Howard County, Missouri: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+44%. Democratic peak: D+60 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+44MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 10,1472024 5-year
- Median household income
- $65,9382024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+60 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+44 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Monroe County, MO · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Howard CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Howard 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 | +40.5% |
| 1896 | +41.8% |
| 1900 | +40.8% |
| 1904 | +37.5% |
| 1908 | +43.0% |
| 1912 | +46.8% |
| 1916 | +43.4% |
| 1920 | +37.9% |
| 1924 | +42.1% |
| 1928 | +32.7% |
| 1932 | +59.6% |
| 1936 | +50.5% |
| 1940 | +34.2% |
| 1944 | +33.9% |
| 1948 | +45.8% |
| 1952 | +21.6% |
| 1956 | +23.9% |
| 1960 | +22.8% |
| 1964 | +44.7% |
| 1968 | +10.9% |
| 1972 | −12.3% |
| 1976 | +24.0% |
| 1980 | +1.4% |
| 1984 | −7.9% |
| 1988 | +13.4% |
| 1992 | +18.7% |
| 1996 | +11.2% |
| 2000 | −10.4% |
| 2004 | −19.2% |
| 2008 | −13.8% |
| 2012 | −26.6% |
| 2016 | −41.0% |
| 2020 | −42.0% |
| 2024 | −44.2% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,341 | 3,534 | 4,956 | ||
| R | 1,413 | 3,553 | 5,092 | ||
| R | 1,283 | 3,277 | 4,868 | ||
| R | 1,723 | 3,017 | 4,867 | ||
| R | 2,036 | 2,708 | 4,855 | ||
| R | 1,972 | 2,915 | 4,921 | ||
| R | 1,944 | 2,414 | 4,512 | ||
| D | 2,014 | 1,545 | 4,203 | ||
| D | 2,085 | 1,253 | 4,443 | ||
| D | 2,446 | 1,865 | 4,322 | ||
| R | 2,014 | 2,360 | 4,374 | ||
| D | 2,243 | 2,179 | 4,554 | ||
| D | 2,769 | 1,690 | 4,494 | ||
| R | 2,041 | 2,613 | 4,654 | ||
| D | 2,333 | 1,825 | 4,665 | ||
| D | 3,507 | 1,339 | 4,846 | ||
| D | 3,302 | 2,075 | 5,377 | ||
| D | 3,542 | 2,177 | 5,719 | ||
| D | 3,635 | 2,340 | 5,982 | ||
| D | 4,143 | 1,538 | 5,693 | ||
| D | 3,958 | 1,951 | 5,918 | ||
| D | 4,770 | 2,333 | 7,123 | ||
| D | 5,326 | 1,745 | 7,092 | ||
| D | 5,354 | 1,337 | 6,737 | ||
| D | 4,452 | 2,254 | 6,720 | ||
| D | 4,759 | 1,873 | 6,860 | ||
| D | 4,735 | 2,125 | 6,888 | ||
| D | 2,866 | 1,121 | 4,023 | ||
| D | 2,672 | 896 | 3,791 | ||
| D | 2,884 | 1,141 | 4,053 | ||
| D | 2,674 | 1,199 | 3,929 | ||
| D | 3,134 | 1,295 | 4,505 | ||
| D | 3,317 | 1,353 | 4,698 | ||
| D | 2,570 | 1,052 | 3,751 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
23.9%
English
11.3%
Irish
10.1%
American
6.1%
Scottish
1.7%
Italian
1.2%
French
1.1%
African American
4.4%
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: 39.0 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
$65,938
Howard County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Howard County$65,938
Missouri$70,702
United States$80,734
Howard 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
12.0%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 188.6%
Working age (18–64)12.9%
Seniors (65+)13.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.9%
speak English only
Spanish0.5%
Other Indo-European0.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
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 52.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Howard County's roughly 10,000 residents are concentrated in small towns along the Missouri River, and its presidential margins have shifted sharply rightward since 2012, reflecting a rural realignment common across central Missouri.
The Republican margin here reached forty-four points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-four points.
A population of 10,147, a 87% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $65,938 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Monroe County and Lewis 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.
Howard County, Missouri. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/29089/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Howard County, Missouri vote in 2024?
In 2024, Howard County, Missouri voted Republican by 44.2 points (R+44), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 4,956 votes cast, 1,341 went Democratic and 3,534 went Republican.
What is Howard County, Missouri's political typology?
Akashic places Howard County, Missouri 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 25 times, Republican 9 times, and other 0 times.
When did Howard County, Missouri last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Howard County, Missouri voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Howard County, Missouri?
Howard County, Missouri has a population of 10,147 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Howard County, Missouri?
Median household income in Howard County, Missouri is $65,938 — below the national median of $80,734. The Missouri state median is $70,702.
What is the political history of Howard County, Missouri?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Howard County, Missouri from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 25 went Democratic and 9 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.