Mankato, Minnesota: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+13%. Republican peak: R+65 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+13MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 161,0672024 5-year
- Median household income
- $72,7562024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+65 in 1920MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Mankato, MNOne 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 | 36,469 | 47,762 | 86,186 | ||
| R | 37,997 | 45,884 | 86,021 | ||
| R | 30,624 | 42,642 | 80,998 | ||
| R | 39,994 | 40,242 | 82,672 | ||
| D | 41,996 | 38,785 | 82,947 | ||
| R | 37,924 | 42,102 | 81,268 | ||
| R | 30,444 | 35,781 | 71,068 | ||
| D | 31,308 | 26,019 | 67,270 | ||
| D | 27,983 | 25,603 | 73,694 | ||
| R | 31,736 | 34,280 | 66,650 | ||
| R | 29,233 | 41,003 | 70,696 | ||
| R | 27,988 | 37,139 | 72,763 | ||
| R | 33,348 | 35,383 | 71,122 | ||
| R | 25,710 | 38,252 | 65,429 | ||
| R | 25,055 | 31,842 | 59,527 | ||
| D | 31,067 | 26,817 | 58,041 | ||
| R | 23,972 | 36,347 | 60,408 | ||
| R | 16,345 | 36,800 | 53,228 | ||
| R | 15,090 | 39,754 | 55,015 | ||
| D | 24,793 | 23,407 | 48,757 | ||
| R | 17,028 | 29,120 | 46,379 | ||
| R | 19,463 | 31,736 | 51,431 | ||
| D | 29,188 | 15,609 | 47,636 | ||
| D | 26,127 | 14,717 | 41,668 | ||
| R | 17,218 | 23,775 | 41,244 | ||
| R | 2,710 | 18,081 | 36,225 | ||
| R | 5,194 | 27,502 | 34,288 | ||
| R | 6,683 | 9,271 | 16,855 | ||
| O | 6,072 | 3,173 | 16,266 | ||
| R | 6,150 | 9,540 | 16,830 | ||
| R | 3,764 | 10,945 | 15,483 | ||
| R | 6,325 | 10,354 | 17,521 | ||
| R | 6,963 | 11,026 | 18,605 | ||
| D | 6,981 | 5,559 | 14,503 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
43.1%
Irish
7.7%
English
5.2%
American
4.2%
Polish
2.4%
French
2.0%
Scottish
0.6%
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: 36.8 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
$72,756
Mankato ranks near the middle of US counties.
Mankato$72,756
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.4%
Working age (18–64)13.0%
Seniors (65+)10.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.9%
speak English only
Spanish4.3%
Other languages1.9%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 37.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Mankato media market spans the agriculturally dominant Minnesota River valley while absorbing a measurable student and university-staff population from Minnesota State Mankato, producing a suburban-rural mix that shifts competitive margins in statewide races.
The Democratic margin in Mankato peaked at twenty-nine points in 1936. By 2012 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirteen points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $72,756 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.
Mankato, Minnesota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/737/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Mankato, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Mankato, Minnesota voted Republican by 13.1 points (R+13), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 86,186 votes cast, 36,469 went Democratic and 47,762 went Republican.
What is Mankato, Minnesota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Mankato, Minnesota as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 8 times, Republican 25 times, and other 1 times.
When did Mankato, Minnesota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Mankato, Minnesota voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Mankato, Minnesota?
Mankato, Minnesota has a population of 161,067 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Mankato, Minnesota?
Median household income in Mankato, Minnesota is $72,756 — below the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Mankato, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Mankato, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.