Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin: Populist metro. In 2024, voted D+7%. Republican peak: R+71 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+7MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 164,3502024 5-year
- Median household income
- $75,6732024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 81.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.7%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 10.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+71 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Janesville-Beloit, WI, WIOne 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 | 46,642 | 40,218 | 88,310 | ||
| D | 46,658 | 37,138 | 85,360 | ||
| D | 39,339 | 31,493 | 76,074 | ||
| D | 49,219 | 30,517 | 80,690 | ||
| D | 50,529 | 27,364 | 79,169 | ||
| D | 46,598 | 33,151 | 80,479 | ||
| D | 40,472 | 27,467 | 70,404 | ||
| D | 32,450 | 20,096 | 60,320 | ||
| D | 31,154 | 21,942 | 69,025 | ||
| D | 29,576 | 28,178 | 58,188 | ||
| R | 26,433 | 32,491 | 59,334 | ||
| R | 24,740 | 30,960 | 61,182 | ||
| R | 28,048 | 28,325 | 57,762 | ||
| R | 21,033 | 30,361 | 52,319 | ||
| R | 20,567 | 25,229 | 49,493 | ||
| D | 28,257 | 20,372 | 48,684 | ||
| R | 19,194 | 29,675 | 48,945 | ||
| R | 13,834 | 28,980 | 42,987 | ||
| R | 15,183 | 27,837 | 43,065 | ||
| R | 16,150 | 17,068 | 33,692 | ||
| R | 16,766 | 18,477 | 35,376 | ||
| R | 17,543 | 20,141 | 37,898 | ||
| D | 17,991 | 14,693 | 33,729 | ||
| R | 12,612 | 16,825 | 30,008 | ||
| R | 8,726 | 21,497 | 30,384 | ||
| R | 1,453 | 14,815 | 24,320 | ||
| R | 2,447 | 16,152 | 19,337 | ||
| R | 4,015 | 7,011 | 11,477 | ||
| R | 3,032 | 4,276 | 9,895 | ||
| R | 3,227 | 7,839 | 11,734 | ||
| R | 2,348 | 7,972 | 11,127 | ||
| R | 3,094 | 8,249 | 11,790 | ||
| R | 3,655 | 8,282 | 12,277 | ||
| R | 4,231 | 6,052 | 10,956 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
31.6%
Irish
13.0%
English
9.9%
American
5.5%
Polish
3.3%
Italian
2.9%
French
1.8%
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: 40.3 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
$75,673
Janesville-Beloit, WI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Janesville-Beloit, WI$75,673
Wisconsin$77,485
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.9%
Working age (18–64)7.8%
Seniors (65+)12.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.2%
speak English only
Spanish7.2%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 61.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Janesville's GM plant closure in 2008 marked a turning point for Rock County, which had voted reliably Democratic for decades; the metro now swings between parties in statewide races by single-digit margins.
The Democratic margin in Janesville-Beloit, WI peaked at twenty-nine points in 2008. By 1988 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was seven points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $75,673 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.
Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/27500/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin vote in 2024?
In 2024, Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin voted Democratic by 7.3 points (D+7), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 88,310 votes cast, 46,642 went Democratic and 40,218 went Republican.
What is Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 12 times, Republican 22 times, and other 0 times.
When did Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin?
Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin has a population of 164,350 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin?
Median household income in Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin is $75,673 — below the national median of $80,734. The Wisconsin state median is $77,485.
What is the political history of Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Janesville-Beloit, WI, Wisconsin from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.