Ames, IA, Iowa: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+3%. Republican peak: R+56 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+3MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 127,1342024 5-year
- Median household income
- $72,5892024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 84.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+26 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+56 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Ames, IA, IAOne 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 32,660 | 30,864 | 64,929 | ||
| D | 35,478 | 29,035 | 66,378 | ||
| D | 31,250 | 26,942 | 65,284 | ||
| D | 33,704 | 26,224 | 61,538 | ||
| D | 33,904 | 25,288 | 60,504 | ||
| D | 30,323 | 27,689 | 58,661 | ||
| D | 23,748 | 21,853 | 47,613 | ||
| D | 23,680 | 16,761 | 44,530 | ||
| D | 23,031 | 16,850 | 48,530 | ||
| D | 26,283 | 18,163 | 44,791 | ||
| R | 24,762 | 25,550 | 50,687 | ||
| R | 18,655 | 21,561 | 49,458 | ||
| R | 22,312 | 23,807 | 47,739 | ||
| R | 19,029 | 22,888 | 42,576 | ||
| R | 14,675 | 18,587 | 34,771 | ||
| D | 20,028 | 11,731 | 31,945 | ||
| R | 13,040 | 20,469 | 33,531 | ||
| R | 12,167 | 20,004 | 32,204 | ||
| R | 10,195 | 21,758 | 32,243 | ||
| R | 11,693 | 12,490 | 25,473 | ||
| D | 12,616 | 12,031 | 24,821 | ||
| D | 14,320 | 13,080 | 27,539 | ||
| D | 14,013 | 10,468 | 25,217 | ||
| D | 10,931 | 10,429 | 22,714 | ||
| R | 5,763 | 16,556 | 22,674 | ||
| R | 2,012 | 11,896 | 21,896 | ||
| R | 4,149 | 15,806 | 20,764 | ||
| R | 4,110 | 6,677 | 11,262 | ||
| O | 2,825 | 2,049 | 11,114 | ||
| R | 3,153 | 7,158 | 11,170 | ||
| R | 1,900 | 7,749 | 10,810 | ||
| R | 3,607 | 8,183 | 12,348 | ||
| R | 4,390 | 7,371 | 11,912 | ||
| R | 3,246 | 5,756 | 9,499 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
29.9%
Irish
11.1%
English
10.8%
American
3.2%
Italian
2.2%
Scottish
1.7%
Polish
1.3%
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: 30.2 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
$72,589
Ames, IA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Ames, IA$72,589
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
15.7%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 189.2%
Working age (18–64)17.9%
Seniors (65+)7.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.7%
speak English only
Asian & Pacific Islander3.2%
Other Indo-European2.8%
Spanish2.4%
Other languages0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 63.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Iowa State University, Ames pulls its metro's median age down and its college-educated share up, producing a voting coalition that has swung between parties by double digits in recent presidential cycles.
The Democratic margin in Ames, IA has rarely exceeded twenty-six points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded fifty-six points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by three points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 85% non-Hispanic-white share, a 16% poverty rate, and a median household income of $72,589 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Ames, IA, Iowa — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/11180/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Ames, IA, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Ames, IA, Iowa voted Democratic by 2.8 points (D+3), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 64,929 votes cast, 32,660 went Democratic and 30,864 went Republican.
What is Ames, IA, Iowa's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Ames, IA, Iowa as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 18 times, and other 1 times.
When did Ames, IA, Iowa last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Ames, IA, Iowa voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Ames, IA, Iowa?
Ames, IA, Iowa has a population of 127,134 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Ames, IA, Iowa?
Median household income in Ames, IA, Iowa is $72,589 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Ames, IA, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Ames, IA, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.