Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+16%. Republican peak: R+64 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+16MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 86,0032024 5-year
- Median household income
- $83,7502024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 88.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+38 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+64 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, WIOne 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 | 20,574 | 28,771 | 50,146 | ||
| R | 19,904 | 27,208 | 47,979 | ||
| R | 16,569 | 23,417 | 43,109 | ||
| R | 20,158 | 23,517 | 44,281 | ||
| D | 21,448 | 21,096 | 43,166 | ||
| R | 17,925 | 23,776 | 42,115 | ||
| R | 15,203 | 19,204 | 36,099 | ||
| D | 13,188 | 12,681 | 29,774 | ||
| R | 11,593 | 13,072 | 32,802 | ||
| R | 11,816 | 14,309 | 26,342 | ||
| R | 10,788 | 17,780 | 28,784 | ||
| R | 11,335 | 16,174 | 30,000 | ||
| R | 12,577 | 15,528 | 28,812 | ||
| R | 9,303 | 14,621 | 24,587 | ||
| R | 8,716 | 12,478 | 22,698 | ||
| D | 13,295 | 8,741 | 22,084 | ||
| R | 8,757 | 14,133 | 22,929 | ||
| R | 6,452 | 13,357 | 19,931 | ||
| R | 6,827 | 13,884 | 20,743 | ||
| R | 7,256 | 8,244 | 15,728 | ||
| R | 6,988 | 10,245 | 17,317 | ||
| R | 7,842 | 10,178 | 18,169 | ||
| D | 11,144 | 5,599 | 17,324 | ||
| D | 11,230 | 5,062 | 16,448 | ||
| R | 6,305 | 8,612 | 15,033 | ||
| O | 1,374 | 4,250 | 13,611 | ||
| R | 1,844 | 8,865 | 11,029 | ||
| R | 3,645 | 3,785 | 7,636 | ||
| D | 4,381 | 1,926 | 7,021 | ||
| D | 4,492 | 3,207 | 7,932 | ||
| D | 3,778 | 3,669 | 7,696 | ||
| D | 4,127 | 3,729 | 8,063 | ||
| R | 3,504 | 4,344 | 8,257 | ||
| D | 4,661 | 2,679 | 7,575 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
46.1%
Irish
11.1%
Polish
6.7%
English
5.8%
American
3.7%
Italian
3.1%
French
2.4%
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: 41.5 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
$83,750
Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI ranks near the middle of US counties.
Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI$83,750
Wisconsin$77,485
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
8.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 189.8%
Working age (18–64)7.5%
Seniors (65+)9.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.7%
speak English only
Spanish5.0%
Other Indo-European0.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Anchored by Jefferson County's small manufacturing cities and surrounding farmland, this Lake Mills–to–Fort Atkinson corridor has shifted steadily rightward over the past decade, with the 2024 margin running roughly 8 points wider than in 2016.
The Democratic margin in Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI peaked at thirty-eight points in 1932. By 2012 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixteen points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $83,750 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.
Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/48020/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin vote in 2024?
In 2024, Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin voted Republican by 16.3 points (R+16), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 50,146 votes cast, 20,574 went Democratic and 28,771 went Republican.
What is Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 10 times, Republican 23 times, and other 1 times.
When did Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin?
Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin has a population of 86,003 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin?
Median household income in Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin is $83,750 — above the national median of $80,734. The Wisconsin state median is $77,485.
What is the political history of Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI, Wisconsin from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 10 went Democratic and 23 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.