Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+23%. Democratic peak: D+53 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+23MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 81,4062024 5-year
- Median household income
- $69,1482024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 88.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+53 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+47 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Manitowoc, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 17,399 | 28,200 | 46,316 | ||
| R | 16,818 | 27,218 | 44,829 | ||
| R | 14,538 | 23,244 | 40,786 | ||
| R | 20,403 | 21,604 | 42,617 | ||
| D | 22,428 | 19,234 | 42,414 | ||
| R | 20,652 | 23,027 | 44,160 | ||
| R | 17,667 | 19,358 | 38,824 | ||
| D | 16,750 | 13,239 | 34,444 | ||
| D | 15,903 | 14,008 | 41,268 | ||
| D | 19,680 | 16,020 | 35,987 | ||
| R | 17,250 | 19,639 | 37,376 | ||
| R | 17,330 | 18,591 | 38,732 | ||
| D | 19,819 | 16,039 | 36,771 | ||
| R | 16,489 | 16,599 | 34,220 | ||
| D | 15,298 | 13,562 | 30,661 | ||
| D | 21,927 | 9,849 | 31,815 | ||
| D | 17,423 | 14,622 | 32,080 | ||
| R | 10,800 | 18,078 | 29,199 | ||
| R | 11,879 | 18,950 | 30,901 | ||
| D | 13,401 | 10,947 | 24,863 | ||
| R | 11,949 | 14,047 | 26,247 | ||
| D | 13,142 | 12,616 | 26,126 | ||
| D | 15,539 | 5,094 | 24,026 | ||
| D | 15,696 | 4,573 | 20,805 | ||
| D | 10,292 | 7,519 | 18,032 | ||
| O | 1,599 | 4,828 | 16,345 | ||
| R | 2,018 | 8,378 | 13,579 | ||
| D | 4,338 | 4,224 | 9,091 | ||
| D | 3,436 | 2,389 | 7,680 | ||
| R | 3,952 | 4,126 | 9,091 | ||
| R | 3,274 | 4,626 | 8,683 | ||
| R | 4,167 | 4,317 | 8,722 | ||
| R | 3,919 | 4,430 | 8,591 | ||
| D | 4,349 | 2,249 | 6,685 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
47.9%
Irish
9.4%
Polish
8.1%
American
6.1%
English
4.8%
French
4.4%
Italian
2.1%
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: 45.1 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
$69,148
Manitowoc, WI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Manitowoc, WI$69,148
Wisconsin$77,485
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.8%
Working age (18–64)8.3%
Seniors (65+)14.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.1%
speak English only
Spanish3.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.8%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 42.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Manitowoc's economy is anchored by heavy manufacturing and shipbuilding heritage, producing a blue-collar electorate that has swung between parties in statewide races by margins tight enough to reward ground-level organizing.
The Democratic margin in Manitowoc, WI peaked at fifty-three points in 1932. By 2012 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty-three points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $69,148 sits well below state and national norms, and 10% 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.
Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/31820/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin vote in 2024?
In 2024, Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin voted Republican by 23.3 points (R+23), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 46,316 votes cast, 17,399 went Democratic and 28,200 went Republican.
What is Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Manitowoc, 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 16 times, Republican 17 times, and other 1 times.
When did Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin?
Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin has a population of 81,406 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin?
Median household income in Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin is $69,148 — below the national median of $80,734. The Wisconsin state median is $77,485.
What is the political history of Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Manitowoc, WI, Wisconsin from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.