Austin, MN, Minnesota: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+10%. Republican peak: R+68 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+10MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 40,3432024 5-year
- Median household income
- $73,0742024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 75.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 13.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+68 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Austin, MN, MNOne 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 | 8,312 | 10,297 | 18,969 | ||
| R | 8,899 | 10,025 | 19,345 | ||
| R | 7,437 | 8,823 | 17,715 | ||
| D | 11,129 | 6,938 | 18,539 | ||
| D | 11,605 | 7,075 | 19,187 | ||
| D | 12,334 | 7,591 | 20,222 | ||
| D | 10,693 | 6,873 | 18,480 | ||
| D | 10,413 | 4,994 | 18,063 | ||
| D | 9,935 | 5,147 | 20,210 | ||
| D | 11,893 | 6,969 | 19,025 | ||
| D | 12,498 | 8,054 | 20,647 | ||
| D | 10,538 | 7,908 | 20,325 | ||
| D | 12,837 | 8,163 | 21,487 | ||
| D | 10,286 | 9,929 | 20,530 | ||
| D | 11,022 | 7,736 | 19,486 | ||
| D | 13,573 | 6,510 | 20,140 | ||
| R | 9,961 | 11,040 | 21,068 | ||
| R | 9,219 | 9,570 | 18,890 | ||
| R | 8,551 | 9,862 | 18,551 | ||
| D | 9,468 | 5,672 | 15,301 | ||
| D | 7,199 | 6,588 | 13,835 | ||
| D | 7,988 | 7,169 | 15,217 | ||
| D | 8,228 | 4,743 | 13,487 | ||
| D | 6,421 | 4,005 | 10,599 | ||
| R | 3,587 | 6,209 | 9,842 | ||
| R | 564 | 5,061 | 9,088 | ||
| R | 1,061 | 6,339 | 7,725 | ||
| R | 1,572 | 2,520 | 4,240 | ||
| O | 1,228 | 1,321 | 4,177 | ||
| R | 1,206 | 2,629 | 4,143 | ||
| R | 552 | 2,769 | 3,573 | ||
| R | 1,081 | 3,076 | 4,348 | ||
| R | 1,407 | 3,379 | 4,909 | ||
| D | 2,234 | 1,310 | 3,964 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
26.7%
Irish
9.5%
English
5.9%
American
4.9%
French
2.0%
Polish
1.3%
Scottish
0.9%
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: 39.2 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
$73,074
Austin, MN ranks near the middle of US counties.
Austin, MN$73,074
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.4%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.5%
Working age (18–64)8.6%
Seniors (65+)8.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
81.4%
speak English only
Spanish10.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander4.5%
Other Indo-European1.8%
Other languages1.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 43.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Austin's large immigrant workforce—drawn by the Hormel Foods plant—has shifted its demographic profile steadily over recent decades, producing voter coalitions that diverge from the surrounding rural Minnesota baseline.
The Democratic margin in Austin, MN peaked at thirty-five points in 1964. By 2016 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was ten points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $73,074 sits well below state and national norms, and 10% 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.
Austin, MN, Minnesota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/12380/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Austin, MN, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Austin, MN, Minnesota voted Republican by 10.5 points (R+10), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 18,969 votes cast, 8,312 went Democratic and 10,297 went Republican.
What is Austin, MN, Minnesota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Austin, MN, Minnesota as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 19 times, Republican 14 times, and other 1 times.
When did Austin, MN, Minnesota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Austin, MN, Minnesota voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Austin, MN, Minnesota?
Austin, MN, Minnesota has a population of 40,343 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Austin, MN, Minnesota?
Median household income in Austin, MN, Minnesota is $73,074 — below the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Austin, MN, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Austin, MN, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 19 went Democratic and 14 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.