Pottawattamie County, Iowa: Republican loyalist county. In 2024, voted R+20%. Republican peak: R+41 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+20MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Republican loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 93,4242024 5-year
- Median household income
- $73,6022024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 87.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 9.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+27 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+41 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Richland County, ND · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Pottawattamie CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Pottawattamie County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 17,468 | 26,335 | 44,559 | ||
| R | 18,575 | 26,247 | 45,744 | ||
| R | 15,355 | 24,447 | 43,058 | ||
| R | 19,644 | 21,860 | 42,301 | ||
| R | 20,436 | 21,237 | 42,320 | ||
| R | 16,906 | 24,558 | 41,820 | ||
| R | 14,726 | 18,783 | 34,467 | ||
| R | 13,276 | 15,648 | 32,821 | ||
| R | 13,228 | 15,671 | 37,115 | ||
| R | 14,958 | 17,193 | 32,405 | ||
| R | 12,329 | 21,527 | 34,112 | ||
| R | 10,709 | 20,222 | 33,170 | ||
| R | 14,754 | 17,264 | 32,519 | ||
| R | 8,074 | 19,722 | 28,450 | ||
| R | 9,495 | 16,038 | 28,399 | ||
| D | 17,569 | 14,208 | 31,799 | ||
| R | 14,025 | 19,223 | 33,261 | ||
| R | 12,731 | 17,632 | 30,468 | ||
| R | 11,897 | 18,894 | 30,854 | ||
| R | 11,430 | 12,384 | 24,095 | ||
| R | 11,752 | 14,007 | 25,818 | ||
| R | 15,221 | 15,929 | 31,188 | ||
| D | 16,259 | 12,223 | 28,913 | ||
| D | 16,674 | 9,565 | 26,616 | ||
| R | 9,905 | 14,354 | 24,368 | ||
| R | 5,305 | 13,380 | 25,352 | ||
| R | 6,659 | 13,506 | 20,887 | ||
| D | 6,263 | 5,992 | 12,529 | ||
| O | 4,993 | 1,753 | 11,866 | ||
| R | 5,520 | 6,137 | 11,995 | ||
| R | 3,731 | 6,868 | 11,233 | ||
| R | 5,373 | 6,525 | 12,052 | ||
| R | 5,468 | 5,810 | 11,392 | ||
| D | 4,905 | 4,675 | 10,145 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
28.1%
Irish
12.5%
English
12.3%
American
6.1%
Italian
2.7%
Polish
1.7%
Scottish
1.7%
African American
1.5%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
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: 40.1 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
$73,602
Pottawattamie County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Pottawattamie County$73,602
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.1%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.2%
Working age (18–64)10.3%
Seniors (65+)13.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.1%
speak English only
Spanish5.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other Indo-European0.4%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 66.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Council Bluffs and sitting at Iowa's western edge across from Omaha, Pottawattamie gave Republicans a nearly 20-point margin in 2024 — a swing of roughly 30 points from its competitive posture two decades ago.
The Republican margin in Pottawattamie County reached its widest at forty-one points in 1972. The margin in 2024 was twenty points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $73,602, a 88% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 93,424 together describe a community whose political habits are deeply settled. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Richland County and Cass County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Pottawattamie County, Iowa — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/19155/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More republican loyalist counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Pottawattamie County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Pottawattamie County, Iowa voted Republican by 19.9 points (R+20), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 44,559 votes cast, 17,468 went Democratic and 26,335 went Republican.
What is Pottawattamie County, Iowa's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Pottawattamie County, Iowa as a "Republican loyalist" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 5 times, Republican 28 times, and other 1 times.
When did Pottawattamie County, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Pottawattamie County, Iowa voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Pottawattamie County, Iowa?
Pottawattamie County, Iowa has a population of 93,424 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Pottawattamie County, Iowa?
Median household income in Pottawattamie County, Iowa is $73,602 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Pottawattamie County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Pottawattamie County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Republican loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.