Pope County, Minnesota: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+32%. Republican peak: R+80 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+32MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 11,4182024 5-year
- Median household income
- $76,2202024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 94.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+42 in 1892MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+80 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Mercer County, PA · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Pope CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Pope 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 | +41.7% |
| 1896 | −43.2% |
| 1900 | −55.7% |
| 1904 | −80.1% |
| 1908 | −57.9% |
| 1912 | +2.8% |
| 1916 | −7.7% |
| 1920 | −60.7% |
| 1924 | −42.6% |
| 1928 | −33.5% |
| 1932 | +35.1% |
| 1936 | +25.4% |
| 1940 | +7.6% |
| 1944 | +3.2% |
| 1948 | +20.8% |
| 1952 | −20.2% |
| 1956 | −2.8% |
| 1960 | −3.0% |
| 1964 | +23.2% |
| 1968 | +1.6% |
| 1972 | +5.3% |
| 1976 | +24.4% |
| 1980 | −10.3% |
| 1984 | −5.2% |
| 1988 | +7.7% |
| 1992 | +12.3% |
| 1996 | +14.7% |
| 2000 | −0.6% |
| 2004 | −0.0% |
| 2008 | +3.8% |
| 2012 | −2.6% |
| 2016 | −26.7% |
| 2020 | −27.6% |
| 2024 | −31.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,398 | 4,677 | 7,218 | ||
| R | 2,477 | 4,417 | 7,022 | ||
| R | 2,106 | 3,793 | 6,319 | ||
| R | 2,981 | 3,142 | 6,246 | ||
| D | 3,317 | 3,069 | 6,536 | ||
| R | 3,301 | 3,303 | 6,700 | ||
| R | 2,771 | 2,808 | 5,987 | ||
| D | 2,803 | 1,992 | 5,529 | ||
| D | 2,619 | 1,886 | 5,970 | ||
| D | 3,074 | 2,627 | 5,776 | ||
| R | 2,757 | 3,064 | 5,862 | ||
| R | 2,527 | 3,159 | 6,153 | ||
| D | 3,746 | 2,251 | 6,127 | ||
| D | 2,910 | 2,610 | 5,681 | ||
| D | 2,592 | 2,504 | 5,368 | ||
| D | 3,549 | 2,213 | 5,764 | ||
| R | 2,883 | 3,062 | 5,958 | ||
| R | 2,577 | 2,725 | 5,309 | ||
| R | 2,381 | 3,593 | 5,988 | ||
| D | 3,251 | 2,114 | 5,462 | ||
| D | 2,781 | 2,607 | 5,401 | ||
| D | 3,266 | 2,805 | 6,090 | ||
| D | 3,200 | 1,869 | 5,242 | ||
| D | 3,571 | 1,688 | 5,365 | ||
| R | 1,667 | 3,382 | 5,114 | ||
| O | 151 | 2,079 | 4,531 | ||
| R | 709 | 3,466 | 4,540 | ||
| R | 1,121 | 1,321 | 2,581 | ||
| O | 443 | 379 | 2,279 | ||
| R | 442 | 1,794 | 2,334 | ||
| R | 159 | 1,729 | 1,961 | ||
| R | 481 | 1,774 | 2,322 | ||
| R | 688 | 1,773 | 2,514 | ||
| D | 1,037 | 282 | 1,809 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
36.8%
Irish
8.4%
English
4.4%
American
3.3%
Polish
2.6%
Italian
2.3%
French
2.2%
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: 45.3 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
$76,220
Pope County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Pope County$76,220
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Pope 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
9.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.2%
Working age (18–64)8.5%
Seniors (65+)14.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.3%
speak English only
Spanish1.3%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 42.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Pope County's sparse, agriculture-driven population and predominantly white, non-college demographic profile have pushed its presidential margins steadily rightward over the past two decades, reaching R+31.6 in 2024.
The Democratic margin here peaked at forty-two points in 1892. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-two points.
A population of 11,418, a 94% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $76,220 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Mercer County and Burnett 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.
Pope County, Minnesota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/27121/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Pope County, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Pope County, Minnesota voted Republican by 31.6 points (R+32), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 7,218 votes cast, 2,398 went Democratic and 4,677 went Republican.
What is Pope County, Minnesota's political typology?
Akashic places Pope 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 14 times, Republican 18 times, and other 2 times.
When did Pope County, Minnesota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Pope County, Minnesota voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Pope County, Minnesota?
Pope County, Minnesota has a population of 11,418 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Pope County, Minnesota?
Median household income in Pope County, Minnesota is $76,220 — below the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Pope County, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Pope County, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 14 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.