Des Moines-Ames, Iowa: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+10%. Republican peak: R+44 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+10MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,225,5252024 5-year
- Median household income
- $79,7522024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+44 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Des Moines-Ames, 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 | 283,449 | 346,757 | 641,578 | ||
| R | 297,350 | 331,580 | 642,235 | ||
| R | 248,810 | 288,284 | 585,993 | ||
| D | 296,307 | 270,807 | 578,272 | ||
| D | 291,697 | 253,932 | 555,821 | ||
| R | 260,874 | 272,982 | 538,338 | ||
| R | 225,275 | 230,913 | 469,349 | ||
| D | 222,559 | 172,677 | 433,892 | ||
| D | 209,156 | 176,979 | 466,907 | ||
| D | 242,952 | 176,446 | 422,476 | ||
| R | 220,101 | 231,063 | 454,872 | ||
| R | 180,609 | 223,776 | 453,486 | ||
| D | 223,371 | 204,170 | 437,242 | ||
| R | 175,261 | 238,822 | 422,977 | ||
| R | 165,279 | 201,267 | 392,409 | ||
| D | 254,979 | 140,041 | 396,200 | ||
| R | 187,502 | 242,632 | 430,471 | ||
| R | 181,829 | 242,777 | 425,976 | ||
| R | 162,023 | 270,995 | 437,266 | ||
| D | 182,169 | 160,774 | 352,851 | ||
| D | 181,839 | 177,402 | 361,605 | ||
| D | 211,317 | 203,641 | 416,846 | ||
| D | 212,302 | 170,115 | 391,129 | ||
| D | 183,298 | 140,773 | 335,159 | ||
| R | 115,667 | 216,841 | 335,465 | ||
| R | 45,664 | 187,456 | 331,944 | ||
| R | 81,794 | 219,105 | 310,398 | ||
| R | 75,781 | 94,821 | 176,220 | ||
| O | 56,830 | 43,568 | 168,267 | ||
| R | 62,974 | 99,428 | 170,484 | ||
| R | 43,102 | 111,968 | 167,762 | ||
| R | 67,245 | 112,508 | 184,958 | ||
| R | 76,080 | 101,923 | 180,550 | ||
| R | 57,636 | 79,896 | 149,832 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
27.4%
Irish
12.8%
English
11.6%
American
4.0%
Italian
2.5%
Scottish
1.8%
French
1.4%
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: 37.5 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
$79,752
Des Moines-Ames ranks near the middle of US counties.
Des Moines-Ames$79,752
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.0%
Working age (18–64)9.9%
Seniors (65+)8.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
89.2%
speak English only
Spanish5.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.3%
Other Indo-European2.1%
Other languages1.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Des Moines–Ames market anchors Iowa's political center of gravity, blending a state capital, a Big Ten university town, and fast-growing Polk County suburbs that have trended competitive in recent presidential cycles.
The Democratic margin in Des Moines-Ames peaked at twenty-nine points in 1964. By 2016 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was ten points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $79,752 sits well below state and national norms, and 10% 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.
Des Moines-Ames, Iowa — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/679/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Des Moines-Ames, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Des Moines-Ames, Iowa voted Republican by 9.9 points (R+10), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 641,578 votes cast, 283,449 went Democratic and 346,757 went Republican.
What is Des Moines-Ames, Iowa's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Des Moines-Ames, 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 Des Moines-Ames, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Des Moines-Ames, Iowa voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa?
Des Moines-Ames, Iowa has a population of 1,225,525 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa?
Median household income in Des Moines-Ames, Iowa is $79,752 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Des Moines-Ames, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Des Moines-Ames, 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.