Dakota County, Minnesota: Diversifying Metro county. In 2024, voted D+13%. Republican peak: R+41 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+13MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Diversifying MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 445,7712024 5-year
- Median household income
- $106,3182024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 74.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 7.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+34 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+41 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Clackamas County, OR · similarity 0.92
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Dakota CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Dakota 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 | −13.0% |
| 1896 | +3.5% |
| 1900 | −0.7% |
| 1904 | −41.1% |
| 1908 | −15.6% |
| 1912 | +27.2% |
| 1916 | +10.9% |
| 1920 | −39.4% |
| 1924 | −32.3% |
| 1928 | +9.0% |
| 1932 | +33.1% |
| 1936 | +31.5% |
| 1940 | +5.6% |
| 1944 | +5.1% |
| 1948 | +28.9% |
| 1952 | +0.1% |
| 1956 | −1.7% |
| 1960 | +14.5% |
| 1964 | +34.3% |
| 1968 | +18.3% |
| 1972 | −10.0% |
| 1976 | +8.0% |
| 1980 | +2.9% |
| 1984 | −5.7% |
| 1988 | +0.3% |
| 1992 | +7.2% |
| 1996 | +13.0% |
| 2000 | −1.0% |
| 2004 | −2.0% |
| 2008 | +5.5% |
| 2012 | +2.9% |
| 2016 | +4.6% |
| 2020 | +13.9% |
| 2024 | +12.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 143,267 | 109,994 | 259,803 | ||
| D | 146,155 | 109,638 | 262,259 | ||
| D | 110,592 | 99,864 | 231,860 | ||
| D | 116,255 | 109,516 | 230,821 | ||
| D | 116,778 | 104,364 | 225,472 | ||
| R | 104,635 | 108,959 | 215,846 | ||
| R | 85,446 | 87,250 | 182,249 | ||
| D | 77,297 | 57,244 | 154,266 | ||
| D | 63,660 | 52,312 | 157,080 | ||
| D | 61,942 | 61,606 | 124,580 | ||
| R | 49,125 | 55,119 | 104,911 | ||
| D | 43,433 | 40,708 | 94,755 | ||
| D | 44,253 | 37,542 | 84,080 | ||
| R | 28,479 | 34,967 | 64,796 | ||
| D | 28,416 | 19,290 | 49,908 | ||
| D | 28,391 | 13,856 | 42,328 | ||
| D | 20,150 | 15,032 | 35,273 | ||
| R | 12,672 | 13,112 | 25,839 | ||
| D | 11,890 | 11,871 | 23,879 | ||
| D | 12,487 | 6,819 | 19,623 | ||
| D | 8,562 | 7,731 | 16,403 | ||
| D | 9,327 | 8,339 | 17,743 | ||
| D | 8,890 | 4,043 | 15,398 | ||
| D | 8,958 | 4,439 | 13,635 | ||
| D | 7,215 | 6,019 | 13,323 | ||
| O | 929 | 3,931 | 9,284 | ||
| R | 2,190 | 5,373 | 8,086 | ||
| D | 2,373 | 1,881 | 4,508 | ||
| O | 1,777 | 609 | 4,290 | ||
| R | 1,778 | 2,481 | 4,505 | ||
| R | 1,078 | 2,685 | 3,909 | ||
| R | 1,878 | 1,904 | 3,997 | ||
| D | 2,310 | 2,147 | 4,626 | ||
| R | 1,481 | 1,989 | 3,902 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
29.3%
Irish
11.8%
English
7.8%
Polish
3.6%
Italian
2.8%
American
2.6%
French
2.5%
African American
6.2%
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: 38.6 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
$106,318
Dakota County ranks in the top 5% of US counties.
Dakota County$106,318
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Dakota County ranks in the top 5% 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
5.8%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 186.2%
Working age (18–64)5.5%
Seniors (65+)8.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
85.9%
speak English only
Spanish5.6%
Other languages3.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.2%
Other Indo-European2.0%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 47.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Dakota County shifted from a reliable Republican stronghold into Democratic-leaning territory as its share of college-educated residents climbed alongside suburban expansion from the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro edge.
The Democratic margin here reached thirty-four points in 1964. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirteen points.
A population of 445,771, a 74% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $106,318 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Clackamas County and Jefferson 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.
Dakota County, Minnesota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/27037/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Minnesota
More diversifying metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Dakota County, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Dakota County, Minnesota voted Democratic by 12.8 points (D+13), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 259,803 votes cast, 143,267 went Democratic and 109,994 went Republican.
What is Dakota County, Minnesota's political typology?
Akashic places Dakota County, Minnesota in the "Diversifying Metro" typology — Mid-size metropolitan counties growing more diverse and trending Democratic. 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 22 times, Republican 10 times, and other 2 times.
When did Dakota County, Minnesota last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Dakota County, Minnesota voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in Dakota County, Minnesota?
Dakota County, Minnesota has a population of 445,771 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Dakota County, Minnesota?
Median household income in Dakota County, Minnesota is $106,318 — above the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Dakota County, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Dakota County, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 10 went Republican. The county's typology — "Diversifying Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.