akashic
1876–2024
Detroit·Michigan

Detroit delivered D+9 in 2024.

Anchor market where Wayne County's turnout shapes statewide Michigan outcomes

1876 — 2024·38 elections
MI
Latest
D+9
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
4,942,617
2024 ACS

Detroit, Michigan: Bellwether market. In 2024, voted D+9%. Republican peak: R+68 in 1924.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
D+9MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
BellwetherAkashic typology
Population
4,942,6172024 5-year
Median household income
$78,2472024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
65.9%2024 5-year
Black
19.8%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
5.3%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+44 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+68 in 1924MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
9 counties · 3 D · 6 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).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
D
+8.5%
1,463,9441,228,5322,765,221
D
+14.5%
1,547,2971,151,1812,734,999
D
+11.6%
1,270,721994,9672,384,614
D
+20.3%
1,407,271928,2972,365,040
D
+25.7%
1,539,723901,6432,478,216
D
+14.3%
1,357,7701,015,2622,394,906
D
+16.0%
1,187,126852,5292,090,977
D
+22.2%
1,069,756650,4151,890,339
D
+12.3%
1,011,297750,8572,125,869
R
−2.8%
872,308923,1951,811,111
R
−10.2%
859,0791,055,7051,924,745
D
+2.3%
926,214881,3961,960,969
D
+4.7%
959,110871,5351,865,530
R
−7.3%
832,392967,0381,834,666
D
+23.1%
1,007,028591,6171,797,351
D
+43.7%
1,263,759494,0401,761,428
D
+19.4%
1,092,544735,9001,834,588
D
+4.3%
884,338811,8561,699,213
D
+4.2%
784,376721,1381,512,181
D
+11.2%
609,860482,9981,134,248
D
+17.1%
678,385479,2931,163,705
D
+14.2%
562,205421,711990,813
D
+27.1%
510,574283,435837,955
D
+13.9%
411,181307,571744,638
R
−32.4%
199,245392,139595,910
R
−68.2%
46,295357,252455,783
R
−54.3%
78,515295,719400,229
R
−9.1%
90,901109,612206,344
O
−1.7%
43,66346,198152,887
R
−27.6%
48,40087,996143,670
R
−36.5%
41,37191,351136,814
R
−12.9%
57,12874,499135,118
R
−10.8%
58,80373,619137,276
D
+2.3%
57,35554,626117,331
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Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
14.7%
Irish
9.3%
English
8.5%
Polish
8.4%
Italian
5.7%
American
4.2%
French
2.6%
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
0.7%
85+
1.3%
2.2%
75–84
2.8%
5.0%
65–74
5.7%
6.7%
55–64
6.9%
6.2%
45–54
6.4%
6.1%
35–44
6.2%
6.9%
25–34
6.8%
4.4%
18–24
4.2%
8.2%
5–17
7.8%
2.8%
<5
2.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$78,247
Detroit ranks near the middle of US counties.
Detroit$78,247
Michigan$72,875
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
13.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1818.4%
Working age (18–64)12.2%
Seniors (65+)11.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
85.6%
speak English only
Other Indo-European4.5%
Other languages4.3%
Spanish3.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
18.7%
Other Christian
6.5%
Non-Christian
5.4%
Baptist
4.4%
Mainline Protestant
3.4%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.5%
Methodist
1.8%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

The Detroit media market spans a metro of roughly 4 million and concentrates some of the nation's highest urban Democratic margins alongside competitive suburban Oakland and Macomb counties that have swung presidential results by single digits.

The Democratic margin in Detroit has rarely exceeded forty-four points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded sixty-eight points. 2024 delivered the market to the Democratic candidate by nine points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most markets. A 66% non-Hispanic-white share, a 14% poverty rate, and a median household income of $78,247 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Detroit, Michigan — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/505/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Detroit, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Detroit, Michigan voted Democratic by 8.5 points (D+9), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 2,765,221 votes cast, 1,463,944 went Democratic and 1,228,532 went Republican.
What is Detroit, Michigan's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Detroit, Michigan as a "Bellwether" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 22 times, Republican 11 times, and other 1 times.
When did Detroit, Michigan last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Detroit, Michigan voted Republican was 1988.
How many people live in Detroit, Michigan?
Detroit, Michigan has a population of 4,942,617 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Detroit, Michigan?
Median household income in Detroit, Michigan is $78,247 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Detroit, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Detroit, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.