2024 presidential election
Des Moines
HarrisD+31.0
Constituent county margins for Des Moines, IAOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Kamala Harris ✓Democratic | 64.6% | 57,687 |
|---|---|---|
| Donald TrumpRepublican | 33.6% | 30,001 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.8% | 1,599 |
D+60R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2008–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 2008 | +34.7% |
| 2012 | +40.0% |
| 2016 | +32.7% |
| 2020 | +35.3% |
| 2024 | +31.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
5 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Other | Margin | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 64.6%Harris57,687 | 33.6%Trump30,001 | 1.8% | 89,287 | ||
| D | 66.5%Biden64,440 | 31.2%Trump30,256 | 2.3%incl. Jorgensen | 96,900 | ||
| D | 62.5%Clinton56,760 | 29.9%Trump27,114 | 7.6%incl. Johnson | 90,755 | ||
| D | 70.0%Obama64,814 | 30.0%Romney27,746 | 0.0% | 92,560 | ||
| D | 66.4%Obama61,468 | 31.6%McCain29,314 | 2.0% | 92,629 |
Demographics
Demographic profile
Demographic Profile
Key indicators compared across containing geographies
| Indicator | Des MoinesCity | IowaState | United StatesNation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Race & Ethnicity | |||
| White | 64.1% | 84.2% | 61.0% |
| Black | 11.3% | 3.9% | 12.2% |
| Asian | 6.6% | 2.5% | 6.0% |
| Two or more races | 11.0% | 6.6% | 12.6% |
| Other race | 6.9% | 2.9% | 8.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 16.3% | 7.3% | 19.3% |
| Income & Age | |||
| Median household income | $65,932 | $75,059 | $84,427 |
| Poverty rate | 15.0% | 11.1% | 12.5% |
| Median age | 34.6 | 38.8 | 39.1 |
| Age 18–24 | 8.8% | 10.0% | 9.2% |
| Age 65 and older | 13.9% | 18.1% | 17.2% |
| Education & Language | |||
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 40.3% | 31.8% | 35.6% |
| Speaks a non-English language at home | 14.7% | 9.2% | 22.3% |
| Spanish | 7.0% | 4.7% | 13.6% |
| Other Asian & Pacific Island | 2.3% | 1.0% | 1.1% |
| Other languages | 1.4% | 0.6% | 0.8% |
| Russian, Polish, or other Slavic | 1.0% | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| Ancestry | |||
| Largest ancestry | German 24.5% | German 30.5% | German 12.5% |
| 2nd-largest ancestry | Irish 13.3% | Irish 12.8% | Mexican 11.3% |
| 3rd-largest ancestry | English 11.8% | English 10.2% | English 9.5% |
| Religion | |||
| Catholic | 13.5%County context | 14.7% | 18.6% |
| Evangelical Protestant | 10.8%County context | 10.9% | 16.5% |
| Unaffiliated or unclaimed | 61.5%County context | 55.2% | 51.5% |
| Mainline Protestant | 9.4%County context | 15.8% | 5.2% |
ACS values are survey estimates and may include margins of error.
Religion data may be available only at county or larger geographies. Sub-county values are labeled when inherited, modeled, or contextual.
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the origins and ancestries reported within it.
Reported ancestry · ACS B04006
German
24.5%
Irish
13.3%
English
11.8%
Norwegian
3.7%
American
3.3%
Italian
3.2%
Dutch
2.6%
Swedish
2.5%
Specific origin · ACS B03001
Mexican
7.0%
Salvadoran
0.9%
Puerto Rican
0.6%
Honduran
0.4%
Guatemalan
0.3%
Spaniard
0.2%
Reported ancestry · ACS B04006
African American identity is recorded by the ACS race question; the ancestry item enumerates specific African and Caribbean ancestries only.
Liberian
0.7%
Sudanese
0.7%
African
0.4%
Somali
0.3%
Nigerian
0.2%
Ethiopian
0.2%
The ACS does not publish subgroup detail for people reporting two or more races.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other single-race responses combined.
Detailed group · ACS B02015
Burmese
0.9%
Asian Indian
0.8%
Vietnamese
0.6%
Laotian
0.5%
Chinese
0.4%
Filipino
0.2%
Korean
0.2%
Nepalese
0.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Race shares: B02001 · B03003. Subgroup detail: B03001 (Hispanic or Latino specific origin), B02015 (Asian groups), B02020 · B02016 (American Indian/Alaska Native tribes and Pacific Islander groups), B04006 (reported ancestry). Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so group shares can total more than 100%. All subgroup rows are shares of total population; ancestry is self-reported and multiple-response, so rows do not sum to the parent group's share.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 34.6 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.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$65,932
Des Moines$65,932
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
15.0%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.0%
Working age (18–64)9.3%
Seniors (65+)7.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
85.3%
speak English only
Spanish7.0%
Other Asian & Pacific Island2.3%
Other languages1.4%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic1.0%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Vietnamese0.6%
Arabic0.6%
French (incl. Cajun & Haitian)0.3%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)0.3%
German or other West Germanic0.2%
Korean0.1%
Tagalog (incl. Filipino)0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Unaffiliated or not counted61.5%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. The unaffiliated-or-not-counted share is everyone not claimed as an adherent by any reporting body — uncounted congregations as well as the religiously unaffiliated.
Des Moines sits in the Corn Belt. In 2024 it voted Democratic.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 40.0 points in 2012. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 4.3 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 31.0 points.
A population of 212,421, a 64% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $65,932 describe the city.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Des Moines, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/city/1921000/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Des Moines, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Des Moines, Iowa voted Democratic by 31.0 points (D+31.0), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 89,287 votes cast, 57,687 went Democratic and 30,001 went Republican.
What is Des Moines, Iowa's political typology?
Akashic places Des Moines, Iowa in the "" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 5 elections in the dataset, the city has voted Democratic 5 times, Republican 0 times, and other 0 times.
How many people live in Des Moines, Iowa?
Des Moines, Iowa has a population of 212,421 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Des Moines, Iowa?
Median household income in Des Moines, Iowa is $65,932 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Des Moines, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 5 presidential elections in Des Moines, Iowa from 2008 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 0 went Republican. The city's typology — "" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.