Freeborn County, Minnesota: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+21%. Republican peak: R+68 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+21MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 30,6232024 5-year
- Median household income
- $71,0232024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 83.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 10.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+39 in 1892MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+68 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Floyd County, IA · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Freeborn CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Freeborn 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 | +38.6% |
| 1896 | −47.2% |
| 1900 | −53.0% |
| 1904 | −65.7% |
| 1908 | −36.9% |
| 1912 | +5.3% |
| 1916 | −26.6% |
| 1920 | −68.3% |
| 1924 | −58.8% |
| 1928 | −46.1% |
| 1932 | +8.2% |
| 1936 | +22.1% |
| 1940 | +1.9% |
| 1944 | +6.2% |
| 1948 | +19.5% |
| 1952 | −12.8% |
| 1956 | −3.3% |
| 1960 | −5.6% |
| 1964 | +26.4% |
| 1968 | +8.2% |
| 1972 | −15.1% |
| 1976 | +6.9% |
| 1980 | −1.5% |
| 1984 | +5.2% |
| 1988 | +9.9% |
| 1992 | +15.0% |
| 1996 | +20.6% |
| 2000 | +10.4% |
| 2004 | +11.6% |
| 2008 | +17.1% |
| 2012 | +14.1% |
| 2016 | −17.2% |
| 2020 | −16.0% |
| 2024 | −21.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 6,448 | 10,003 | 16,704 | ||
| R | 6,889 | 9,578 | 16,818 | ||
| R | 6,041 | 8,808 | 16,051 | ||
| D | 9,326 | 6,969 | 16,706 | ||
| D | 9,915 | 6,955 | 17,280 | ||
| D | 9,733 | 7,681 | 17,666 | ||
| D | 8,514 | 6,843 | 16,139 | ||
| D | 8,458 | 5,166 | 15,988 | ||
| D | 7,759 | 5,089 | 17,813 | ||
| D | 8,836 | 7,226 | 16,218 | ||
| D | 9,338 | 8,413 | 17,867 | ||
| R | 8,212 | 8,475 | 17,785 | ||
| D | 9,470 | 8,220 | 18,018 | ||
| R | 7,163 | 9,747 | 17,130 | ||
| D | 8,671 | 7,315 | 16,563 | ||
| D | 10,554 | 6,136 | 16,709 | ||
| R | 8,018 | 8,970 | 17,010 | ||
| R | 7,138 | 7,632 | 14,781 | ||
| R | 6,525 | 8,450 | 15,021 | ||
| D | 7,825 | 5,238 | 13,276 | ||
| D | 6,486 | 5,728 | 12,246 | ||
| D | 6,942 | 6,683 | 13,680 | ||
| D | 7,378 | 4,653 | 12,305 | ||
| D | 5,838 | 4,931 | 11,052 | ||
| R | 2,859 | 7,815 | 10,750 | ||
| R | 480 | 6,139 | 9,630 | ||
| R | 1,131 | 6,772 | 8,263 | ||
| R | 1,347 | 2,418 | 4,025 | ||
| O | 880 | 672 | 3,944 | ||
| R | 976 | 2,465 | 4,032 | ||
| R | 461 | 2,876 | 3,678 | ||
| R | 838 | 2,934 | 3,956 | ||
| R | 1,179 | 3,400 | 4,706 | ||
| D | 2,004 | 743 | 3,271 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
30.0%
Irish
9.5%
English
6.2%
American
3.9%
Polish
2.2%
French
1.3%
Scottish
1.0%
African American
1.3%
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: 44.3 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
$71,023
Freeborn County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Freeborn County$71,023
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Freeborn 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
10.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.1%
Working age (18–64)10.5%
Seniors (65+)8.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.4%
speak English only
Spanish5.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.9%
Other Indo-European0.6%
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 41.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Freeborn County, anchored by Albert Lea, was reliably competitive into the early 2000s but has trended heavily Republican over the past two decades, reflecting the broader realignment of rural Midwest manufacturing and agricultural communities.
The Democratic margin here peaked at thirty-nine points in 1892. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-one points.
A population of 30,623, a 84% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $71,023 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Floyd County and Itasca 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.
Freeborn County, Minnesota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/27047/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Freeborn County, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Freeborn County, Minnesota voted Republican by 21.3 points (R+21), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 16,704 votes cast, 6,448 went Democratic and 10,003 went Republican.
What is Freeborn County, Minnesota's political typology?
Akashic places Freeborn 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 17 times, Republican 16 times, and other 1 times.
When did Freeborn County, Minnesota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Freeborn County, Minnesota voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Freeborn County, Minnesota?
Freeborn County, Minnesota has a population of 30,623 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Freeborn County, Minnesota?
Median household income in Freeborn County, Minnesota is $71,023 — below the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Freeborn County, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Freeborn County, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 17 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.