Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+6%. Republican peak: R+64 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+6MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 168,6372024 5-year
- Median household income
- $70,9882024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 7.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+21 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+64 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, IAOne 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 | 38,889 | 44,369 | 84,659 | ||
| D | 43,811 | 42,863 | 88,415 | ||
| D | 39,445 | 39,211 | 85,642 | ||
| D | 49,219 | 36,855 | 87,449 | ||
| D | 48,914 | 34,348 | 84,474 | ||
| D | 43,803 | 39,140 | 83,535 | ||
| D | 37,420 | 32,994 | 72,371 | ||
| D | 36,996 | 26,463 | 68,968 | ||
| D | 36,253 | 29,040 | 79,420 | ||
| D | 38,829 | 32,624 | 71,952 | ||
| R | 37,466 | 43,684 | 81,806 | ||
| R | 32,839 | 40,977 | 82,066 | ||
| R | 36,121 | 41,419 | 79,060 | ||
| R | 26,687 | 41,968 | 70,018 | ||
| R | 25,253 | 36,064 | 64,917 | ||
| D | 39,343 | 26,839 | 66,263 | ||
| R | 29,486 | 39,928 | 69,459 | ||
| R | 25,203 | 39,095 | 64,377 | ||
| R | 21,206 | 41,129 | 62,573 | ||
| D | 25,449 | 23,032 | 49,310 | ||
| R | 21,548 | 24,173 | 45,910 | ||
| R | 23,153 | 26,414 | 49,701 | ||
| D | 25,769 | 19,542 | 46,854 | ||
| D | 23,732 | 19,685 | 43,893 | ||
| R | 13,233 | 26,959 | 40,350 | ||
| R | 4,507 | 22,667 | 37,274 | ||
| R | 5,616 | 27,869 | 34,802 | ||
| R | 6,417 | 11,553 | 18,372 | ||
| O | 6,795 | 3,035 | 17,508 | ||
| R | 6,157 | 8,954 | 15,781 | ||
| R | 4,582 | 9,184 | 14,656 | ||
| R | 5,644 | 9,213 | 15,210 | ||
| R | 5,077 | 8,653 | 14,085 | ||
| R | 5,832 | 6,413 | 12,524 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
33.7%
Irish
11.4%
English
8.7%
American
5.2%
French
1.5%
Italian
1.3%
Scottish
1.2%
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: 36.6 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
$70,988
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA$70,988
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
13.1%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.0%
Working age (18–64)13.1%
Seniors (65+)8.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.7%
speak English only
Spanish2.8%
Other Indo-European2.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.7%
Other languages0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Anchored by Waterloo and Cedar Falls, this metro pairs a historically union-heavy industrial core with a college-town precincts around the University of Northern Iowa, producing persistent intra-metro splits that have made it a genuine swing bellwether in statewide races.
The Democratic margin in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA peaked at twenty-one points in 1912. By 2024 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was six points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $70,988 sits well below state and national norms, and 13% 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.
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/47940/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa voted Republican by 6.5 points (R+6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 84,659 votes cast, 38,889 went Democratic and 44,369 went Republican.
What is Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa?
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa has a population of 168,637 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa?
Median household income in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa is $70,988 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Iowa 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.