Lafayette County, Wisconsin: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+20%. Republican peak: R+55 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+20MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 16,9422024 5-year
- Median household income
- $76,4622024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+22 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+55 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Grant County, WI · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Lafayette CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Lafayette 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 | −1.6% |
| 1896 | −12.8% |
| 1900 | −14.7% |
| 1904 | −19.2% |
| 1908 | −14.5% |
| 1912 | +2.4% |
| 1916 | −10.3% |
| 1920 | −55.0% |
| 1924 | −18.3% |
| 1928 | −17.7% |
| 1932 | +20.0% |
| 1936 | +12.7% |
| 1940 | −7.9% |
| 1944 | −8.9% |
| 1948 | +6.4% |
| 1952 | −32.7% |
| 1956 | −19.1% |
| 1960 | −13.3% |
| 1964 | +16.6% |
| 1968 | −16.6% |
| 1972 | −26.9% |
| 1976 | −3.6% |
| 1980 | −9.6% |
| 1984 | −21.4% |
| 1988 | −2.0% |
| 1992 | +7.1% |
| 1996 | +16.9% |
| 2000 | +5.1% |
| 2004 | +5.6% |
| 2008 | +22.3% |
| 2012 | +15.4% |
| 2016 | −9.0% |
| 2020 | −13.7% |
| 2024 | −20.2% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,469 | 5,256 | 8,832 | ||
| R | 3,647 | 4,821 | 8,555 | ||
| R | 3,288 | 3,977 | 7,662 | ||
| D | 4,536 | 3,314 | 7,952 | ||
| D | 4,732 | 2,984 | 7,831 | ||
| D | 4,402 | 3,929 | 8,388 | ||
| D | 3,710 | 3,336 | 7,263 | ||
| D | 3,261 | 2,172 | 6,460 | ||
| D | 3,143 | 2,582 | 7,859 | ||
| R | 3,521 | 3,665 | 7,230 | ||
| R | 2,961 | 4,584 | 7,586 | ||
| R | 3,598 | 4,421 | 8,591 | ||
| R | 3,839 | 4,131 | 8,183 | ||
| R | 2,804 | 4,898 | 7,786 | ||
| R | 2,853 | 4,084 | 7,412 | ||
| D | 4,471 | 3,194 | 7,671 | ||
| R | 3,607 | 4,715 | 8,330 | ||
| R | 3,212 | 4,733 | 7,978 | ||
| R | 2,905 | 5,731 | 8,653 | ||
| D | 3,740 | 3,288 | 7,104 | ||
| R | 3,696 | 4,421 | 8,147 | ||
| R | 4,315 | 5,059 | 9,419 | ||
| D | 4,976 | 3,801 | 9,247 | ||
| D | 4,886 | 3,246 | 8,213 | ||
| R | 3,585 | 5,134 | 8,771 | ||
| O | 1,265 | 2,671 | 7,699 | ||
| R | 1,357 | 4,893 | 6,429 | ||
| R | 2,059 | 2,544 | 4,705 | ||
| D | 1,852 | 1,747 | 4,463 | ||
| R | 2,100 | 2,832 | 5,061 | ||
| R | 1,928 | 2,875 | 4,941 | ||
| R | 2,100 | 2,852 | 5,108 | ||
| R | 2,236 | 2,919 | 5,332 | ||
| R | 2,286 | 2,366 | 4,943 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
29.6%
Irish
15.2%
English
12.6%
American
3.7%
Polish
1.9%
Italian
1.4%
French
1.3%
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: 40.8 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
$76,462
Lafayette County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Lafayette County$76,462
Wisconsin$77,485
United States$80,734
Lafayette 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
11.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.6%
Working age (18–64)10.0%
Seniors (65+)15.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.6%
speak English only
Spanish4.7%
Other Indo-European3.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Lafayette County's economy revolves around livestock farming and small agricultural towns, and its electorate has shifted steadily rightward over the past two decades, delivering a 20-point Republican margin in 2024 after splitting more closely in earlier elections.
The Democratic margin here peaked at twenty-two points in 2008. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved seven points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty points.
A population of 16,942, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $76,462 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Grant County and Erie 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.
Lafayette County, Wisconsin. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/55065/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Lafayette County, Wisconsin vote in 2024?
In 2024, Lafayette County, Wisconsin voted Republican by 20.2 points (R+20), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 8,832 votes cast, 3,469 went Democratic and 5,256 went Republican.
What is Lafayette County, Wisconsin's political typology?
Akashic places Lafayette County, Wisconsin 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 11 times, Republican 22 times, and other 1 times.
When did Lafayette County, Wisconsin last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Lafayette County, Wisconsin voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Lafayette County, Wisconsin?
Lafayette County, Wisconsin has a population of 16,942 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lafayette County, Wisconsin?
Median household income in Lafayette County, Wisconsin is $76,462 — below the national median of $80,734. The Wisconsin state median is $77,485.
What is the political history of Lafayette County, Wisconsin?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Lafayette County, Wisconsin from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.