Helena, Montana: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+11%. Democratic peak: D+57 in 1896.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+11MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 81,1322024 5-year
- Median household income
- $77,4942024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+57 in 1896MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+29 in 1956MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Helena, MTOne 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 | 19,970 | 25,249 | 46,833 | ||
| R | 20,578 | 24,582 | 46,362 | ||
| R | 15,051 | 19,243 | 38,429 | ||
| R | 16,384 | 18,955 | 36,329 | ||
| D | 17,971 | 16,841 | 35,680 | ||
| R | 13,250 | 18,272 | 32,199 | ||
| R | 10,444 | 16,579 | 29,343 | ||
| R | 12,138 | 12,694 | 28,513 | ||
| D | 11,608 | 10,181 | 28,021 | ||
| D | 12,524 | 12,000 | 25,017 | ||
| R | 9,226 | 14,914 | 24,456 | ||
| R | 7,216 | 13,180 | 22,776 | ||
| R | 8,675 | 10,975 | 19,906 | ||
| R | 6,492 | 11,635 | 18,692 | ||
| R | 5,818 | 8,650 | 15,351 | ||
| D | 8,101 | 6,764 | 14,891 | ||
| R | 6,639 | 7,940 | 14,596 | ||
| R | 4,846 | 8,828 | 13,674 | ||
| R | 4,998 | 8,625 | 13,643 | ||
| R | 5,281 | 5,878 | 11,442 | ||
| D | 5,295 | 5,242 | 10,581 | ||
| D | 6,668 | 5,517 | 12,296 | ||
| D | 6,685 | 3,453 | 10,322 | ||
| D | 5,702 | 4,183 | 10,115 | ||
| R | 3,941 | 5,184 | 9,159 | ||
| R | 2,355 | 3,964 | 8,283 | ||
| R | 3,035 | 5,071 | 8,317 | ||
| D | 5,437 | 4,007 | 9,708 | ||
| O | 1,956 | 1,267 | 5,268 | ||
| D | 2,557 | 2,359 | 5,291 | ||
| R | 1,946 | 2,897 | 5,461 | ||
| D | 3,335 | 2,361 | 5,762 | ||
| D | 3,939 | 1,057 | 5,016 | ||
| D | 2,093 | 2,014 | 5,280 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
24.1%
Irish
15.9%
English
15.4%
American
5.6%
Italian
3.6%
Scottish
3.3%
French
3.1%
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: 42.2 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
$77,494
Helena ranks near the middle of US counties.
Helena$77,494
Montana$72,509
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
8.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 187.1%
Working age (18–64)8.8%
Seniors (65+)10.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.3%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.2%
Spanish0.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 67.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Anchored by Lewis and Clark County, the Helena media market blends a government-worker electorate with surrounding rural ranching precincts, producing margins that often run closer than Montana's statewide Republican lean suggests.
The Democratic margin in Helena peaked at fifty-seven points in 1896. By 2012 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was eleven points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $77,494 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.
Helena, Montana — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/766/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Helena, Montana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Helena, Montana voted Republican by 11.3 points (R+11), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 46,833 votes cast, 19,970 went Democratic and 25,249 went Republican.
What is Helena, Montana's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Helena, Montana 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 Helena, Montana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Helena, Montana voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Helena, Montana?
Helena, Montana has a population of 81,132 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Helena, Montana?
Median household income in Helena, Montana is $77,494 — below the national median of $80,734. The Montana state median is $72,509.
What is the political history of Helena, Montana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Helena, Montana 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.