A small Lake Michigan metro where manufacturing heritage shapes close margins
Niles anchors a compact southwest Michigan metro straddling the Indiana border, where a legacy of automotive and light-industrial employment has kept working-class voter blocs competitive across recent election cycles.
| Group | Niles, MI | National |
|---|---|---|
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13) | 76.0% | 57.4% |
▶Black / African American(12) | 14.7% | 12.2% |
▶Hispanic / Latino(17) | 4.5% | 19.3% |
Multiracial / Other | 2.8% | 4.0% |
▶Asian(6) | 1.6% | 6.0% |
▶Native American / Alaska Native(2) | 0.3% | 0.9% |
▶Middle Eastern / North African(7) | 0.3% | 0.9% |
Catholic-Evangelical edge: -25.9pp (vs national 4.5pp). A strongly Evangelical-leaning religious profile, which nationally correlates with Republican-leaning rural and exurban communities.
| Tradition | % Pop | % Adherents | US Pop | US Adherents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.7% | 47.2% | — | — | |
| 11.3% | 25.7% | — | — | |
| 5.8% | 13.3% | — | — | |
| 3.9% | 8.9% | — | — | |
| 2.1% | 4.8% | — | — | |
LDS (Mormon) | 0.7% | 1.7% | — | — |
Non-religiousPopulation | 56.0% | — | — | — |
Who lives in the Niles, MI metro area? 631,004 residents across 4 counties.
25% of adults hold a bachelor's degree — 8pp below the national average. Places with similar education levels vote R+3 on average nationally.
Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.
Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.
Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.
| Offices | Margin A | Margin B | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| President vs Senate | R+7.9 | R+10.6 | 2.8pp |