Des Moines-Ames, Iowa: Industrial Catholic Metro market. In 2024, voted R+10%. Republican peak: R+44 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+10MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,225,5252024 5-year
- Median household income
- $79,7522024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+44 in 1920MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Des Moines-Ames
TrumpR+10
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 54.0% | 346,757 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 44.2% | 283,449 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.8% | 11,372 |
D+60R+60
35 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 | −14.9% |
| 1896 | −14.3% |
| 1900 | −24.5% |
| 1904 | −41.0% |
| 1908 | −21.4% |
| 1912 | +7.9% |
| 1916 | −10.8% |
| 1920 | −44.2% |
| 1924 | −42.7% |
| 1928 | −30.2% |
| 1932 | +12.7% |
| 1936 | +10.8% |
| 1940 | +1.8% |
| 1944 | +1.2% |
| 1948 | +6.1% |
| 1952 | −24.9% |
| 1956 | −14.3% |
| 1960 | −12.8% |
| 1964 | +29.0% |
| 1968 | −9.2% |
| 1972 | −15.0% |
| 1976 | +4.4% |
| 1980 | −9.5% |
| 1984 | −2.4% |
| 1988 | +15.7% |
| 1992 | +6.9% |
| 1996 | +11.5% |
| 2000 | −1.2% |
| 2004 | −2.2% |
| 2008 | +6.8% |
| 2012 | +4.4% |
| 2016 | −6.7% |
| 2020 | −5.3% |
| 2024 | −9.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 283,449 | 346,757 | 641,578 | ||
| R | 297,350 | 331,580 | 642,235 | ||
| R | 248,810 | 288,284 | 585,993 | ||
| D | 296,307 | 270,807 | 578,272 | ||
| D | 291,697 | 253,932 | 555,821 | ||
| R | 260,874 | 272,982 | 538,338 | ||
| R | 225,275 | 230,913 | 469,349 | ||
| D | 222,559 | 172,677 | 433,892 | ||
| D | 209,156 | 176,979 | 466,907 | ||
| D | 242,952 | 176,446 | 422,476 | ||
| R | 220,101 | 231,063 | 454,872 | ||
| R | 180,609 | 223,776 | 453,486 | ||
| D | 223,371 | 204,170 | 437,242 | ||
| R | 175,261 | 238,822 | 422,977 | ||
| R | 165,279 | 201,267 | 392,409 | ||
| D | 254,979 | 140,041 | 396,200 | ||
| R | 187,502 | 242,632 | 430,471 | ||
| R | 181,829 | 242,777 | 425,976 | ||
| R | 162,023 | 270,995 | 437,266 | ||
| D | 182,169 | 160,774 | 352,851 | ||
| D | 181,839 | 177,402 | 361,605 | ||
| D | 211,317 | 203,641 | 416,846 | ||
| D | 212,302 | 170,115 | 391,129 | ||
| D | 183,298 | 140,773 | 335,159 | ||
| R | 115,667 | 216,841 | 335,465 | ||
| R | 45,664 | 187,456 | 331,944 | ||
| R | 81,794 | 219,105 | 310,398 | ||
| R | 75,781 | 94,821 | 176,220 | ||
| O | 56,830 | 43,568 | 168,267 | ||
| R | 62,974 | 99,428 | 170,484 | ||
| R | 43,102 | 111,968 | 167,762 | ||
| R | 67,245 | 112,508 | 184,958 | ||
| R | 76,080 | 101,923 | 180,550 | ||
| R | 57,636 | 79,896 | 149,832 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
27.4%
Irish
12.8%
English
11.6%
American
4.0%
Italian
2.5%
Scottish
1.8%
French
1.4%
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: 37.5 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
$79,752
Des Moines-Ames ranks near the middle of US counties.
Des Moines-Ames$79,752
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
10.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.0%
Working age (18–64)9.9%
Seniors (65+)8.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
89.2%
speak English only
Spanish5.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.3%
Other Indo-European2.1%
Other languages1.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Des Moines–Ames market anchors Iowa's political center of gravity, blending a state capital, a Big Ten university town, and fast-growing Polk County suburbs that have trended competitive in recent presidential cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of twenty-nine points in 1964 and a Republican high of forty-four points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the market moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was ten points.
A population of 1,225,525, a 83% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $79,752 describe the market.
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.
Des Moines-Ames, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/dma/679/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Des Moines-Ames, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Des Moines-Ames, Iowa voted Republican by 9.9 points (R+10), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 641,578 votes cast, 283,449 went Democratic and 346,757 went Republican.
What is Des Moines-Ames, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Des Moines-Ames, Iowa 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 market has voted Democratic 12 times, Republican 21 times, and other 1 times.
When did Des Moines-Ames, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Des Moines-Ames, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa?
Des Moines-Ames, Iowa has a population of 1,225,525 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa?
Median household income in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa is $79,752 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Des Moines-Ames, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The market's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.