2,658 | 1,125 | 3,817 | ||
| D | 3,289 | 1,354 | 4,678 | ||
| D | 3,208 | 939 | 4,258 | ||
| D | 2,688 | 845 | 3,692 | ||
| R | 1,189 | 1,898 | 3,163 | ||
| O | 86 | 1,020 | 2,717 | ||
| R | 340 | 1,788 | 2,528 | ||
| D | 544 | 493 | 1,235 | ||
| O | 123 | 125 | 1,095 | ||
| R | 164 | 779 | 1,179 | ||
| R | 79 | 903 | 1,059 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
22.7%
Irish
4.9%
English
4.4%
American
3.2%
French
3.1%
Polish
1.1%
Scottish
0.8%
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.
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: 41.6 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
$64,475
Clearwater County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Clearwater County$64,475
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Clearwater 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
12.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.6%
Working age (18–64)12.0%
Seniors (65+)16.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.1%
speak English only
Other Indo-European4.7%
Other languages2.0%
Spanish1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 46.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Clearwater County in northwest Minnesota returned a 50-point Republican presidential margin in 2024, reflecting a broader rural realignment that has made once-competitive small-farm counties among the most lopsided in the state.
The Democratic margin here peaked at fifty-three points in 1936. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty points.
A population of 8,616, a 84% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $64,475 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Van Buren County and Taylor 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.
Clearwater County, Minnesota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/27029/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Clearwater County, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Clearwater County, Minnesota voted Republican by 50.0 points (R+50), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 4,814 votes cast, 1,169 went Democratic and 3,575 went Republican.
What is Clearwater County, Minnesota's political typology?
Akashic places Clearwater County, Minnesota 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 16 times, Republican 13 times, and other 2 times.
When did Clearwater County, Minnesota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Clearwater County, Minnesota voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Clearwater County, Minnesota?
Clearwater County, Minnesota has a population of 8,616 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Clearwater County, Minnesota?
Median household income in Clearwater County, Minnesota is $64,475 — below the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Clearwater County, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Clearwater County, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.