Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa: Heartland Swing metro. In 2024, voted R+31%. Republican peak: R+42 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+31MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 36,8862024 5-year
- Median household income
- $68,9752024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+33 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+42 in 1920MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Fort Dodge, IA
TrumpR+31
Constituent county margins for Fort Dodge, IA, IAOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 64.8% | 10,850 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 33.7% | 5,641 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.5% | 257 |
D+60R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
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 | −7.7% |
| 1896 | −17.8% |
| 1900 | −29.3% |
| 1904 | −40.6% |
| 1908 | −19.8% |
| 1912 | +3.5% |
| 1916 | −9.8% |
| 1920 | −42.4% |
| 1924 | −31.6% |
| 1928 | −13.4% |
| 1932 | +24.6% |
| 1936 | +19.7% |
| 1940 | +17.1% |
| 1944 | +15.4% |
| 1948 | +15.0% |
| 1952 | −17.1% |
| 1956 | −5.7% |
| 1960 | −0.3% |
| 1964 | +32.7% |
| 1968 | −4.1% |
| 1972 | −13.9% |
| 1976 | +7.4% |
| 1980 | −6.8% |
| 1984 | +1.6% |
| 1988 | +19.2% |
| 1992 | +8.3% |
| 1996 | +12.9% |
| 2000 | +1.8% |
| 2004 | +3.2% |
| 2008 | +8.5% |
| 2012 | +5.8% |
| 2016 | −21.3% |
| 2020 | −24.3% |
| 2024 | −31.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 5,641 | 10,850 | 16,748 | ||
| R | 6,613 | 10,938 | 17,822 | ||
| R | 6,305 | 10,056 | 17,593 | ||
| D | 9,537 | 8,469 | 18,292 | ||
| D | 9,917 | 8,337 | 18,554 | ||
| D | 9,561 | 8,959 | 18,631 | ||
| D | 8,479 | 8,172 | 17,048 | ||
| D | 8,380 | 6,275 | 16,328 | ||
| D | 8,562 | 6,992 | 18,921 | ||
| D | 10,267 | 6,926 | 17,393 | ||
| D | 9,930 | 9,619 | 19,802 | ||
| R | 9,001 | 10,438 | 21,030 | ||
| D | 10,543 | 9,068 | 19,995 | ||
| R | 8,358 | 11,133 | 19,893 | ||
| R | 8,572 | 9,349 | 19,097 | ||
| D | 13,005 | 6,576 | 19,635 | ||
| R | 10,680 | 10,741 | 21,435 | ||
| R | 9,901 | 11,097 | 21,049 | ||
| R | 8,681 | 12,336 | 21,385 | ||
| D | 9,508 | 6,951 | 17,066 | ||
| D | 9,477 | 6,935 | 16,468 | ||
| D | 10,731 | 7,583 | 18,366 | ||
| D | 9,885 | 6,494 | 17,174 | ||
| D | 8,957 | 5,243 | 15,117 | ||
| R | 6,497 | 8,525 | 15,119 | ||
| R | 2,076 | 6,641 | 14,438 | ||
| R | 2,804 | 8,312 | 12,988 | ||
| R | 3,196 | 3,917 | 7,321 | ||
| O | 2,370 | 2,123 | 7,127 | ||
| R | 2,374 | 3,658 | 6,472 | ||
| R | 1,714 | 4,358 | 6,517 | ||
| R | 2,266 | 4,221 | 6,667 | ||
| R | 2,557 | 3,691 | 6,355 | ||
| R | 2,159 | 2,551 | 5,088 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
27.2%
Irish
11.5%
English
9.7%
American
3.9%
Italian
2.6%
Scottish
1.5%
French
1.2%
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: 39.7 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
$68,975
Fort Dodge, IA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Fort Dodge, IA$68,975
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.9%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.5%
Working age (18–64)12.4%
Seniors (65+)11.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.1%
speak English only
Spanish3.0%
Other Indo-European0.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 50.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Fort Dodge anchors a mid-size metro where meatpacking, gypsum mining, and healthcare employment create a blue-collar electorate that has swung both parties' way in recent presidential cycles by margins worth tracking.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of thirty-three points in 1964 and a Republican high of forty-two points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved seven points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-one points.
A population of 36,886, a 86% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $68,975 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.
Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/22700/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa voted Republican by 31.1 points (R+31), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 16,748 votes cast, 5,641 went Democratic and 10,850 went Republican.
What is Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa in the "Heartland Swing" 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 15 times, Republican 18 times, and other 1 times.
When did Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa?
Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa has a population of 36,886 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa?
Median household income in Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa is $68,975 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Fort Dodge, IA, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.