Owatonna, MN, Minnesota: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+24%. Republican peak: R+55 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+24MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 37,4392024 5-year
- Median household income
- $84,1962024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 85.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+20 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+55 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Owatonna, MN, MNOne 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 | 7,650 | 12,742 | 20,872 | ||
| R | 7,917 | 12,656 | 21,128 | ||
| R | 6,241 | 11,198 | 19,179 | ||
| R | 8,706 | 9,903 | 19,124 | ||
| R | 9,016 | 10,068 | 19,656 | ||
| R | 7,994 | 10,389 | 18,695 | ||
| R | 6,900 | 8,223 | 16,066 | ||
| D | 6,974 | 5,617 | 14,964 | ||
| R | 5,152 | 5,964 | 15,789 | ||
| R | 5,496 | 7,981 | 13,610 | ||
| R | 5,060 | 8,780 | 13,910 | ||
| R | 5,095 | 7,805 | 14,279 | ||
| R | 6,263 | 7,053 | 13,647 | ||
| R | 4,010 | 7,678 | 11,868 | ||
| R | 4,631 | 6,193 | 11,190 | ||
| D | 6,022 | 4,882 | 10,939 | ||
| R | 4,491 | 6,795 | 11,301 | ||
| R | 3,293 | 6,435 | 9,764 | ||
| R | 2,819 | 6,956 | 9,804 | ||
| R | 4,305 | 4,451 | 8,816 | ||
| R | 3,307 | 4,760 | 8,082 | ||
| R | 3,668 | 5,517 | 9,199 | ||
| D | 4,481 | 3,373 | 8,224 | ||
| D | 4,318 | 3,365 | 7,790 | ||
| R | 2,826 | 4,744 | 7,595 | ||
| R | 796 | 3,598 | 6,047 | ||
| R | 1,167 | 4,243 | 5,550 | ||
| R | 1,497 | 1,734 | 3,322 | ||
| D | 1,294 | 651 | 3,200 | ||
| R | 1,284 | 1,899 | 3,325 | ||
| R | 1,067 | 2,095 | 3,303 | ||
| R | 1,188 | 1,833 | 3,143 | ||
| R | 1,248 | 2,046 | 3,444 | ||
| D | 1,396 | 1,299 | 2,866 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
31.6%
Irish
8.6%
English
6.5%
American
3.6%
Polish
2.6%
Italian
2.3%
French
1.9%
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: 40.5 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
$84,196
Owatonna, MN ranks near the middle of US counties.
Owatonna, MN$84,196
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
8.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 189.7%
Working age (18–64)8.0%
Seniors (65+)6.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.3%
speak English only
Spanish4.6%
Other languages1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other Indo-European0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 38.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Owatonna anchors a small metro whose electorate blends blue-collar factory workers with surrounding agricultural townships, producing competitive margins that often track statewide results within a point or two.
The Democratic margin in Owatonna, MN peaked at twenty points in 1912. By 2000 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty-four points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $84,196 sits well below state and national norms, and 8% 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.
Owatonna, MN, Minnesota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/36940/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Owatonna, MN, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Owatonna, MN, Minnesota voted Republican by 24.4 points (R+24), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 20,872 votes cast, 7,650 went Democratic and 12,742 went Republican.
What is Owatonna, MN, Minnesota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Owatonna, MN, Minnesota as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 6 times, Republican 28 times, and other 0 times.
When did Owatonna, MN, Minnesota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Owatonna, MN, Minnesota voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Owatonna, MN, Minnesota?
Owatonna, MN, Minnesota has a population of 37,439 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Owatonna, MN, Minnesota?
Median household income in Owatonna, MN, Minnesota is $84,196 — above the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Owatonna, MN, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Owatonna, MN, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.