Rolla, MO, Missouri: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+43%. Democratic peak: D+46 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+43MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 45,1942024 5-year
- Median household income
- $58,3962024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+46 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+43 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Rolla, MO, MOOne 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 | 5,379 | 13,658 | 19,385 | ||
| R | 5,637 | 13,480 | 19,601 | ||
| R | 4,766 | 12,709 | 18,713 | ||
| R | 5,798 | 11,895 | 18,286 | ||
| R | 7,394 | 11,706 | 19,438 | ||
| R | 6,666 | 11,874 | 18,700 | ||
| R | 6,262 | 9,444 | 16,146 | ||
| R | 6,405 | 6,990 | 15,297 | ||
| D | 6,852 | 6,040 | 16,739 | ||
| R | 5,867 | 8,329 | 14,253 | ||
| R | 5,074 | 9,012 | 14,086 | ||
| R | 5,470 | 7,366 | 13,566 | ||
| D | 6,261 | 6,153 | 12,512 | ||
| R | 3,567 | 7,598 | 11,165 | ||
| R | 4,211 | 5,577 | 11,783 | ||
| D | 5,776 | 3,755 | 9,531 | ||
| R | 4,576 | 5,663 | 10,239 | ||
| R | 4,761 | 4,773 | 9,534 | ||
| D | 4,846 | 4,694 | 9,554 | ||
| D | 5,202 | 3,053 | 8,277 | ||
| D | 4,256 | 3,180 | 7,449 | ||
| D | 4,780 | 3,319 | 8,114 | ||
| D | 4,658 | 2,690 | 7,381 | ||
| D | 4,858 | 1,794 | 6,720 | ||
| R | 2,896 | 2,967 | 5,874 | ||
| D | 2,918 | 2,085 | 5,500 | ||
| R | 2,422 | 2,692 | 5,152 | ||
| D | 1,887 | 1,487 | 3,423 | ||
| D | 1,565 | 782 | 2,816 | ||
| D | 1,804 | 1,520 | 3,378 | ||
| D | 1,384 | 1,371 | 2,889 | ||
| D | 1,603 | 1,153 | 2,837 | ||
| D | 1,816 | 1,038 | 2,868 | ||
| D | 1,287 | 883 | 2,386 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
17.8%
English
12.3%
Irish
11.2%
American
8.6%
Italian
3.5%
French
3.1%
Scottish
1.5%
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: 35.8 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
$58,396
Rolla, MO ranks near the middle of US counties.
Rolla, MO$58,396
Missouri$70,702
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
16.8%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.3%
Working age (18–64)18.3%
Seniors (65+)9.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.2%
speak English only
Asian & Pacific Islander2.7%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Spanish0.6%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Rolla's identity is anchored by Missouri University of Science and Technology, giving this south-central Missouri city an unusually high concentration of STEM workers and graduate students relative to its size, which tilts its demographic mix away from surrounding Ozark communities.
The Democratic margin in Rolla, MO peaked at forty-six points in 1932. By 1996 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-three points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $58,396 sits well below state and national norms, and 17% 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.
Rolla, MO, Missouri — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/40620/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Rolla, MO, Missouri vote in 2024?
In 2024, Rolla, MO, Missouri voted Republican by 42.7 points (R+43), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 19,385 votes cast, 5,379 went Democratic and 13,658 went Republican.
What is Rolla, MO, Missouri's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Rolla, MO, Missouri as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 17 times, Republican 17 times, and other 0 times.
When did Rolla, MO, Missouri last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rolla, MO, Missouri voted Democratic was 1992.
How many people live in Rolla, MO, Missouri?
Rolla, MO, Missouri has a population of 45,194 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rolla, MO, Missouri?
Median household income in Rolla, MO, Missouri is $58,396 — below the national median of $80,734. The Missouri state median is $70,702.
What is the political history of Rolla, MO, Missouri?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Rolla, MO, Missouri from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 17 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.