† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
35 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupDes Moines-AmesIowaUnited States
German27.4%30.5%12.5%
Irish12.8%12.8%9.4%
English11.6%10.2%9.5%
Norwegian4.4%4.1%—
American4.0%4.6%5.3%
Dutch3.3%2.7%—
Italian2.3%1.6%4.8%
Swedish2.2%1.9%—
Mexican5.4%5.0%11.3%
Puerto Rican0.4%0.3%1.8%
Salvadoran0.4%0.3%0.7%
Guatemalan0.3%0.4%0.5%
Honduran0.3%0.2%0.3%
African American†2.3%2.6%9.9%
Sudanese0.4%0.2%—
African0.3%0.3%0.5%
Liberian0.3%——
Asian Indian0.7%0.5%1.4%
Burmese0.5%0.3%—
Chinese0.4%0.3%1.3%
Laotian0.3%0.2%—
Vietnamese0.3%0.3%0.6%
Korean0.2%0.2%0.4%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Des Moines-Ames
Iowa
United States
Median age
37.5
38.8
39.1
Age 18–24
10.4%
10.0%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
16.5%
18.1%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Des Moines-Ames
Iowa
United States
Median household income
$79,752
$75,059
$84,427
Poverty rate
10.4%
11.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
35.8%
31.8%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Des Moines-Ames
Iowa
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
10.8%
9.2%
22.3%
Spanish
5.3%
4.7%
13.6%
Other Asian & Pacific Island
1.4%
1.0%
1.1%
Religious landscape
Measure
Des Moines-Ames
Iowa
United States
Catholic
12.3%
14.7%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
11.4%
10.9%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
57.9%
55.2%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
15.1%
15.8%
5.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Des Moines-Ames, Iowa
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−14.9%
1896
−14.3%
1900
−24.5%
1904
−41.0%
1908
−21.4%
1912
+7.9%
1916
−10.8%
1920
−44.2%
1924
−42.7%
1928
−30.2%
1932
+12.7%
1936
+10.8%
1940
+1.8%
1944
+1.2%
1948
+6.1%
1952
−24.9%
1956
−14.3%
1960
−12.8%
1964
+29.0%
1968
−9.2%
1972
−15.0%
1976
+4.4%
1980
−9.5%
1984
−2.4%
1988
+15.7%
1992
+6.9%
1996
+11.5%
2000
−1.2%
2004
−2.2%
2008
+6.8%
2012
+4.4%
2016
−6.7%
2020
−5.3%
2024
−9.9%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
44.2%Harris283,449
54.0%Trump346,757
1.8%
R+9.9
R+4.5
R+8.4
641,578
R
46.3%Biden297,350
51.6%Trump331,580
2.1%
R+5.3
D+1.4
R+9.8
642,235
R
42.5%Clinton248,810
49.2%Trump288,284
8.3%
R+6.7
R+11.1
R+8.8
585,993
D
51.2%Obama296,307
46.8%Romney270,807
1.9%
D+4.4
R+2.4
D+0.6
578,272
D
52.5%Obama291,697
45.7%McCain253,932
1.8%
D+6.8
D+9.0
R+0.5
555,821
R
48.5%Kerry260,874
50.7%Bush272,982
0.8%
R+2.2
R+1.0
D+0.2
538,338
R
48.0%Gore225,275
49.2%Bush230,913
2.8%
R+1.2
R+12.7
R+1.7
469,349
D
51.3%Clinton222,559
39.8%Dole172,677
8.9%
D+11.5
D+4.6
D+3.0
433,892
D
44.8%Clinton209,156
37.9%Bush176,979
17.3%
D+6.9
R+8.9
D+1.3
466,907
D
57.5%Dukakis242,952
41.8%Bush176,446
0.7%
D+15.7
D+18.2
D+23.5
422,476
R
48.4%Mondale220,101
50.8%Reagan231,063
0.8%
R+2.4
D+7.1
D+15.8
454,872
R
39.8%Carter180,609
49.3%Reagan223,776
10.8%
R+9.5
R+13.9
D+0.2
453,486
D
51.1%Carter223,371
46.7%Ford204,170
2.2%
D+4.4
D+19.4
D+2.3
437,242
R
41.4%McGovern175,261
56.5%Nixon238,822
2.1%
R+15.0
R+5.9
D+8.1
422,977
R
42.1%Humphrey165,279
51.3%Nixon201,267
6.6%
R+9.2
R+38.2
R+8.5
392,409
D
64.4%Johnson254,979
35.3%Goldwater140,041
0.3%
D+29.0
D+41.8
D+6.4
396,200
R
43.6%Kennedy187,502
56.4%Nixon242,632
0.1%
R+12.8
D+1.5
R+13.0
430,471
R
42.7%Stevenson181,829
57.0%Eisenhower242,777
0.3%
R+14.3
D+10.6
D+1.1
425,976
R
37.1%Stevenson162,023
62.0%Eisenhower270,995
1.0%
R+24.9
R+31.0
R+14.2
437,266
D
51.6%Truman182,169
45.6%Dewey160,774
2.8%
D+6.1
D+4.8
D+1.6
352,851
D
50.3%Roosevelt181,839
49.1%Dewey177,402
0.7%
D+1.2
R+0.6
R+6.3
361,605
D
50.7%Roosevelt211,317
48.9%Willkie203,641
0.5%
D+1.8
R+8.9
R+8.1
416,846
D
54.3%Roosevelt212,302
43.5%Landon170,115
2.2%
D+10.8
