Indianapolis, Indiana: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+12%. Republican peak: R+39 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+12MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 3,079,1882024 5-year
- Median household income
- $77,9492024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 74.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 11.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+21 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+39 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Indianapolis, INOne 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 | 571,595 | 729,622 | 1,330,888 | ||
| R | 602,254 | 744,005 | 1,375,015 | ||
| R | 485,100 | 675,971 | 1,241,472 | ||
| R | 511,633 | 627,086 | 1,164,574 | ||
| D | 608,317 | 590,933 | 1,212,429 | ||
| R | 400,563 | 657,762 | 1,066,895 | ||
| R | 356,448 | 543,061 | 924,529 | ||
| R | 341,413 | 461,857 | 903,845 | ||
| R | 316,574 | 448,345 | 969,285 | ||
| R | 334,581 | 577,987 | 917,150 | ||
| R | 319,776 | 596,026 | 921,370 | ||
| R | 330,681 | 544,708 | 929,775 | ||
| R | 400,505 | 516,060 | 925,025 | ||
| R | 263,813 | 598,671 | 866,634 | ||
| R | 306,033 | 457,133 | 862,055 | ||
| D | 446,271 | 396,856 | 846,859 | ||
| R | 346,325 | 495,461 | 845,001 | ||
| R | 302,462 | 478,020 | 783,528 | ||
| R | 307,652 | 472,371 | 786,407 | ||
| R | 306,563 | 327,377 | 643,902 | ||
| R | 304,979 | 355,568 | 667,229 | ||
| R | 352,260 | 376,898 | 732,944 | ||
| D | 371,195 | 296,068 | 676,058 | ||
| D | 338,893 | 294,361 | 651,067 | ||
| R | 214,798 | 352,741 | 571,910 | ||
| R | 205,723 | 305,168 | 533,772 | ||
| R | 226,193 | 293,175 | 537,679 | ||
| R | 136,518 | 145,516 | 299,965 | ||
| D | 117,611 | 60,928 | 274,574 | ||
| R | 137,910 | 144,573 | 295,978 | ||
| R | 109,848 | 157,209 | 283,971 | ||
| R | 122,054 | 143,005 | 273,677 | ||
| R | 119,049 | 135,366 | 258,185 | ||
| R | 100,310 | 105,777 | 220,670 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
17.0%
English
12.0%
Irish
9.6%
American
7.6%
Italian
2.3%
Scottish
1.8%
Polish
1.3%
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
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
$77,949
Indianapolis ranks near the middle of US counties.
Indianapolis$77,949
Indiana$71,957
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.2%
Working age (18–64)11.1%
Seniors (65+)8.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
89.0%
speak English only
Spanish5.6%
Other Indo-European2.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.9%
Other languages1.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 59.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Indianapolis DMA stretches well beyond Marion County into fast-growing exurban counties where college-educated suburbanites have shifted voting patterns measurably over the past three cycles, making it a reliable bellwether for statewide races.
The Democratic margin in Indianapolis peaked at twenty-one points in 1912. By 2012 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twelve points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $77,949 sits well below state and national norms, and 12% 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.
Indianapolis, Indiana — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/527/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Indianapolis, Indiana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Indianapolis, Indiana voted Republican by 11.9 points (R+12), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,330,888 votes cast, 571,595 went Democratic and 729,622 went Republican.
What is Indianapolis, Indiana's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Indianapolis, Indiana as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 5 times, Republican 29 times, and other 0 times.
When did Indianapolis, Indiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Indianapolis, Indiana voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Indianapolis, Indiana?
Indianapolis, Indiana has a population of 3,079,188 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Indianapolis, Indiana?
Median household income in Indianapolis, Indiana is $77,949 — below the national median of $80,734. The Indiana state median is $71,957.
What is the political history of Indianapolis, Indiana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.