Houghton, MI, Michigan: Industrial Catholic Metro metro. In 2024, voted R+17%. Republican peak: R+78 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+17MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 39,8262024 5-year
- Median household income
- $58,5612024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+33 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+78 in 1924MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Houghton, MI
TrumpR+17
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 57.5% | 12,077 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 40.8% | 8,571 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.8% | 371 |
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 | −11.6% |
| 1896 | −50.1% |
| 1900 | −52.7% |
| 1904 | −66.9% |
| 1908 | −56.6% |
| 1912 | −12.2% |
| 1916 | −28.2% |
| 1920 | −65.0% |
| 1924 | −77.7% |
| 1928 | −28.4% |
| 1932 | −23.7% |
| 1936 | +9.8% |
| 1940 | −1.4% |
| 1944 | +5.0% |
| 1948 | −14.6% |
| 1952 | −18.2% |
| 1956 | −16.1% |
| 1960 | +1.3% |
| 1964 | +32.6% |
| 1968 | +2.8% |
| 1972 | −17.4% |
| 1976 | −3.8% |
| 1980 | −6.1% |
| 1984 | −13.4% |
| 1988 | −3.3% |
| 1992 | +7.3% |
| 1996 | +0.7% |
| 2000 | −15.5% |
| 2004 | −13.4% |
| 2008 | −4.4% |
| 2012 | −9.5% |
| 2016 | −16.0% |
| 2020 | −14.0% |
| 2024 | −16.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 8,571 | 12,077 | 21,019 | ||
| R | 8,422 | 11,240 | 20,058 | ||
| R | 6,545 | 9,289 | 17,195 | ||
| R | 7,383 | 8,970 | 16,753 | ||
| R | 8,086 | 8,857 | 17,382 | ||
| R | 7,361 | 9,670 | 17,290 | ||
| R | 6,228 | 8,635 | 15,559 | ||
| D | 6,529 | 6,432 | 14,913 | ||
| D | 7,140 | 5,953 | 16,346 | ||
| R | 7,141 | 7,634 | 14,864 | ||
| R | 7,062 | 9,251 | 16,368 | ||
| R | 7,428 | 8,509 | 17,794 | ||
| R | 8,010 | 8,655 | 16,871 | ||
| R | 6,858 | 9,768 | 16,772 | ||
| D | 7,590 | 7,164 | 15,337 | ||
| D | 10,621 | 5,398 | 16,026 | ||
| D | 8,676 | 8,451 | 17,165 | ||
| R | 7,555 | 10,454 | 18,034 | ||
| R | 7,847 | 11,364 | 19,292 | ||
| R | 7,572 | 10,355 | 19,096 | ||
| D | 11,031 | 9,976 | 21,075 | ||
| R | 11,782 | 12,110 | 23,986 | ||
| D | 12,702 | 10,415 | 23,360 | ||
| R | 8,365 | 13,762 | 22,787 | ||
| R | 6,933 | 12,545 | 19,746 | ||
| R | 1,095 | 15,254 | 18,221 | ||
| R | 3,177 | 16,210 | 20,036 | ||
| R | 4,809 | 8,873 | 14,419 | ||
| O | 2,444 | 4,066 | 13,343 | ||
| R | 2,487 | 10,378 | 13,937 | ||
| R | 1,500 | 9,516 | 11,990 | ||
| R | 2,453 | 8,471 | 11,417 | ||
| R | 2,041 | 6,552 | 9,009 | ||
| R | 2,809 | 3,716 | 7,846 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
16.9%
English
9.0%
Irish
8.3%
Italian
6.2%
French
4.8%
Polish
4.5%
American
3.0%
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: 33.5 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
$58,561
Houghton, MI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Houghton, MI$58,561
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
16.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.1%
Working age (18–64)17.9%
Seniors (65+)13.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.7%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.7%
Other languages1.0%
Spanish0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 64.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Houghton's metropolitan area, centered on Michigan Tech, skews younger and more educated than its rural surroundings, producing turnout patterns that diverge sharply from the broader Upper Peninsula's blue-collar Republican lean.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of thirty-three points in 1964 and a Republican high of seventy-eight points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was seventeen points.
A population of 39,826, a 92% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $58,561 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.
Houghton, MI, Michigan. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/26340/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Houghton, MI, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Houghton, MI, Michigan voted Republican by 16.7 points (R+17), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 21,019 votes cast, 8,571 went Democratic and 12,077 went Republican.
What is Houghton, MI, Michigan's political typology?
Akashic places Houghton, MI, Michigan in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" 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 7 times, Republican 26 times, and other 1 times.
When did Houghton, MI, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Houghton, MI, Michigan voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Houghton, MI, Michigan?
Houghton, MI, Michigan has a population of 39,826 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Houghton, MI, Michigan?
Median household income in Houghton, MI, Michigan is $58,561 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Houghton, MI, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Houghton, MI, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.