Benson County, North Dakota: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+18%. Republican peak: R+75 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+18MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 5,8082024 5-year
- Median household income
- $64,0332024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 43.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+50 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+75 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Winneshiek County, IA · similarity 0.95
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Benson CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Benson County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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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 | −68.8% |
| 1896 | −41.1% |
| 1900 | −53.3% |
| 1904 | −74.6% |
| 1908 | −40.3% |
| 1912 | +4.0% |
| 1916 | −12.7% |
| 1920 | −65.5% |
| 1924 | −39.1% |
| 1928 | −8.8% |
| 1932 | +50.4% |
| 1936 | +43.3% |
| 1940 | +7.6% |
| 1944 | +13.3% |
| 1948 | +6.8% |
| 1952 | −40.1% |
| 1956 | −11.6% |
| 1960 | −1.8% |
| 1964 | +26.5% |
| 1968 | +1.8% |
| 1972 | −11.2% |
| 1976 | +7.6% |
| 1980 | −28.7% |
| 1984 | −3.9% |
| 1988 | +12.4% |
| 1992 | +9.6% |
| 1996 | +9.6% |
| 2000 | −4.8% |
| 2004 | +8.6% |
| 2008 | +35.8% |
| 2012 | +17.0% |
| 2016 | −4.3% |
| 2020 | −13.9% |
| 2024 | −18.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 795 | 1,163 | 2,002 | ||
| R | 822 | 1,094 | 1,961 | ||
| R | 842 | 929 | 2,011 | ||
| D | 1,235 | 868 | 2,157 | ||
| D | 1,569 | 733 | 2,334 | ||
| D | 1,196 | 1,002 | 2,246 | ||
| R | 952 | 1,055 | 2,154 | ||
| D | 1,059 | 850 | 2,172 | ||
| D | 1,126 | 874 | 2,625 | ||
| D | 1,691 | 1,316 | 3,031 | ||
| R | 1,599 | 1,729 | 3,363 | ||
| R | 1,119 | 2,149 | 3,587 | ||
| D | 1,973 | 1,689 | 3,725 | ||
| R | 1,635 | 2,050 | 3,721 | ||
| D | 1,772 | 1,707 | 3,643 | ||
| D | 2,566 | 1,489 | 4,060 | ||
| R | 2,181 | 2,259 | 4,443 | ||
| R | 1,851 | 2,340 | 4,203 | ||
| R | 1,353 | 3,192 | 4,584 | ||
| D | 2,216 | 1,920 | 4,331 | ||
| D | 2,261 | 1,726 | 4,010 | ||
| D | 2,898 | 2,485 | 5,420 | ||
| D | 3,343 | 1,020 | 5,363 | ||
| D | 3,650 | 1,170 | 4,917 | ||
| R | 2,194 | 2,621 | 4,872 | ||
| O | 246 | 1,870 | 4,156 | ||
| R | 680 | 3,540 | 4,365 | ||
| R | 922 | 1,210 | 2,270 | ||
| O | 594 | 515 | 1,971 | ||
| R | 553 | 1,363 | 2,010 | ||
| R | 143 | 1,111 | 1,298 | ||
| R | 319 | 1,084 | 1,436 | ||
| R | 227 | 549 | 783 | ||
| R | 0 | 419 | 609 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
19.7%
Irish
2.9%
English
2.3%
Polish
1.7%
Italian
1.5%
French
0.6%
American
0.6%
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: 32.6 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
$64,033
Benson County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Benson County$64,033
North Dakota$76,657
United States$80,734
Benson 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
25.6%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1831.0%
Working age (18–64)23.3%
Seniors (65+)18.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.9%
speak English only
Other languages3.7%
Spanish1.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other Indo-European0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 34.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Benson County is home to the Spirit Lake Nation reservation, giving it a Native American population share well above state norms and producing presidential margins that have tightened in cycles tied closely to tribal turnout fluctuations.
The Democratic margin here peaked at fifty points in 1932. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was eighteen points.
A population of 5,808, a 43% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $64,033 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Winneshiek County and Norman 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.
Benson County, North Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/38005/. 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 Benson County, North Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Benson County, North Dakota voted Republican by 18.4 points (R+18), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 2,002 votes cast, 795 went Democratic and 1,163 went Republican.
What is Benson County, North Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Benson 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 14 times, Republican 18 times, and other 2 times.
When did Benson County, North Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Benson County, North Dakota voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Benson County, North Dakota?
Benson County, North Dakota has a population of 5,808 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Benson County, North Dakota?
Median household income in Benson County, North Dakota is $64,033 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Dakota state median is $76,657.
What is the political history of Benson County, North Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Benson County, North Dakota 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.