Hillsdale, MI, Michigan: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+51%. Republican peak: R+62 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+51MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 45,6542024 5-year
- Median household income
- $64,2422024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 93.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.7%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+11 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+62 in 1928MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Hillsdale, 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 | 5,875 | 18,631 | 24,828 | ||
| R | 5,883 | 17,037 | 23,302 | ||
| R | 4,799 | 14,095 | 19,940 | ||
| R | 7,106 | 11,727 | 19,100 | ||
| R | 8,765 | 11,221 | 20,449 | ||
| R | 7,123 | 12,804 | 20,216 | ||
| R | 6,495 | 10,483 | 17,473 | ||
| R | 5,955 | 7,947 | 16,366 | ||
| R | 5,244 | 7,579 | 17,891 | ||
| R | 4,763 | 10,571 | 15,479 | ||
| R | 3,616 | 12,063 | 15,768 | ||
| R | 4,375 | 10,951 | 16,499 | ||
| R | 5,427 | 9,307 | 14,955 | ||
| R | 3,942 | 9,261 | 13,492 | ||
| R | 3,803 | 8,506 | 13,444 | ||
| D | 6,564 | 6,420 | 13,090 | ||
| R | 4,069 | 10,208 | 14,340 | ||
| R | 3,428 | 10,311 | 13,806 | ||
| R | 3,340 | 10,680 | 14,143 | ||
| R | 3,095 | 7,232 | 10,760 | ||
| R | 3,153 | 9,364 | 12,598 | ||
| R | 3,538 | 9,398 | 13,007 | ||
| R | 5,023 | 6,723 | 12,217 | ||
| R | 5,696 | 5,879 | 11,867 | ||
| R | 1,893 | 8,282 | 10,226 | ||
| R | 1,980 | 6,556 | 9,578 | ||
| R | 2,467 | 6,690 | 9,406 | ||
| R | 3,424 | 3,463 | 7,113 | ||
| O | 2,229 | 1,437 | 6,949 | ||
| R | 2,516 | 4,463 | 7,319 | ||
| R | 1,659 | 4,951 | 7,028 | ||
| R | 3,324 | 4,780 | 8,397 | ||
| R | 3,986 | 4,564 | 8,756 | ||
| R | 2,613 | 4,119 | 7,678 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
22.4%
English
17.7%
Irish
10.6%
American
5.1%
Polish
3.2%
Italian
2.4%
French
2.4%
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: 43.1 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
$64,242
Hillsdale, MI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Hillsdale, MI$64,242
Michigan$72,875
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.4%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.0%
Working age (18–64)13.0%
Seniors (65+)8.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.6%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.2%
Spanish0.9%
Other languages0.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 75.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Hillsdale County posts some of Michigan's widest Republican margins in statewide races, driven by a predominantly white, non-college rural electorate and reinforced by the presence of Hillsdale College, a nationally influential conservative institution.
The Democratic margin in Hillsdale, MI peaked at eleven points in 1912. By 1968 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $64,242 sits well below state and national norms, and 14% 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.
Hillsdale, MI, Michigan — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/25880/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Hillsdale, MI, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Hillsdale, MI, Michigan voted Republican by 51.4 points (R+51), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 24,828 votes cast, 5,875 went Democratic and 18,631 went Republican.
What is Hillsdale, MI, Michigan's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Hillsdale, 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 1 times, Republican 32 times, and other 1 times.
When did Hillsdale, MI, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Hillsdale, MI, Michigan voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Hillsdale, MI, Michigan?
Hillsdale, MI, Michigan has a population of 45,654 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Hillsdale, MI, Michigan?
Median household income in Hillsdale, MI, Michigan is $64,242 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Hillsdale, MI, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Hillsdale, MI, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 1 went Democratic and 32 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.