McPherson, KS, Kansas: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+41%. Republican peak: R+61 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+41MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 30,2052024 5-year
- Median household income
- $78,8512024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+25 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+61 in 1928MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for McPherson, KS, KSOne 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 | 4,021 | 9,816 | 14,167 | ||
| R | 4,134 | 9,964 | 14,438 | ||
| R | 3,226 | 8,549 | 12,742 | ||
| R | 3,449 | 8,545 | 12,297 | ||
| R | 4,218 | 8,937 | 13,385 | ||
| R | 3,589 | 9,595 | 13,367 | ||
| R | 3,272 | 8,501 | 12,461 | ||
| R | 3,536 | 8,142 | 12,883 | ||
| R | 3,645 | 5,745 | 12,991 | ||
| R | 4,354 | 6,563 | 11,164 | ||
| R | 3,185 | 8,630 | 12,004 | ||
| R | 3,340 | 6,843 | 11,631 | ||
| R | 2,483 | 3,519 | 6,140 | ||
| R | 2,858 | 7,457 | 10,569 | ||
| R | 2,893 | 6,420 | 9,880 | ||
| D | 5,173 | 4,483 | 9,826 | ||
| R | 2,774 | 7,920 | 10,759 | ||
| R | 2,603 | 7,521 | 10,198 | ||
| R | 2,371 | 8,053 | 10,798 | ||
| R | 3,879 | 5,952 | 10,344 | ||
| R | 3,321 | 5,840 | 9,372 | ||
| R | 4,240 | 6,732 | 11,176 | ||
| D | 6,256 | 4,744 | 11,046 | ||
| D | 5,003 | 4,098 | 9,377 | ||
| R | 1,457 | 6,230 | 7,789 | ||
| R | 1,530 | 5,128 | 7,771 | ||
| R | 1,926 | 4,870 | 7,007 | ||
| R | 3,737 | 3,806 | 7,994 | ||
| O | 1,639 | 455 | 4,647 | ||
| R | 1,905 | 2,708 | 4,719 | ||
| R | 773 | 2,991 | 4,113 | ||
| R | 2,121 | 2,640 | 4,834 | ||
| D | 2,324 | 2,269 | 4,637 | ||
| O | 0 | 2,335 | 4,738 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
30.5%
English
9.4%
Irish
6.5%
American
4.3%
Scottish
3.2%
French
1.7%
Polish
1.4%
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: 39.4 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
$78,851
McPherson, KS ranks near the middle of US counties.
McPherson, KS$78,851
Kansas$74,275
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 187.2%
Working age (18–64)11.0%
Seniors (65+)2.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.8%
speak English only
Spanish3.4%
Other Indo-European1.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 47.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
McPherson's small metropolitan economy, centered on refining and industrial production, has produced some of the most lopsided Republican margins in Kansas statewide contests, with the surrounding county regularly exceeding 80% GOP support.
The Democratic margin in McPherson, KS peaked at twenty-five points in 1912. By 1968 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $78,851 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.
McPherson, KS, Kansas — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/32700/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did McPherson, KS, Kansas vote in 2024?
In 2024, McPherson, KS, Kansas voted Republican by 40.9 points (R+41), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 14,167 votes cast, 4,021 went Democratic and 9,816 went Republican.
What is McPherson, KS, Kansas's political archetype?
Akashic classifies McPherson, KS, Kansas as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 4 times, Republican 28 times, and other 2 times.
When did McPherson, KS, Kansas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which McPherson, KS, Kansas voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in McPherson, KS, Kansas?
McPherson, KS, Kansas has a population of 30,205 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in McPherson, KS, Kansas?
Median household income in McPherson, KS, Kansas is $78,851 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kansas state median is $74,275.
What is the political history of McPherson, KS, Kansas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in McPherson, KS, Kansas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.