Dubuque, IA, Iowa: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+9%. Democratic peak: D+46 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+9MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 99,0302024 5-year
- Median household income
- $77,6302024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 88.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+46 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+23 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Dubuque, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 23,705 | 28,224 | 52,770 | ||
| R | 25,657 | 27,214 | 53,926 | ||
| R | 22,850 | 23,460 | 50,221 | ||
| D | 28,768 | 21,280 | 50,894 | ||
| D | 28,611 | 18,651 | 47,953 | ||
| D | 26,561 | 20,100 | 47,043 | ||
| D | 22,341 | 16,462 | 40,323 | ||
| D | 20,839 | 13,391 | 38,051 | ||
| D | 20,539 | 14,007 | 42,968 | ||
| D | 23,797 | 14,530 | 38,547 | ||
| D | 21,876 | 19,239 | 41,491 | ||
| D | 18,689 | 18,649 | 41,539 | ||
| D | 20,548 | 17,459 | 39,049 | ||
| D | 18,417 | 17,272 | 36,521 | ||
| D | 18,664 | 14,197 | 34,863 | ||
| D | 23,695 | 10,104 | 33,823 | ||
| D | 22,007 | 12,740 | 34,766 | ||
| R | 13,174 | 17,923 | 31,247 | ||
| R | 14,542 | 18,075 | 32,845 | ||
| D | 15,521 | 10,111 | 25,913 | ||
| D | 12,867 | 12,502 | 25,458 | ||
| R | 13,805 | 14,590 | 28,441 | ||
| D | 16,291 | 8,275 | 27,378 | ||
| D | 19,210 | 6,747 | 26,999 | ||
| D | 19,437 | 9,744 | 29,262 | ||
| O | 5,718 | 8,280 | 25,267 | ||
| R | 7,636 | 12,436 | 21,000 | ||
| D | 6,063 | 5,772 | 12,223 | ||
| D | 6,237 | 1,620 | 11,724 | ||
| D | 6,645 | 4,708 | 11,855 | ||
| R | 4,913 | 5,485 | 11,353 | ||
| D | 6,655 | 4,752 | 11,564 | ||
| D | 6,510 | 5,203 | 11,898 | ||
| D | 6,831 | 3,526 | 10,513 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
44.7%
Irish
19.4%
English
6.7%
American
5.1%
Italian
2.1%
French
1.8%
Polish
1.2%
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: 39.1 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
$77,630
Dubuque, IA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Dubuque, IA$77,630
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.7%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.6%
Working age (18–64)8.9%
Seniors (65+)13.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.2%
speak English only
Spanish2.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.3%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 44.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Dubuque's dense Catholic parish network and working-class manufacturing base have historically anchored Democratic margins, but the area has trended Republican in presidential cycles over the past decade, mirroring broader shifts among non-college white voters.
The Democratic margin in Dubuque, IA peaked at forty-six points in 1932. By 2016 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was nine points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $77,630 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.
Dubuque, IA, Iowa — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/20220/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Dubuque, IA, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Dubuque, IA, Iowa voted Republican by 8.6 points (R+9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 52,770 votes cast, 23,705 went Democratic and 28,224 went Republican.
What is Dubuque, IA, Iowa's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Dubuque, 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 25 times, Republican 8 times, and other 1 times.
When did Dubuque, IA, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Dubuque, IA, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Dubuque, IA, Iowa?
Dubuque, IA, Iowa has a population of 99,030 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Dubuque, IA, Iowa?
Median household income in Dubuque, IA, Iowa is $77,630 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Dubuque, IA, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Dubuque, IA, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 25 went Democratic and 8 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.