Barnes County, North Dakota: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+35%. Republican peak: R+63 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+35MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 10,7732024 5-year
- Median household income
- $68,0382024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+30 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+63 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Richland County, ND · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Barnes CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Barnes 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 | −41.0% |
| 1896 | −0.5% |
| 1900 | −10.0% |
| 1904 | −59.3% |
| 1908 | −27.4% |
| 1912 | +16.0% |
| 1916 | +6.5% |
| 1920 | −63.1% |
| 1924 | −45.9% |
| 1928 | −6.5% |
| 1932 | +30.1% |
| 1936 | +27.9% |
| 1940 | −15.7% |
| 1944 | −11.6% |
| 1948 | −7.5% |
| 1952 | −44.3% |
| 1956 | −24.2% |
| 1960 | −15.5% |
| 1964 | +14.6% |
| 1968 | −17.8% |
| 1972 | −23.2% |
| 1976 | −9.2% |
| 1980 | −30.8% |
| 1984 | −26.6% |
| 1988 | −11.8% |
| 1992 | −9.4% |
| 1996 | −2.4% |
| 2000 | −26.4% |
| 2004 | −23.3% |
| 2008 | −1.5% |
| 2012 | −10.3% |
| 2016 | −29.2% |
| 2020 | −31.4% |
| 2024 | −35.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,661 | 3,531 | 5,339 | ||
| R | 1,820 | 3,568 | 5,565 | ||
| R | 1,597 | 3,160 | 5,344 | ||
| R | 2,394 | 2,964 | 5,522 | ||
| R | 2,741 | 2,826 | 5,694 | ||
| R | 2,186 | 3,541 | 5,813 | ||
| R | 1,933 | 3,452 | 5,748 | ||
| R | 2,317 | 2,449 | 5,468 | ||
| R | 2,124 | 2,728 | 6,449 | ||
| R | 2,858 | 3,631 | 6,546 | ||
| R | 2,507 | 4,348 | 6,925 | ||
| R | 2,128 | 4,392 | 7,346 | ||
| R | 3,321 | 4,011 | 7,462 | ||
| R | 2,804 | 4,518 | 7,389 | ||
| R | 2,623 | 3,831 | 6,805 | ||
| D | 4,007 | 2,987 | 7,008 | ||
| R | 3,223 | 4,403 | 7,629 | ||
| R | 2,730 | 4,475 | 7,219 | ||
| R | 2,120 | 5,534 | 7,703 | ||
| R | 2,892 | 3,385 | 6,594 | ||
| R | 2,922 | 3,696 | 6,653 | ||
| R | 3,384 | 4,649 | 8,062 | ||
| D | 4,484 | 2,324 | 7,746 | ||
| D | 4,833 | 2,527 | 7,667 | ||
| R | 3,293 | 3,755 | 7,083 | ||
| R | 346 | 3,205 | 6,228 | ||
| R | 1,101 | 5,150 | 6,416 | ||
| D | 1,678 | 1,467 | 3,254 | ||
| D | 940 | 570 | 2,306 | ||
| R | 996 | 1,786 | 2,878 | ||
| R | 451 | 2,041 | 2,681 | ||
| R | 1,077 | 1,324 | 2,462 | ||
| R | 977 | 986 | 1,987 | ||
| O | 0 | 665 | 1,621 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
38.5%
Irish
6.7%
English
4.1%
Polish
3.0%
American
2.2%
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%.
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: 43.5 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
$68,038
Barnes County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Barnes County$68,038
North Dakota$76,657
United States$80,734
Barnes 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
12.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.5%
Working age (18–64)10.5%
Seniors (65+)21.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.4%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.3%
Spanish1.0%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 33.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Barnes County's population has shed roughly a third of its peak mid-century total as farm consolidation reshaped the economy, leaving a predominantly rural electorate that has voted Republican by growing margins in recent presidential contests.
The Democratic margin here peaked at thirty points in 1932. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-five points.
A population of 10,773, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $68,038 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Richland County and Ramsey 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.
Barnes County, North Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/38003/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in North Dakota
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Barnes County, North Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Barnes County, North Dakota voted Republican by 35.0 points (R+35), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 5,339 votes cast, 1,661 went Democratic and 3,531 went Republican.
What is Barnes County, North Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Barnes County, North Dakota 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 5 times, Republican 28 times, and other 1 times.
When did Barnes County, North Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Barnes County, North Dakota voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Barnes County, North Dakota?
Barnes County, North Dakota has a population of 10,773 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Barnes County, North Dakota?
Median household income in Barnes County, North Dakota is $68,038 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Dakota state median is $76,657.
What is the political history of Barnes County, North Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Barnes County, North Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.