Kansas City, Missouri: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+1%. Republican peak: R+29 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+1MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 2,630,0362024 5-year
- Median household income
- $82,2242024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 73.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 10.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 10.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+28 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+29 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Kansas City, MOOne 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 | 614,252 | 630,297 | 1,272,474 | ||
| D | 634,645 | 623,006 | 1,285,425 | ||
| R | 497,658 | 554,014 | 1,136,871 | ||
| R | 518,251 | 563,817 | 1,106,740 | ||
| D | 602,666 | 554,471 | 1,173,480 | ||
| R | 511,257 | 565,349 | 1,085,882 | ||
| R | 442,894 | 455,107 | 929,968 | ||
| D | 399,314 | 363,204 | 846,590 | ||
| D | 389,053 | 301,377 | 930,385 | ||
| D | 393,854 | 390,561 | 789,210 | ||
| R | 331,156 | 464,709 | 798,255 | ||
| R | 331,333 | 374,089 | 756,408 | ||
| D | 358,052 | 345,646 | 717,144 | ||
| R | 239,655 | 433,565 | 679,632 | ||
| R | 280,822 | 303,328 | 662,582 | ||
| D | 398,205 | 240,076 | 640,328 | ||
| R | 332,603 | 365,528 | 699,058 | ||
| R | 306,103 | 350,259 | 656,745 | ||
| R | 304,763 | 369,692 | 675,790 | ||
| D | 320,664 | 244,413 | 568,391 | ||
| R | 266,236 | 274,238 | 541,698 | ||
| D | 321,229 | 300,472 | 623,231 | ||
| D | 418,287 | 255,453 | 676,442 | ||
| D | 370,414 | 216,479 | 591,134 | ||
| R | 219,684 | 333,539 | 554,843 | ||
| R | 193,543 | 251,768 | 476,286 | ||
| R | 206,867 | 245,501 | 457,878 | ||
| D | 161,182 | 132,843 | 302,173 | ||
| D | 114,813 | 47,592 | 238,004 | ||
| D | 119,733 | 114,088 | 239,442 | ||
| R | 91,943 | 117,455 | 218,776 | ||
| D | 117,625 | 109,345 | 232,559 | ||
| D | 128,260 | 104,993 | 235,568 | ||
| R | 73,920 | 83,133 | 197,414 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
19.8%
English
12.9%
Irish
11.9%
American
5.2%
Italian
2.9%
Scottish
1.9%
French
1.6%
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: 37.7 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
$82,224
Kansas City ranks near the middle of US counties.
Kansas City$82,224
Missouri$74,275
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.8%
Working age (18–64)9.9%
Seniors (65+)10.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
89.6%
speak English only
Spanish6.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.7%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Other languages0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Kansas City's media market spans the Missouri-Kansas state line, meaning its viewers are simultaneously targeted by campaigns operating under entirely different competitive environments — a rare dual-state dynamic that complicates ad-buy strategy.
The Democratic margin in Kansas City peaked at twenty-eight points in 1912. By 2024 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $82,224 sits well below state and national norms, and 11% 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.
Kansas City, Missouri — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/616/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Kansas City, Missouri vote in 2024?
In 2024, Kansas City, Missouri voted Republican by 1.3 points (R+1), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,272,474 votes cast, 614,252 went Democratic and 630,297 went Republican.
What is Kansas City, Missouri's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Kansas City, Missouri as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 16 times, Republican 18 times, and other 0 times.
When did Kansas City, Missouri last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Kansas City, Missouri voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Kansas City, Missouri?
Kansas City, Missouri has a population of 2,630,036 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Kansas City, Missouri?
Median household income in Kansas City, Missouri is $82,224 — above the national median of $80,734. The Missouri state median is $74,275.
What is the political history of Kansas City, Missouri?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Kansas City, Missouri from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.