Willmar, MN, Minnesota: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+31%. Republican peak: R+73 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+31MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 44,0792024 5-year
- Median household income
- $76,5922024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 78.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 14.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+43 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+73 in 1904MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Willmar, MN, MNOne 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 | 7,814 | 15,013 | 23,282 | ||
| R | 8,440 | 14,437 | 23,367 | ||
| R | 7,266 | 12,785 | 21,772 | ||
| R | 9,805 | 11,240 | 21,465 | ||
| R | 10,125 | 11,319 | 21,895 | ||
| R | 9,337 | 11,704 | 21,349 | ||
| R | 8,220 | 10,026 | 19,285 | ||
| D | 9,009 | 7,119 | 18,532 | ||
| D | 7,914 | 6,784 | 19,656 | ||
| D | 8,962 | 8,634 | 17,862 | ||
| R | 8,402 | 9,539 | 18,104 | ||
| R | 8,038 | 8,480 | 18,095 | ||
| D | 9,992 | 6,664 | 17,130 | ||
| D | 7,241 | 6,624 | 14,481 | ||
| D | 7,639 | 5,086 | 13,400 | ||
| D | 9,108 | 4,011 | 13,156 | ||
| R | 6,738 | 6,786 | 13,567 | ||
| D | 6,834 | 5,445 | 12,305 | ||
| R | 6,264 | 6,370 | 12,747 | ||
| D | 7,204 | 3,666 | 11,593 | ||
| D | 6,482 | 3,784 | 10,353 | ||
| D | 7,187 | 4,263 | 11,540 | ||
| D | 6,595 | 2,500 | 9,524 | ||
| D | 5,813 | 2,674 | 8,901 | ||
| R | 2,481 | 5,780 | 8,522 | ||
| O | 222 | 3,222 | 8,022 | ||
| R | 1,282 | 4,759 | 7,474 | ||
| D | 1,968 | 1,612 | 3,855 | ||
| O | 855 | 484 | 3,318 | ||
| R | 947 | 2,312 | 3,634 | ||
| R | 252 | 2,576 | 3,170 | ||
| R | 1,204 | 2,343 | 3,643 | ||
| R | 1,638 | 2,181 | 3,877 | ||
| D | 1,341 | 391 | 2,633 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
31.6%
Irish
6.2%
English
5.6%
American
3.9%
Polish
1.7%
French
1.1%
Italian
0.8%
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: 40.0 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
$76,592
Willmar, MN ranks near the middle of US counties.
Willmar, MN$76,592
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
9.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.8%
Working age (18–64)7.8%
Seniors (65+)11.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
85.7%
speak English only
Spanish9.4%
Other languages3.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.0%
Other Indo-European0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 32.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Willmar's rapid Latino population growth—driven by food-processing jobs—has made this west-central Minnesota hub a closely watched bellwether for how demographic shifts translate into changing margins in historically Scandinavian-rooted farm country.
The Democratic margin in Willmar, MN peaked at forty-three points in 1936. By 2000 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $76,592 sits well below state and national norms, and 9% 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.
Willmar, MN, Minnesota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/48820/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Willmar, MN, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Willmar, MN, Minnesota voted Republican by 30.9 points (R+31), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 23,282 votes cast, 7,814 went Democratic and 15,013 went Republican.
What is Willmar, MN, Minnesota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Willmar, MN, Minnesota as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 17 times, and other 2 times.
When did Willmar, MN, Minnesota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Willmar, MN, Minnesota voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Willmar, MN, Minnesota?
Willmar, MN, Minnesota has a population of 44,079 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Willmar, MN, Minnesota?
Median household income in Willmar, MN, Minnesota is $76,592 — below the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Willmar, MN, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Willmar, MN, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.