Brainerd, MN, Minnesota: Farm Belt metro. In 2024, voted R+32%. Republican peak: R+63 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+32MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 98,6782024 5-year
- Median household income
- $71,4222024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+26 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+63 in 1904MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Brainerd, MN
TrumpR+32
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 65.1% | 40,182 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 33.2% | 20,473 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.7% | 1,074 |
D+60R+60
2 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
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 | +18.9% |
| 1896 | −20.4% |
| 1900 | −35.9% |
| 1904 | −63.5% |
| 1908 | −34.6% |
| 1912 | +2.8% |
| 1916 | +2.0% |
| 1920 | −55.6% |
| 1924 | −46.6% |
| 1928 | −37.2% |
| 1932 | +14.5% |
| 1936 | +26.4% |
| 1940 | +7.8% |
| 1944 | +7.5% |
| 1948 | +14.8% |
| 1952 | −14.1% |
| 1956 | −12.4% |
| 1960 | −7.6% |
| 1964 | +25.3% |
| 1968 | +1.8% |
| 1972 | −12.0% |
| 1976 | +12.0% |
| 1980 | −8.8% |
| 1984 | −14.2% |
| 1988 | −6.6% |
| 1992 | +1.1% |
| 1996 | +4.6% |
| 2000 | −12.9% |
| 2004 | −14.4% |
| 2008 | −7.9% |
| 2012 | −13.2% |
| 2016 | −31.5% |
| 2020 | −29.5% |
| 2024 | −31.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 20,473 | 40,182 | 61,729 | ||
| R | 20,068 | 37,296 | 58,462 | ||
| R | 15,931 | 32,269 | 51,841 | ||
| R | 21,618 | 28,372 | 51,061 | ||
| R | 23,135 | 27,227 | 51,472 | ||
| R | 20,840 | 27,981 | 49,455 | ||
| R | 16,789 | 22,169 | 41,721 | ||
| D | 16,593 | 14,886 | 36,992 | ||
| D | 13,797 | 13,388 | 36,736 | ||
| R | 14,801 | 16,912 | 32,030 | ||
| R | 13,492 | 17,981 | 31,702 | ||
| R | 14,040 | 16,963 | 33,162 | ||
| D | 16,077 | 12,515 | 29,798 | ||
| R | 10,675 | 13,680 | 25,054 | ||
| D | 10,980 | 10,575 | 22,745 | ||
| D | 13,832 | 8,241 | 22,103 | ||
| R | 10,413 | 12,126 | 22,605 | ||
| R | 8,304 | 10,664 | 19,008 | ||
| R | 8,701 | 11,593 | 20,442 | ||
| D | 10,706 | 7,881 | 19,123 | ||
| D | 8,881 | 7,635 | 16,614 | ||
| D | 11,268 | 9,613 | 21,083 | ||
| D | 11,001 | 6,245 | 18,007 | ||
| D | 8,562 | 6,293 | 15,621 | ||
| R | 4,598 | 10,217 | 15,125 | ||
| R | 687 | 7,030 | 13,622 | ||
| R | 1,787 | 8,504 | 12,079 | ||
| D | 2,828 | 2,697 | 6,431 | ||
| O | 1,274 | 1,122 | 5,394 | ||
| R | 1,122 | 2,690 | 4,538 | ||
| R | 555 | 3,328 | 4,367 | ||
| R | 1,322 | 2,877 | 4,330 | ||
| R | 1,337 | 2,052 | 3,497 | ||
| D | 1,227 | 752 | 2,508 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
32.5%
Irish
10.5%
English
7.9%
Polish
4.6%
American
3.9%
French
3.8%
Italian
2.2%
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: 47.0 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
$71,422
Brainerd, MN ranks near the middle of US counties.
Brainerd, MN$71,422
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.8%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.3%
Working age (18–64)9.8%
Seniors (65+)10.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.7%
speak English only
Other Indo-European0.7%
Spanish0.6%
Other languages0.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 62.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Brainerd lakes region, anchored by a paper-mill and tourism economy, has swung sharply toward Republican presidential candidates since 2008, making Crow Wing County a reliable bellwether for outstate Minnesota's political drift.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of twenty-six points in 1936 and a Republican high of sixty-three points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-two points.
A population of 98,678, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $71,422 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.
Brainerd, MN, Minnesota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/14660/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Brainerd, MN, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Brainerd, MN, Minnesota voted Republican by 31.9 points (R+32), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 61,729 votes cast, 20,473 went Democratic and 40,182 went Republican.
What is Brainerd, MN, Minnesota's political typology?
Akashic places Brainerd, MN, Minnesota 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 12 times, Republican 21 times, and other 1 times.
When did Brainerd, MN, Minnesota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Brainerd, MN, Minnesota voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Brainerd, MN, Minnesota?
Brainerd, MN, Minnesota has a population of 98,678 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Brainerd, MN, Minnesota?
Median household income in Brainerd, MN, Minnesota is $71,422 — below the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Brainerd, MN, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Brainerd, MN, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.