Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa: Populist metro. In 2024, voted D+3%. Republican peak: R+46 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+3MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 276,6242024 5-year
- Median household income
- $78,2042024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 85.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+46 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Cedar Rapids, 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 | 75,039 | 70,606 | 148,448 | ||
| D | 80,247 | 69,124 | 153,089 | ||
| D | 67,400 | 62,342 | 142,323 | ||
| D | 80,977 | 59,283 | 142,925 | ||
| D | 80,541 | 54,478 | 137,071 | ||
| D | 72,243 | 60,934 | 134,219 | ||
| D | 59,502 | 50,086 | 112,973 | ||
| D | 55,711 | 37,876 | 101,895 | ||
| D | 46,542 | 36,755 | 108,224 | ||
| D | 53,507 | 40,636 | 94,880 | ||
| R | 47,346 | 51,534 | 99,784 | ||
| R | 39,694 | 46,089 | 97,772 | ||
| D | 48,011 | 45,990 | 95,931 | ||
| R | 39,120 | 46,738 | 87,430 | ||
| R | 37,257 | 40,447 | 82,477 | ||
| D | 52,231 | 28,452 | 80,785 | ||
| R | 36,158 | 45,713 | 81,909 | ||
| R | 28,965 | 44,641 | 74,089 | ||
| R | 28,640 | 43,769 | 73,203 | ||
| D | 29,119 | 28,941 | 59,787 | ||
| R | 29,305 | 30,124 | 59,633 | ||
| R | 29,167 | 34,509 | 63,857 | ||
| D | 30,382 | 27,414 | 59,096 | ||
| D | 28,715 | 25,657 | 55,235 | ||
| R | 17,998 | 36,211 | 54,445 | ||
| R | 9,612 | 32,209 | 51,750 | ||
| R | 11,711 | 32,537 | 45,489 | ||
| R | 10,653 | 14,249 | 25,497 | ||
| D | 10,083 | 7,779 | 23,890 | ||
| R | 10,087 | 12,571 | 23,275 | ||
| R | 7,491 | 14,573 | 23,135 | ||
| R | 9,646 | 14,375 | 24,595 | ||
| R | 9,986 | 13,996 | 24,389 | ||
| R | 10,216 | 10,715 | 21,486 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
31.5%
Irish
14.3%
English
11.1%
American
4.0%
Scottish
1.8%
French
1.8%
Italian
1.5%
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: 39.7 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
$78,204
Cedar Rapids, IA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Cedar Rapids, IA$78,204
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.1%
Working age (18–64)8.9%
Seniors (65+)8.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.7%
speak English only
Spanish2.1%
Other Indo-European2.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
Other languages1.0%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 55.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Cedar Rapids anchors Linn County, a bellwether that has swung between parties in recent cycles as its workforce blends legacy industrial employment with a growing share of degree-holders reshaping suburban precincts.
The Democratic margin in Cedar Rapids, IA peaked at twenty-nine points in 1964. By 1988 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was three points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $78,204 sits well below state and national norms, and 9% 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.
Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/16300/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa voted Democratic by 3.0 points (D+3), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 148,448 votes cast, 75,039 went Democratic and 70,606 went Republican.
What is Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 16 times, Republican 18 times, and other 0 times.
When did Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa?
Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa has a population of 276,624 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa?
Median household income in Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa is $78,204 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Cedar Rapids, IA, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.