Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+19%. Republican peak: R+36 in 1956.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+19MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 455,4162024 5-year
- Median household income
- $71,3722024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 74.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 9.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+36 in 1956MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Fort Wayne, IN, INOne 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 | 77,085 | 114,411 | 195,560 | ||
| R | 80,351 | 115,800 | 200,688 | ||
| R | 61,186 | 105,157 | 177,381 | ||
| R | 67,892 | 104,127 | 175,230 | ||
| R | 81,528 | 95,421 | 178,585 | ||
| R | 53,702 | 100,693 | 155,444 | ||
| R | 49,062 | 86,261 | 138,033 | ||
| R | 49,378 | 71,542 | 133,564 | ||
| R | 46,480 | 66,019 | 145,672 | ||
| R | 46,317 | 90,029 | 137,509 | ||
| R | 45,426 | 90,847 | 137,446 | ||
| R | 46,022 | 81,534 | 142,164 | ||
| R | 54,439 | 83,678 | 140,144 | ||
| R | 45,703 | 90,838 | 137,372 | ||
| R | 48,086 | 70,256 | 129,726 | ||
| D | 62,449 | 58,198 | 121,155 | ||
| R | 47,629 | 72,758 | 120,803 | ||
| R | 33,116 | 70,335 | 103,779 | ||
| R | 35,224 | 66,150 | 102,350 | ||
| R | 40,205 | 46,497 | 87,619 | ||
| R | 38,999 | 51,883 | 91,546 | ||
| R | 39,607 | 50,428 | 90,527 | ||
| D | 50,455 | 32,330 | 85,150 | ||
| D | 49,741 | 33,609 | 84,943 | ||
| R | 33,832 | 42,895 | 77,054 | ||
| R | 25,265 | 33,559 | 63,387 | ||
| R | 22,386 | 33,168 | 60,111 | ||
| D | 14,908 | 14,307 | 32,219 | ||
| D | 13,625 | 5,317 | 28,167 | ||
| D | 17,983 | 13,955 | 33,539 | ||
| R | 14,658 | 15,185 | 31,478 | ||
| D | 16,724 | 12,811 | 30,169 | ||
| D | 16,131 | 12,921 | 29,455 | ||
| D | 14,969 | 9,112 | 25,437 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
25.7%
English
10.2%
Irish
9.2%
American
5.4%
French
2.5%
Italian
2.0%
Polish
1.9%
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: 36.8 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
$71,372
Fort Wayne, IN ranks near the middle of US counties.
Fort Wayne, IN$71,372
Indiana$71,957
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.8%
Working age (18–64)10.5%
Seniors (65+)8.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.9%
speak English only
Spanish5.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.3%
Other Indo-European2.2%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 47.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Fort Wayne anchors northeast Indiana's economy with manufacturing and healthcare, and its 2024 presidential margin of D+9.9 reflects a metro pattern of college-educated suburban growth outpacing the region's traditionally Republican baseline.
The Democratic margin in Fort Wayne, IN peaked at twenty-nine points in 1912. By 1968 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was nineteen points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $71,372 sits well below state and national norms, and 12% 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.
Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/23060/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana voted Republican by 19.1 points (R+19), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 195,560 votes cast, 77,085 went Democratic and 114,411 went Republican.
What is Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 9 times, Republican 25 times, and other 0 times.
When did Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana?
Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana has a population of 455,416 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana?
Median household income in Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana is $71,372 — below the national median of $80,734. The Indiana state median is $71,957.
What is the political history of Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Fort Wayne, IN, Indiana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.