Big Rapids, MI, Michigan: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+30%. Republican peak: R+63 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+30MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 41,2422024 5-year
- Median household income
- $60,9512024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+10 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+63 in 1928MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Big Rapids, 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 | 7,688 | 14,445 | 22,521 | ||
| R | 7,375 | 13,267 | 21,049 | ||
| R | 5,827 | 10,305 | 17,259 | ||
| R | 7,515 | 9,176 | 16,980 | ||
| R | 9,101 | 9,238 | 18,664 | ||
| R | 7,730 | 9,710 | 17,581 | ||
| R | 6,300 | 8,072 | 14,754 | ||
| D | 6,370 | 5,289 | 13,124 | ||
| D | 6,097 | 6,047 | 15,835 | ||
| R | 4,736 | 8,181 | 12,981 | ||
| R | 4,048 | 9,023 | 13,142 | ||
| R | 5,228 | 7,754 | 14,528 | ||
| R | 4,725 | 7,287 | 12,221 | ||
| R | 3,799 | 7,158 | 11,134 | ||
| R | 2,738 | 5,053 | 8,426 | ||
| D | 4,214 | 3,454 | 7,677 | ||
| R | 2,380 | 5,306 | 7,703 | ||
| R | 1,768 | 5,492 | 7,279 | ||
| R | 1,587 | 5,436 | 7,102 | ||
| R | 1,572 | 3,803 | 5,557 | ||
| R | 1,708 | 4,217 | 5,995 | ||
| R | 2,153 | 4,759 | 6,932 | ||
| R | 2,621 | 3,176 | 6,341 | ||
| R | 3,152 | 3,336 | 6,635 | ||
| R | 1,004 | 4,422 | 5,463 | ||
| R | 794 | 3,884 | 5,047 | ||
| R | 1,145 | 3,932 | 5,258 | ||
| R | 1,478 | 2,455 | 4,279 | ||
| O | 958 | 1,059 | 3,945 | ||
| R | 1,179 | 2,723 | 4,136 | ||
| R | 898 | 3,313 | 4,365 | ||
| R | 1,375 | 2,802 | 4,282 | ||
| R | 1,975 | 2,887 | 4,995 | ||
| R | 1,484 | 1,970 | 3,806 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
20.6%
English
13.2%
Irish
11.0%
Polish
5.5%
American
3.7%
French
3.3%
Italian
2.2%
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: 40.0 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
$60,951
Big Rapids, MI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Big Rapids, MI$60,951
Michigan$72,875
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
19.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1824.6%
Working age (18–64)19.5%
Seniors (65+)10.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.9%
speak English only
Other Indo-European4.3%
Spanish1.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 70.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Ferris State University, Big Rapids punches above its size in youth voter registration while the surrounding Mecosta County reliably posts Republican margins in statewide races by double digits.
The Democratic margin in Big Rapids, MI peaked at ten points in 1964. By 2000 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $60,951 sits well below state and national norms, and 20% 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.
Big Rapids, MI, Michigan — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/13660/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Big Rapids, MI, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Big Rapids, MI, Michigan voted Republican by 30.0 points (R+30), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 22,521 votes cast, 7,688 went Democratic and 14,445 went Republican.
What is Big Rapids, MI, Michigan's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Big Rapids, 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 3 times, Republican 30 times, and other 1 times.
When did Big Rapids, MI, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Big Rapids, MI, Michigan voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Big Rapids, MI, Michigan?
Big Rapids, MI, Michigan has a population of 41,242 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Big Rapids, MI, Michigan?
Median household income in Big Rapids, MI, Michigan is $60,951 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Big Rapids, MI, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Big Rapids, MI, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 30 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.