Alpena, MI, Michigan: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+29%. Republican peak: R+60 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+29MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 28,8802024 5-year
- Median household income
- $53,9502024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+31 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+60 in 1924MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Alpena, MI, MIOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 6,038 | 10,967 | 17,241 | ||
| R | 6,000 | 10,686 | 16,969 | ||
| R | 4,877 | 9,090 | 14,768 | ||
| R | 6,549 | 7,298 | 14,091 | ||
| D | 7,705 | 7,125 | 15,085 | ||
| R | 7,407 | 7,665 | 15,211 | ||
| D | 7,053 | 6,769 | 14,132 | ||
| D | 7,114 | 4,525 | 13,492 | ||
| D | 6,894 | 4,878 | 15,069 | ||
| R | 6,341 | 6,664 | 13,054 | ||
| R | 5,136 | 8,212 | 13,397 | ||
| R | 5,834 | 6,901 | 13,832 | ||
| R | 6,310 | 6,380 | 12,866 | ||
| R | 5,104 | 6,513 | 11,831 | ||
| R | 4,788 | 5,717 | 11,261 | ||
| D | 7,508 | 3,954 | 11,472 | ||
| R | 5,071 | 6,573 | 11,653 | ||
| R | 3,033 | 7,142 | 10,177 | ||
| R | 3,134 | 6,248 | 9,421 | ||
| R | 2,743 | 4,313 | 7,152 | ||
| R | 2,856 | 4,453 | 7,327 | ||
| R | 3,597 | 4,822 | 8,432 | ||
| R | 3,231 | 3,536 | 7,076 | ||
| D | 3,562 | 3,222 | 7,006 | ||
| R | 1,984 | 3,467 | 5,466 | ||
| R | 948 | 4,628 | 6,107 | ||
| R | 1,893 | 3,467 | 5,470 | ||
| R | 1,392 | 2,020 | 3,487 | ||
| O | 1,105 | 709 | 3,547 | ||
| R | 949 | 2,358 | 3,464 | ||
| R | 907 | 2,498 | 3,601 | ||
| R | 1,435 | 2,283 | 3,847 | ||
| R | 1,665 | 1,777 | 3,482 | ||
| D | 1,536 | 1,526 | 3,107 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
24.6%
Polish
18.8%
English
11.6%
Irish
9.7%
French
7.6%
American
4.7%
Scottish
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.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 47.8 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.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$53,950
Alpena, MI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Alpena, MI$53,950
Michigan$72,875
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
18.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1823.5%
Working age (18–64)17.1%
Seniors (65+)14.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.5%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.7%
Spanish0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 64.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Alpena anchors one of Michigan's least densely populated media markets, where Catholic working-class heritage and a shrinking manufacturing base have shaped a county that swung sharply toward Republican presidential candidates over the past two decades.
The Democratic margin in Alpena, MI peaked at thirty-one points in 1964. By 2012 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty-nine points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $53,950 sits well below state and national norms, and 18% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Alpena, MI, Michigan — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/10980/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Alpena, MI, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Alpena, MI, Michigan voted Republican by 28.6 points (R+29), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 17,241 votes cast, 6,038 went Democratic and 10,967 went Republican.
What is Alpena, MI, Michigan's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Alpena, MI, Michigan as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 7 times, Republican 26 times, and other 1 times.
When did Alpena, MI, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Alpena, MI, Michigan voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Alpena, MI, Michigan?
Alpena, MI, Michigan has a population of 28,880 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Alpena, MI, Michigan?
Median household income in Alpena, MI, Michigan is $53,950 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Alpena, MI, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Alpena, MI, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.