Congressional District 3 Congressional District (IA) — Elections 1876–2024

Iowa 3rd Congressional District, Iowa: Bellwether district. In 2024, voted R+4%. Republican peak: R+44 in 1924.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+4MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: BellwetherAkashic typology
Population: 816,3852024 5-year
Median household income: $81,9152024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 80.6%2024 5-year
Black: 5.3%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 8.7%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+28 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+44 in 1924MIT Election Lab

2024 results by constituent county

35 counties · 1 D · 34 R

R+60

D+60

One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−4.4%	199,048	217,657	424,043
2020	R	−0.3%	205,596	207,054	421,213
2016	R	−3.0%	165,878	177,118	373,484
2012	D	+5.8%	191,406	169,954	368,348
2008	D	+7.5%	184,788	158,581	349,837
2004	R	−1.8%	162,810	168,919	334,514
2000	D	+0.0%	141,757	141,754	291,250
1996	D	+11.8%	138,022	106,443	268,087
1992	D	+7.5%	128,892	107,482	284,916
1988	D	+15.2%	145,267	106,638	253,616
1984	R	−1.5%	132,395	136,542	271,026
1980	R	−8.7%	108,850	132,307	268,220
1976	D	+5.5%	134,489	120,112	260,108
1972	R	−16.0%	104,313	145,268	255,295
1968	R	−7.6%	101,742	120,026	240,518
1964	D	+28.0%	155,877	87,597	244,274
1960	R	−12.8%	116,759	151,109	268,078
1956	R	−12.6%	116,036	149,667	266,054
1952	R	−21.7%	106,901	166,520	275,332
1948	D	+4.7%	115,282	104,663	224,737
1944	R	−1.9%	112,246	116,570	230,111
1940	R	−1.4%	131,323	134,990	267,496
1936	D	+4.4%	128,934	118,023	250,692
1932	D	+6.4%	107,800	94,478	207,981
1928	R	−34.2%	69,376	142,469	213,628
1924	R	−44.4%	32,261	127,136	213,845
1920	R	−40.2%	56,314	135,517	197,176
1916	R	−5.9%	50,035	56,564	110,946
1912	O	+4.4%	36,175	31,550	105,306
1908	R	−18.8%	41,299	61,621	108,049
1904	R	−39.8%	27,256	68,981	104,807
1900	R	−19.3%	44,458	66,559	114,555
1896	R	−8.6%	50,807	60,477	112,807
1892	R	−13.9%	35,630	48,760	94,160
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

German

25.0%

Irish

13.3%

English

12.3%

American

3.9%

Italian

2.8%

Scottish

1.8%

French

1.5%

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: 37.6 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.7%

85+

1.2%

1.9%

75–84

2.5%

4.5%

65–74

4.8%

5.8%

55–64

6.0%

6.1%

45–54

5.8%

7.1%

35–44

6.8%

7.1%

25–34

6.9%

4.3%

18–24

4.1%

9.2%

5–17

8.8%

3.3%

3.1%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$81,915

Congressional District 3 ranks near the middle of US counties.

Congressional District 3$81,915

Iowa$75,059

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

10.3%

Child poverty is below the national average.

Children under 1813.4%

Working age (18–64)9.3%

Seniors (65+)8.8%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

87.4%

speak English only

Spanish5.7%

Asian & Pacific Islander2.7%

Other Indo-European2.6%

Other languages1.5%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

11.6%

Mainline Protestant

10.2%

Other Christian

7.0%

Methodist

4.7%

Pentecostal & Holiness

2.5%

Baptist

2.0%

Non-Christian

1.8%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Iowa 3rd Congressional District in the Corn Belt has, for decades, voted very close to the way the country has voted. Its margins are typically narrow, and the candidate who carries Iowa 3rd Congressional District more often than not also wins the national popular vote.

The Democratic margin in Iowa 3rd Congressional District has rarely exceeded twenty-eight points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded forty-four points. 2024 delivered the district to the Republican candidate by four points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most districts. A 81% non-Hispanic-white share, a 10% poverty rate, and a median household income of $81,915 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Congressional District 3, Iowa — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cd/1903/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Congressional District 3, Iowa vote in 2024?

In 2024, Congressional District 3, Iowa voted Republican by 4.4 points (R+4), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 424,043 votes cast, 199,048 went Democratic and 217,657 went Republican.

What is Congressional District 3, Iowa's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Congressional District 3, Iowa as a "Bellwether" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 11 times, Republican 22 times, and other 1 times.

When did Congressional District 3, Iowa last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Congressional District 3, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.

How many people live in Congressional District 3, Iowa?

Congressional District 3, Iowa has a population of 816,385 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Congressional District 3, Iowa?

Median household income in Congressional District 3, Iowa is $81,915 — above the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.

What is the political history of Congressional District 3, Iowa?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Congressional District 3, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Iowa 3rd Congressional District votes the way the country votes.

Key facts

Demographics

Frequently asked questions