Traverse City, MI, Michigan: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+5%. Republican peak: R+64 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+5MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 155,4492024 5-year
- Median household income
- $81,9112024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+9 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+64 in 1904MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Traverse City, 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 | 48,731 | 54,502 | 105,028 | ||
| R | 45,960 | 52,455 | 100,029 | ||
| R | 34,127 | 46,307 | 85,938 | ||
| R | 35,408 | 43,993 | 80,616 | ||
| R | 39,844 | 40,868 | 82,005 | ||
| R | 31,876 | 45,547 | 78,266 | ||
| R | 25,326 | 37,212 | 65,159 | ||
| R | 22,753 | 26,821 | 56,446 | ||
| R | 19,605 | 22,233 | 57,926 | ||
| R | 17,958 | 29,015 | 47,380 | ||
| R | 13,230 | 30,605 | 44,126 | ||
| R | 13,147 | 24,925 | 43,105 | ||
| R | 13,548 | 23,110 | 37,282 | ||
| R | 9,899 | 19,771 | 30,343 | ||
| R | 8,203 | 15,086 | 24,969 | ||
| D | 13,047 | 10,807 | 23,890 | ||
| R | 8,695 | 15,173 | 23,920 | ||
| R | 6,225 | 16,152 | 22,435 | ||
| R | 5,101 | 16,038 | 21,236 | ||
| R | 4,564 | 10,251 | 15,175 | ||
| R | 5,044 | 10,494 | 15,652 | ||
| R | 6,465 | 11,500 | 18,034 | ||
| D | 8,007 | 7,965 | 16,913 | ||
| D | 7,734 | 7,269 | 15,505 | ||
| R | 2,873 | 8,787 | 11,739 | ||
| R | 1,262 | 8,691 | 11,710 | ||
| R | 2,210 | 8,622 | 11,426 | ||
| R | 3,811 | 4,525 | 9,178 | ||
| O | 1,900 | 2,536 | 8,921 | ||
| R | 2,762 | 6,659 | 10,108 | ||
| R | 1,489 | 7,783 | 9,851 | ||
| R | 2,907 | 7,379 | 10,679 | ||
| R | 3,660 | 6,241 | 10,288 | ||
| R | 2,380 | 3,996 | 7,359 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
24.6%
English
17.2%
Irish
13.8%
Polish
8.5%
French
4.5%
American
3.8%
Italian
3.3%
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: 46.3 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
$81,911
Traverse City, MI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Traverse City, MI$81,911
Michigan$72,875
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 1813.4%
Working age (18–64)8.4%
Seniors (65+)9.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.3%
speak English only
Spanish1.4%
Other Indo-European0.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 72.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Traverse City anchors a Grand Traverse County metro that has shifted from reliably Republican to a closely contested swing zone, driven by an influx of remote workers and college-educated migrants drawn to its recreation economy.
The Democratic margin in Traverse City, MI peaked at nine points in 1964. By 1968 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was five points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $81,911 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.
Traverse City, MI, Michigan — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/45900/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Traverse City, MI, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Traverse City, MI, Michigan voted Republican by 5.5 points (R+5), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 105,028 votes cast, 48,731 went Democratic and 54,502 went Republican.
What is Traverse City, MI, Michigan's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Traverse City, 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 3 times, Republican 30 times, and other 1 times.
When did Traverse City, MI, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Traverse City, MI, Michigan voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Traverse City, MI, Michigan?
Traverse City, MI, Michigan has a population of 155,449 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Traverse City, MI, Michigan?
Median household income in Traverse City, MI, Michigan is $81,911 — above the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Traverse City, MI, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Traverse City, MI, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 30 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.