Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+19%. Republican peak: R+51 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+19MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 457,5772024 5-year
- Median household income
- $71,1602024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+42 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+51 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Wausau-Rhinelander, WIOne 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 | 107,834 | 160,021 | 272,224 | ||
| R | 105,349 | 152,208 | 261,945 | ||
| R | 91,119 | 132,885 | 237,679 | ||
| R | 117,175 | 121,174 | 241,676 | ||
| D | 132,499 | 103,005 | 239,970 | ||
| R | 116,256 | 124,689 | 243,821 | ||
| R | 97,983 | 103,960 | 213,822 | ||
| D | 89,635 | 69,557 | 189,227 | ||
| D | 82,417 | 75,184 | 211,177 | ||
| D | 91,829 | 90,008 | 183,149 | ||
| R | 76,708 | 104,622 | 183,906 | ||
| R | 86,274 | 94,293 | 196,359 | ||
| D | 89,725 | 80,251 | 174,203 | ||
| R | 65,110 | 79,288 | 150,955 | ||
| D | 60,941 | 60,897 | 133,041 | ||
| D | 85,754 | 46,312 | 132,266 | ||
| R | 64,546 | 73,439 | 138,179 | ||
| R | 47,310 | 79,038 | 127,018 | ||
| R | 49,547 | 80,054 | 130,202 | ||
| D | 55,718 | 47,206 | 105,911 | ||
| R | 52,778 | 55,052 | 108,956 | ||
| D | 62,079 | 57,905 | 121,665 | ||
| D | 72,780 | 32,044 | 110,735 | ||
| D | 67,205 | 26,847 | 97,163 | ||
| R | 41,271 | 43,792 | 86,195 | ||
| O | 6,519 | 23,997 | 77,753 | ||
| R | 10,989 | 43,499 | 63,325 | ||
| R | 17,215 | 21,518 | 41,008 | ||
| D | 15,570 | 11,895 | 36,746 | ||
| R | 15,994 | 23,651 | 41,909 | ||
| R | 11,347 | 28,228 | 41,251 | ||
| R | 14,152 | 22,926 | 37,896 | ||
| R | 14,183 | 20,377 | 35,366 | ||
| D | 15,040 | 12,047 | 28,468 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
43.1%
Polish
13.9%
Irish
9.4%
English
6.6%
American
4.1%
French
2.5%
Italian
2.4%
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: 45.0 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
$71,160
Wausau-Rhinelander ranks near the middle of US counties.
Wausau-Rhinelander$71,160
Wisconsin$77,485
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.3%
Working age (18–64)9.8%
Seniors (65+)9.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.3%
speak English only
Asian & Pacific Islander1.7%
Spanish1.6%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Spanning from the paper-mill city of Wausau up through the Northwoods resort economy around Rhinelander, this market blends union-rooted blue-collar voters with rural exurban communities that have shifted sharply over the past decade.
The Democratic margin in Wausau-Rhinelander peaked at forty-two points in 1932. By 2012 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was nineteen points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $71,160 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.
Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/705/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin vote in 2024?
In 2024, Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin voted Republican by 19.2 points (R+19), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 272,224 votes cast, 107,834 went Democratic and 160,021 went Republican.
What is Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 13 times, Republican 20 times, and other 1 times.
When did Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin?
Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin has a population of 457,577 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin?
Median household income in Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin is $71,160 — below the national median of $80,734. The Wisconsin state median is $77,485.
What is the political history of Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Wausau-Rhinelander, Wisconsin from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.