McLeod County, Minnesota: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+38%. Republican peak: R+61 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+38MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 36,7982024 5-year
- Median household income
- $80,0842024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+38 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+61 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Schoharie County, NY · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of McLeod CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for McLeod 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 | −22.2% |
| 1896 | +1.7% |
| 1900 | −4.5% |
| 1904 | −28.8% |
| 1908 | −2.3% |
| 1912 | +19.8% |
| 1916 | −14.6% |
| 1920 | −61.3% |
| 1924 | −36.0% |
| 1928 | −10.4% |
| 1932 | +38.0% |
| 1936 | +18.7% |
| 1940 | −38.1% |
| 1944 | −38.3% |
| 1948 | −7.3% |
| 1952 | −44.4% |
| 1956 | −37.4% |
| 1960 | −25.5% |
| 1964 | +1.9% |
| 1968 | −14.6% |
| 1972 | −25.8% |
| 1976 | −2.0% |
| 1980 | −20.2% |
| 1984 | −28.1% |
| 1988 | −16.1% |
| 1992 | −3.3% |
| 1996 | +3.9% |
| 2000 | −20.6% |
| 2004 | −25.5% |
| 2008 | −18.3% |
| 2012 | −22.1% |
| 2016 | −38.2% |
| 2020 | −36.2% |
| 2024 | −37.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 6,374 | 14,394 | 21,199 | ||
| R | 6,413 | 13,986 | 20,933 | ||
| R | 4,978 | 12,155 | 18,807 | ||
| R | 6,968 | 11,069 | 18,553 | ||
| R | 7,505 | 10,993 | 19,029 | ||
| R | 6,712 | 11,407 | 18,412 | ||
| R | 5,609 | 8,782 | 15,394 | ||
| D | 6,027 | 5,474 | 14,063 | ||
| R | 4,919 | 5,422 | 15,347 | ||
| R | 5,736 | 7,967 | 13,862 | ||
| R | 4,864 | 8,728 | 13,727 | ||
| R | 4,987 | 7,819 | 14,035 | ||
| R | 6,249 | 6,519 | 13,238 | ||
| R | 4,538 | 7,820 | 12,733 | ||
| R | 4,861 | 6,619 | 12,064 | ||
| D | 5,755 | 5,545 | 11,316 | ||
| R | 4,276 | 7,214 | 11,511 | ||
| R | 3,068 | 6,743 | 9,828 | ||
| R | 2,781 | 7,246 | 10,048 | ||
| R | 3,987 | 4,623 | 8,716 | ||
| R | 2,557 | 5,756 | 8,361 | ||
| R | 2,884 | 6,474 | 9,420 | ||
| D | 4,449 | 2,941 | 8,058 | ||
| D | 5,187 | 2,293 | 7,608 | ||
| R | 3,445 | 4,252 | 7,757 | ||
| O | 563 | 2,841 | 6,329 | ||
| R | 1,139 | 5,430 | 6,996 | ||
| R | 1,305 | 1,772 | 3,209 | ||
| D | 1,225 | 655 | 2,876 | ||
| R | 1,506 | 1,579 | 3,197 | ||
| R | 793 | 1,478 | 2,380 | ||
| R | 1,540 | 1,691 | 3,381 | ||
| D | 1,653 | 1,595 | 3,342 | ||
| R | 902 | 1,523 | 2,794 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
46.5%
Irish
7.7%
Polish
5.4%
English
4.8%
American
3.9%
French
1.8%
Italian
1.0%
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.
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
$80,084
McLeod County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
McLeod County$80,084
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
McLeod 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
8.7%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 189.3%
Working age (18–64)7.7%
Seniors (65+)15.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.6%
speak English only
Spanish5.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other Indo-European0.4%
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 30.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
McLeod County, anchored by Hutchinson, has shifted steadily rightward over the past two decades; its 2024 presidential margin of R+37.8 reflects a pattern of lopsided results common to agriculturally dominant, small-city counties in the region.
The Republican margin here reached sixty-one points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-eight points.
A population of 36,798, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $80,084 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Schoharie County and Hardy 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.
McLeod County, Minnesota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/27085/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Minnesota
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did McLeod County, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, McLeod County, Minnesota voted Republican by 37.8 points (R+38), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 21,199 votes cast, 6,374 went Democratic and 14,394 went Republican.
What is McLeod County, Minnesota's political typology?
Akashic places McLeod County, Minnesota in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. 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 6 times, Republican 27 times, and other 1 times.
When did McLeod County, Minnesota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which McLeod County, Minnesota voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in McLeod County, Minnesota?
McLeod County, Minnesota has a population of 36,798 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in McLeod County, Minnesota?
Median household income in McLeod County, Minnesota is $80,084 — below the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of McLeod County, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in McLeod County, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.