Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+8%. Republican peak: R+65 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+8MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 384,5072024 5-year
- Median household income
- $82,9222024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 83.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+21 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+65 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, IAOne 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 | 93,719 | 110,451 | 208,625 | ||
| R | 97,261 | 109,192 | 211,049 | ||
| R | 78,374 | 97,771 | 193,163 | ||
| D | 101,362 | 87,179 | 193,107 | ||
| D | 104,588 | 84,668 | 193,379 | ||
| D | 95,891 | 91,647 | 189,869 | ||
| D | 81,690 | 77,423 | 166,306 | ||
| D | 77,675 | 58,433 | 155,823 | ||
| D | 69,215 | 60,592 | 171,899 | ||
| D | 77,700 | 74,744 | 153,745 | ||
| R | 73,169 | 85,746 | 160,021 | ||
| R | 62,539 | 81,405 | 157,700 | ||
| R | 74,732 | 78,719 | 156,517 | ||
| R | 56,735 | 87,979 | 147,288 | ||
| R | 61,622 | 73,261 | 140,673 | ||
| D | 85,925 | 55,474 | 141,641 | ||
| R | 62,809 | 84,264 | 147,281 | ||
| R | 55,396 | 78,418 | 134,067 | ||
| R | 48,187 | 87,784 | 136,445 | ||
| D | 61,213 | 52,460 | 115,660 | ||
| R | 52,049 | 57,846 | 110,286 | ||
| R | 60,784 | 66,636 | 127,828 | ||
| D | 63,586 | 46,623 | 114,319 | ||
| D | 58,614 | 43,708 | 104,095 | ||
| R | 31,499 | 65,233 | 97,509 | ||
| R | 7,409 | 52,460 | 91,148 | ||
| R | 12,798 | 64,393 | 79,732 | ||
| R | 15,248 | 25,918 | 42,691 | ||
| O | 12,169 | 9,988 | 40,412 | ||
| R | 12,379 | 26,086 | 40,437 | ||
| R | 7,351 | 28,813 | 38,021 | ||
| R | 12,346 | 30,730 | 44,544 | ||
| R | 14,889 | 31,882 | 47,864 | ||
| D | 17,468 | 16,786 | 37,767 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
32.4%
Irish
9.8%
English
7.3%
American
4.2%
Polish
2.0%
French
1.6%
Italian
1.2%
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: 40.3 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
$82,922
Rochestr-Mason City-Austin ranks near the middle of US counties.
Rochestr-Mason City-Austin$82,922
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
8.9%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.4%
Working age (18–64)8.3%
Seniors (65+)10.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
89.4%
speak English only
Spanish3.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.8%
Other Indo-European2.1%
Other languages1.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 45.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
This mid-sized media market spans the Minnesota-Iowa border region, where farm-economy concerns and small-city demographics consistently produce competitive margins in statewide races on both sides of the line.
The Democratic margin in Rochestr-Mason City-Austin peaked at twenty-one points in 1964. By 2016 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was eight points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $82,922 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.
Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/611/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa voted Republican by 8.0 points (R+8), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 208,625 votes cast, 93,719 went Democratic and 110,451 went Republican.
What is Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 12 times, Republican 21 times, and other 1 times.
When did Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa?
Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa has a population of 384,507 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa?
Median household income in Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa is $82,922 — above the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Rochestr-Mason City-Austin, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.