akashic
1876–2024
Bay City, MI·Michigan

Bay City, MI delivered R+15 in 2024.

A Great Lakes industrial hub that has shifted sharply toward Republican margins

1876 — 2024·38 elections
MI
LatestR+15in 2024
TypologyFarm Beltcluster typology
Population103,0082024 ACS

Bay City, MI, Michigan: Farm Belt metro. In 2024, voted R+15%. Democratic peak: D+43 in 1964.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+15MIT Election Lab
Political typology
Farm BeltAkashic typology
Population
103,0082024 5-year
Median household income
$61,7632024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
90.7%2024 5-year
Black
1.2%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
5.9%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+43 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+40 in 1904MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Bay City, MI
TrumpR+15
—
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
Donald Trump ✓Republican56.7%34,792
Kamala HarrisDemocratic42.0%25,767
OtherAll other candidates1.3%779
D+60
R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over timeDemocratic-minus-Republican presidential margin from 1876 to 2024. Most recent: −14.7% in 2024.flipped R · 2016−14.7%DR18762024
Presidential margin over time
YearMargin (D minus R)
1876No data
1880No data
1884No data
1888No data
1892+10.6%
1896+2.1%
1900−11.7%
1904−40.1%
1908−21.8%
1912+3.3%
1916−5.4%
1920−32.3%
1924−39.1%
1928−14.0%
1932+19.5%
1936+20.3%
1940+1.0%
1944+0.5%
1948+3.7%
1952−17.4%
1956−21.1%
1960+4.7%
1964+42.8%
1968+6.2%
1972−3.0%
1976+5.6%
1980−1.5%
1984−7.3%
1988+15.3%
1992+18.6%
1996+23.8%
2000+11.8%
2004+9.8%
2008+15.3%
2012+5.5%
2016−12.6%
2020−11.6%
2024−14.7%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−14.7%
25,76734,79261,338
R
−11.6%
26,15133,12560,255
R
−12.6%
21,64228,32853,274
D
+5.5%
27,87724,91153,586
D
+15.3%
32,58923,79557,428
D
+9.8%
31,04925,44857,059
D
+11.8%
28,25122,15051,636
D
+23.8%
27,83516,03849,603
D
+18.6%
26,49216,38354,355
D
+15.3%
28,22520,71049,152
R
−7.3%
22,59726,19849,030
R
−1.5%
24,51725,33154,592
D
+5.6%
25,95823,17449,689
R
−3.0%
21,71223,09446,118
D
+6.2%
21,41018,77942,567
D
+42.8%
29,75411,89641,706
D
+4.7%
22,99820,90944,011
R
−21.1%
15,30123,51938,948
R
−17.4%
14,11320,08734,396
D
+3.7%
14,34913,32127,997
D
+0.5%
15,60215,45931,204
D
+1.0%
14,90214,61829,587
D
+20.3%
13,7898,72924,885
D
+19.5%
14,7089,81625,092
R
−14.0%
9,39512,46721,917
R
−39.1%
5,88114,86122,951
R
−32.3%
7,01113,93321,460
R
−5.4%
5,9966,70813,130
O
+3.3%
2,9902,62511,205
R
−21.8%
4,2236,76011,611
R
−40.1%
3,1427,60911,148
R
−11.7%
5,0816,46211,836
D
+2.1%
6,2966,03712,553
D
+10.6%
5,7144,58710,678
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No data
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Demographics

2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
27.7%
Polish
15.6%
Irish
9.7%
English
8.9%
French
8.1%
American
3.7%
Italian
2.1%
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: 43.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.7%
85+
1.6%
2.9%
75–84
3.6%
6.3%
65–74
6.8%
7.2%
55–64
7.5%
6.1%
45–54
6.0%
6.1%
35–44
5.9%
6.2%
25–34
6.1%
3.8%
18–24
3.5%
7.8%
5–17
7.1%
2.4%
<5
2.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$61,763
Bay City, MI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Bay City, MI$61,763
Michigan$72,875
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
13.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.3%
Working age (18–64)12.6%
Seniors (65+)12.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.7%
speak English only
Spanish1.1%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
19.9%
Mainline Protestant
12.7%
Other Christian
3.9%
Methodist
1.3%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.0%
Baptist
0.9%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Bay City anchors a mid-Michigan metro where decades of manufacturing decline reshaped the electorate; the 2024 presidential margin of R+32.3 reflects a broader working-class realignment that has accelerated across the Saginaw Bay region since 2016.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of forty-three points in 1964 and a Republican high of forty points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifteen points.

A population of 103,008, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $61,763 describe the metro.

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.
Bay City, MI, Michigan. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/13020/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Bay City, MI, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Bay City, MI, Michigan voted Republican by 14.7 points (R+15), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 61,338 votes cast, 25,767 went Democratic and 34,792 went Republican.
What is Bay City, MI, Michigan's political typology?
Akashic places Bay City, MI, Michigan in the "Farm Belt" typology. 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 metro has voted Democratic 18 times, Republican 15 times, and other 1 times.
When did Bay City, MI, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Bay City, MI, Michigan voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Bay City, MI, Michigan?
Bay City, MI, Michigan has a population of 103,008 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Bay City, MI, Michigan?
Median household income in Bay City, MI, Michigan is $61,763 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Bay City, MI, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Bay City, MI, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 15 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.