Ludington, MI, Michigan: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+21%. Republican peak: R+52 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+21MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 29,2072024 5-year
- Median household income
- $64,7482024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+22 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+52 in 1924MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Ludington, 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 | 6,973 | 10,830 | 18,091 | ||
| R | 6,802 | 10,207 | 17,254 | ||
| R | 5,281 | 8,505 | 14,792 | ||
| R | 6,856 | 7,580 | 14,665 | ||
| D | 7,817 | 7,147 | 15,223 | ||
| R | 6,333 | 8,124 | 14,611 | ||
| R | 5,579 | 7,066 | 13,016 | ||
| D | 5,597 | 5,066 | 12,251 | ||
| R | 4,829 | 5,102 | 13,082 | ||
| R | 4,531 | 6,800 | 11,413 | ||
| R | 3,803 | 8,202 | 12,092 | ||
| R | 4,134 | 7,137 | 12,276 | ||
| R | 4,541 | 6,812 | 11,516 | ||
| R | 3,697 | 6,811 | 10,715 | ||
| R | 3,660 | 5,311 | 9,831 | ||
| D | 5,993 | 3,842 | 9,846 | ||
| R | 4,305 | 6,011 | 10,326 | ||
| R | 3,274 | 6,142 | 9,428 | ||
| R | 3,298 | 6,179 | 9,558 | ||
| R | 2,988 | 4,147 | 7,407 | ||
| R | 3,137 | 4,446 | 7,630 | ||
| R | 3,836 | 4,874 | 8,763 | ||
| D | 4,598 | 3,224 | 8,190 | ||
| D | 3,854 | 3,098 | 7,292 | ||
| R | 1,567 | 4,318 | 5,936 | ||
| R | 815 | 3,567 | 5,310 | ||
| R | 1,338 | 3,652 | 5,263 | ||
| R | 1,689 | 2,198 | 4,134 | ||
| O | 1,073 | 844 | 3,924 | ||
| R | 1,132 | 2,577 | 3,922 | ||
| R | 764 | 2,394 | 3,319 | ||
| R | 1,251 | 2,185 | 3,564 | ||
| R | 1,580 | 2,177 | 3,869 | ||
| R | 1,383 | 1,426 | 3,110 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
24.1%
English
11.9%
Irish
9.6%
Polish
8.0%
American
4.5%
French
3.0%
Scottish
2.7%
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: 47.3 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
$64,748
Ludington, MI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Ludington, MI$64,748
Michigan$72,875
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.1%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1824.4%
Working age (18–64)11.8%
Seniors (65+)10.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.7%
speak English only
Spanish2.0%
Other Indo-European0.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 64.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Ludington, MI sits in the Great Lakes. For most of the post-war period it was a Democratic metro — its working-class profile gave it the same political habits as much of its region. That identity has shifted decisively in the last twenty years.
The Democratic margin in Ludington, MI peaked at twenty-two points in 1964. By 2012 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $64,748 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.
Ludington, MI, Michigan — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/31220/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Ludington, MI, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Ludington, MI, Michigan voted Republican by 21.3 points (R+21), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 18,091 votes cast, 6,973 went Democratic and 10,830 went Republican.
What is Ludington, MI, Michigan's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Ludington, 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 5 times, Republican 28 times, and other 1 times.
When did Ludington, MI, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Ludington, MI, Michigan voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Ludington, MI, Michigan?
Ludington, MI, Michigan has a population of 29,207 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Ludington, MI, Michigan?
Median household income in Ludington, MI, Michigan is $64,748 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Ludington, MI, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Ludington, MI, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.