R+1.9
R+13.5
391,129
D
54.7%Roosevelt183,298
42.0%Hoover140,773
3.3%
D+12.7
D+42.8
R+5.1
335,159
R
34.5%Smith115,667
64.6%Hoover216,841
0.9%
R+30.2
D+12.6
R+12.7
335,465
R
13.8%Davis45,664
56.5%Coolidge187,456
29.8%
R+42.7
D+1.5
R+17.5
331,944
R
26.4%Cox81,794
70.6%Harding219,105
3.1%
R+44.2
R+33.4
R+18.0
310,398
R
43.0%Wilson75,781
53.8%Hughes94,821
3.2%
R+10.8
R+18.7
R+13.9
176,220
O
33.8%Wilson56,830
25.9%Taft43,568
40.3%
Roosevelt +6.6
D+29.3
R+11.7
168,267
R
36.9%Bryan62,974
58.3%Taft99,428
4.7%
R+21.4
D+19.7
R+11.8
170,484
R
25.7%Parker43,102
66.7%Roosevelt111,968
7.6%
R+41.0
R+16.6
R+21.4
167,762
R
36.4%Bryan67,245
60.8%McKinley112,508
2.8%
R+24.5
R+10.2
R+16.9
184,958
R
42.1%Bryan76,080
56.5%McKinley101,923
1.4%
R+14.3
D+0.5
R+8.2
180,550
R
38.5%Cleveland57,636
53.3%Harrison79,896
8.2%
R+14.9
—
R+16.5
149,832
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024R+4.8
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+9.9
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 5.1 points more Democratic.
DemocraticRepublicanUnaffiliatedOther parties
Voter registration in Des Moines-Ames
Year
Total registered
Democratic
Republican
Unaffiliated
Other
2008
776,667
276,761
229,289
270,180
437
2010
747,041
254,740
236,238
255,313
750
2012
768,075
251,147
247,883
267,913
1,132
2014
765,414
240,158
245,601
277,264
2,391
2016
789,658
253,036
261,878
270,070
4,674
2018
796,968
255,625
255,738
278,498
7,107
2020
835,712
286,437
279,906
261,597
7,772
2022
837,691
272,852
283,159
273,667
8,013
2024
852,214
256,148
297,138
290,346
8,582
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+1,411 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net +36,552 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Des Moines-Ames in Des Moines-Ames: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+2,100
2012
+143
2013
+3,959
2014
+4,486
2015
+1,566
2016
+2,794
2017
+3,091
2018
+1,980
2019
+1,458
2021
+6,543
2022
+1,446
2023
+2,124
2024
+3,451
2025
+1,411
The Des Moines–Ames market anchors Iowa's political center of gravity, blending a state capital, a Big Ten university town, and fast-growing Polk County suburbs that have trended competitive in recent presidential cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 29.0 points in 1964 and a Republican high of 44.2 points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the market moved 4.5 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 9.9 points.
A population of 1,225,525, a 81% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $79,752 describe the market. The market's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City & Dubuque and Madison.
Akashic
Political twins — media markets
The media markets whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
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 →
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All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Des Moines-Ames, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/dma/679/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Des Moines-Ames, Iowa voted Republican by 9.9 points (R+9.9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 641,578 votes cast, 283,449 went Democratic and 346,757 went Republican.
When did Des Moines-Ames, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Des Moines-Ames, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa?
Des Moines-Ames, Iowa has a population of 1,225,525 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa?
Median household income in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa is $79,752 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Des Moines-Ames, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 21 went Republican.
