Houghton, MI, Michigan: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted R+17%. Republican peak: R+78 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+17MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 39,8262024 5-year
- Median household income
- $58,5612024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+33 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+78 in 1924MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Houghton, 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 | 8,571 | 12,077 | 21,019 | ||
| R | 8,422 | 11,240 | 20,058 | ||
| R | 6,545 | 9,289 | 17,195 | ||
| R | 7,383 | 8,970 | 16,753 | ||
| R | 8,086 | 8,857 | 17,382 | ||
| R | 7,361 | 9,670 | 17,290 | ||
| R | 6,228 | 8,635 | 15,559 | ||
| D | 6,529 | 6,432 | 14,913 | ||
| D | 7,140 | 5,953 | 16,346 | ||
| R | 7,141 | 7,634 | 14,864 | ||
| R | 7,062 | 9,251 | 16,368 | ||
| R | 7,428 | 8,509 | 17,794 | ||
| R | 8,010 | 8,655 | 16,871 | ||
| R | 6,858 | 9,768 | 16,772 | ||
| D | 7,590 | 7,164 | 15,337 | ||
| D | 10,621 | 5,398 | 16,026 | ||
| D | 8,676 | 8,451 | 17,165 | ||
| R | 7,555 | 10,454 | 18,034 | ||
| R | 7,847 | 11,364 | 19,292 | ||
| R | 7,572 | 10,355 | 19,096 | ||
| D | 11,031 | 9,976 | 21,075 | ||
| R | 11,782 | 12,110 | 23,986 | ||
| D | 12,702 | 10,415 | 23,360 | ||
| R | 8,365 | 13,762 | 22,787 | ||
| R | 6,933 | 12,545 | 19,746 | ||
| R | 1,095 | 15,254 | 18,221 | ||
| R | 3,177 | 16,210 | 20,036 | ||
| R | 4,809 | 8,873 | 14,419 | ||
| O | 2,444 | 4,066 | 13,343 | ||
| R | 2,487 | 10,378 | 13,937 | ||
| R | 1,500 | 9,516 | 11,990 | ||
| R | 2,453 | 8,471 | 11,417 | ||
| R | 2,041 | 6,552 | 9,009 | ||
| R | 2,809 | 3,716 | 7,846 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
16.9%
English
9.0%
Irish
8.3%
Italian
6.2%
French
4.8%
Polish
4.5%
American
3.0%
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: 33.5 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
$58,561
Houghton, MI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Houghton, MI$58,561
Michigan$72,875
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
16.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.1%
Working age (18–64)17.9%
Seniors (65+)13.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.7%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.7%
Other languages1.0%
Spanish0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 64.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Houghton's metropolitan area, centered on Michigan Tech, skews younger and more educated than its rural surroundings, producing turnout patterns that diverge sharply from the broader Upper Peninsula's blue-collar Republican lean.
The Democratic margin in Houghton, MI has rarely exceeded thirty-three points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded seventy-eight points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Republican candidate by seventeen points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 92% non-Hispanic-white share, a 16% poverty rate, and a median household income of $58,561 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Houghton, MI, Michigan — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/26340/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Houghton, MI, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Houghton, MI, Michigan voted Republican by 16.7 points (R+17), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 21,019 votes cast, 8,571 went Democratic and 12,077 went Republican.
What is Houghton, MI, Michigan's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Houghton, MI, Michigan as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 7 times, Republican 26 times, and other 1 times.
When did Houghton, MI, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Houghton, MI, Michigan voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Houghton, MI, Michigan?
Houghton, MI, Michigan has a population of 39,826 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Houghton, MI, Michigan?
Median household income in Houghton, MI, Michigan is $58,561 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Houghton, MI, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Houghton, MI, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.