Rusk County, Wisconsin: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+38%. Republican peak: R+67 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+38MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 14,1792024 5-year
- Median household income
- $59,9442024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 93.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+31 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+67 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Washburn County, WI · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Rusk CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Rusk 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 | No data |
| 1896 | No data |
| 1900 | No data |
| 1904 | −67.3% |
| 1908 | −42.6% |
| 1912 | −3.1% |
| 1916 | −3.0% |
| 1920 | −64.5% |
| 1924 | −33.6% |
| 1928 | −28.9% |
| 1932 | +23.1% |
| 1936 | +21.0% |
| 1940 | +1.3% |
| 1944 | +2.3% |
| 1948 | +12.5% |
| 1952 | −19.5% |
| 1956 | −7.9% |
| 1960 | +8.8% |
| 1964 | +30.6% |
| 1968 | −1.8% |
| 1972 | +1.1% |
| 1976 | +19.1% |
| 1980 | −1.5% |
| 1984 | −2.7% |
| 1988 | +11.8% |
| 1992 | +11.9% |
| 1996 | +10.9% |
| 2000 | −8.1% |
| 2004 | −2.1% |
| 2008 | +8.3% |
| 2012 | −3.9% |
| 2016 | −33.8% |
| 2020 | −34.7% |
| 2024 | −38.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,516 | 5,660 | 8,270 | ||
| R | 2,517 | 5,257 | 7,886 | ||
| R | 2,171 | 4,564 | 7,088 | ||
| R | 3,397 | 3,676 | 7,191 | ||
| D | 3,855 | 3,253 | 7,272 | ||
| R | 3,820 | 3,985 | 7,927 | ||
| R | 3,161 | 3,758 | 7,366 | ||
| D | 2,941 | 2,219 | 6,643 | ||
| D | 3,376 | 2,430 | 7,967 | ||
| D | 3,888 | 3,063 | 7,004 | ||
| R | 3,843 | 4,061 | 7,979 | ||
| R | 3,584 | 3,704 | 7,795 | ||
| D | 4,050 | 2,724 | 6,957 | ||
| D | 3,075 | 3,007 | 6,279 | ||
| R | 2,559 | 2,666 | 5,959 | ||
| D | 4,176 | 2,214 | 6,405 | ||
| D | 3,692 | 3,094 | 6,803 | ||
| R | 2,929 | 3,433 | 6,395 | ||
| R | 2,777 | 4,134 | 6,964 | ||
| D | 3,401 | 2,623 | 6,239 | ||
| D | 3,238 | 3,092 | 6,388 | ||
| D | 3,578 | 3,484 | 7,160 | ||
| D | 3,877 | 2,453 | 6,780 | ||
| D | 3,194 | 1,942 | 5,410 | ||
| R | 1,925 | 3,524 | 5,539 | ||
| O | 272 | 1,932 | 4,940 | ||
| R | 441 | 2,609 | 3,362 | ||
| R | 926 | 989 | 2,078 | ||
| O | 522 | 575 | 1,702 | ||
| R | 532 | 1,431 | 2,110 | ||
| R | 247 | 1,415 | 1,736 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
34.7%
Irish
9.1%
Polish
8.5%
English
7.0%
American
4.1%
French
2.8%
Italian
1.8%
African American
1.0%
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: 49.2 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
$59,944
Rusk County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Rusk County$59,944
Wisconsin$77,485
United States$80,734
Rusk 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
13.1%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.6%
Working age (18–64)11.3%
Seniors (65+)11.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.6%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.5%
Spanish0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 66.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Rusk County's northwoods economy — centered on forestry, agriculture, and small manufacturing — anchors a population that has moved consistently toward Republican presidential candidates since 2000, reaching a 38-point margin in 2024.
The Democratic margin here peaked at thirty-one points in 1964. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-eight points.
A population of 14,179, a 94% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $59,944 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Washburn County and Grant 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.
Rusk County, Wisconsin. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/55107/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Rusk County, Wisconsin vote in 2024?
In 2024, Rusk County, Wisconsin voted Republican by 38.0 points (R+38), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 8,270 votes cast, 2,516 went Democratic and 5,660 went Republican.
What is Rusk County, Wisconsin's political typology?
Akashic places Rusk 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 13 times, Republican 16 times, and other 2 times.
When did Rusk County, Wisconsin last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rusk County, Wisconsin voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Rusk County, Wisconsin?
Rusk County, Wisconsin has a population of 14,179 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rusk County, Wisconsin?
Median household income in Rusk County, Wisconsin is $59,944 — below the national median of $80,734. The Wisconsin state median is $77,485.
What is the political history of Rusk County, Wisconsin?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Rusk County, Wisconsin from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.