Bismarck, ND, North Dakota: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+46%. Republican peak: R+68 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+46MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 136,2162024 5-year
- Median household income
- $84,8692024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+43 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+68 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Bismarck, ND, NDOne 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 | 18,119 | 50,343 | 70,386 | ||
| R | 18,349 | 47,905 | 68,438 | ||
| R | 14,080 | 44,698 | 64,828 | ||
| R | 18,872 | 37,324 | 58,013 | ||
| R | 21,011 | 33,994 | 56,076 | ||
| R | 16,004 | 35,692 | 52,566 | ||
| R | 13,525 | 30,169 | 46,756 | ||
| R | 14,757 | 20,662 | 40,982 | ||
| R | 12,840 | 22,029 | 45,134 | ||
| R | 15,994 | 24,284 | 40,768 | ||
| R | 13,196 | 27,974 | 41,889 | ||
| R | 9,260 | 27,062 | 39,911 | ||
| R | 14,958 | 19,176 | 35,151 | ||
| R | 9,446 | 20,072 | 30,848 | ||
| R | 8,564 | 15,742 | 25,735 | ||
| D | 13,841 | 10,663 | 24,574 | ||
| R | 11,121 | 14,223 | 25,371 | ||
| R | 6,138 | 15,219 | 21,436 | ||
| R | 4,622 | 16,967 | 21,690 | ||
| R | 5,942 | 9,405 | 15,991 | ||
| R | 5,130 | 8,909 | 14,099 | ||
| R | 7,505 | 12,713 | 20,317 | ||
| D | 12,832 | 4,773 | 19,386 | ||
| D | 12,321 | 4,817 | 17,338 | ||
| D | 7,653 | 7,516 | 15,284 | ||
| R | 675 | 5,896 | 12,439 | ||
| R | 1,686 | 10,023 | 12,198 | ||
| R | 3,429 | 4,313 | 8,266 | ||
| O | 1,765 | 1,862 | 6,185 | ||
| R | 1,712 | 3,721 | 5,585 | ||
| R | 604 | 3,055 | 3,731 | ||
| R | 950 | 1,845 | 2,808 | ||
| R | 789 | 1,540 | 2,335 | ||
| R | 0 | 1,271 | 1,997 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
44.8%
Irish
7.4%
English
4.9%
American
3.7%
French
1.9%
Polish
1.0%
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: 38.4 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
$84,869
Bismarck, ND ranks near the middle of US counties.
Bismarck, ND$84,869
North Dakota$76,657
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
7.9%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 187.7%
Working age (18–64)7.5%
Seniors (65+)11.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.2%
speak English only
Spanish2.1%
Other Indo-European1.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 41.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Bismarck's metro tilts heavily Republican in statewide contests, reflecting its energy-sector workforce and largely non-Native demographic composition, while the city itself hosts the governmental institutions that draw a modestly more diverse professional class.
The Democratic margin in Bismarck, ND peaked at forty-three points in 1932. By 1968 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-six points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $84,869 sits well below state and national norms, and 8% 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.
Bismarck, ND, North Dakota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/13900/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Bismarck, ND, North Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Bismarck, ND, North Dakota voted Republican by 45.8 points (R+46), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 70,386 votes cast, 18,119 went Democratic and 50,343 went Republican.
What is Bismarck, ND, North Dakota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Bismarck, ND, North Dakota as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 4 times, Republican 29 times, and other 1 times.
When did Bismarck, ND, North Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Bismarck, ND, North Dakota voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Bismarck, ND, North Dakota?
Bismarck, ND, North Dakota has a population of 136,216 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Bismarck, ND, North Dakota?
Median household income in Bismarck, ND, North Dakota is $84,869 — above the national median of $80,734. The North Dakota state median is $76,657.
What is the political history of Bismarck, ND, North Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Bismarck, ND, North Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.