Saginaw, MI, Michigan: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+3%. Republican peak: R+61 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+3MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 188,6652024 5-year
- Median household income
- $60,6222024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 70.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 18.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 9.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+23 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+61 in 1924MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Saginaw, 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 | 49,515 | 52,912 | 104,000 | ||
| D | 51,088 | 50,785 | 103,349 | ||
| R | 44,396 | 45,469 | 94,780 | ||
| D | 54,381 | 42,720 | 98,292 | ||
| D | 60,276 | 42,225 | 104,090 | ||
| D | 54,887 | 47,165 | 102,852 | ||
| D | 50,825 | 41,152 | 93,756 | ||
| D | 47,579 | 31,577 | 87,794 | ||
| D | 43,819 | 32,103 | 96,905 | ||
| D | 45,616 | 42,401 | 88,566 | ||
| R | 38,420 | 51,495 | 90,416 | ||
| R | 41,650 | 45,233 | 93,799 | ||
| R | 36,280 | 46,765 | 84,071 | ||
| R | 29,424 | 47,920 | 78,521 | ||
| R | 32,266 | 38,070 | 77,423 | ||
| D | 45,309 | 28,146 | 73,582 | ||
| R | 32,715 | 41,351 | 74,272 | ||
| R | 25,681 | 43,470 | 69,361 | ||
| R | 20,983 | 38,604 | 60,100 | ||
| R | 16,995 | 22,923 | 40,733 | ||
| R | 20,383 | 27,289 | 48,402 | ||
| R | 22,490 | 27,042 | 49,753 | ||
| D | 22,592 | 15,527 | 41,410 | ||
| D | 22,643 | 17,794 | 41,414 | ||
| R | 11,555 | 22,467 | 34,242 | ||
| R | 3,600 | 17,435 | 22,780 | ||
| R | 4,566 | 14,938 | 19,879 | ||
| R | 8,434 | 9,544 | 18,461 | ||
| O | 5,845 | 5,032 | 18,007 | ||
| R | 7,019 | 9,447 | 17,364 | ||
| R | 5,330 | 10,146 | 16,727 | ||
| R | 7,610 | 8,413 | 16,769 | ||
| D | 8,792 | 8,361 | 17,447 | ||
| D | 7,601 | 6,737 | 15,182 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
24.9%
Irish
9.6%
English
8.6%
Polish
7.0%
French
3.6%
American
3.5%
Italian
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: 41.2 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
$60,622
Saginaw, MI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Saginaw, MI$60,622
Michigan$72,875
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
18.2%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1827.2%
Working age (18–64)16.1%
Seniors (65+)12.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.4%
speak English only
Spanish2.3%
Other Indo-European1.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 52.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Saginaw's metro has shed population steadily since its auto-industry peak, leaving an electorate that is majority-minority in the city proper while surrounding townships tilt sharply in the opposite direction — a split that routinely tightens county-level margins.
The Democratic margin in Saginaw, MI peaked at twenty-three points in 1964. By 2024 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was three points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $60,622 sits well below state and national norms, and 18% 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.
Saginaw, MI, Michigan — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/40980/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Saginaw, MI, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Saginaw, MI, Michigan voted Republican by 3.3 points (R+3), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 104,000 votes cast, 49,515 went Democratic and 52,912 went Republican.
What is Saginaw, MI, Michigan's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Saginaw, 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 13 times, Republican 20 times, and other 1 times.
When did Saginaw, MI, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Saginaw, MI, Michigan voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Saginaw, MI, Michigan?
Saginaw, MI, Michigan has a population of 188,665 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Saginaw, MI, Michigan?
Median household income in Saginaw, MI, Michigan is $60,622 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Saginaw, MI, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Saginaw, MI, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.