Story County, Iowa: Republican loyalist county. In 2024, voted D+10%. Republican peak: R+64 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+10MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Republican loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 100,4662024 5-year
- Median household income
- $69,6852024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+20 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+64 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Polk County, IA · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Story CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Story 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 26,765 | 21,665 | 49,526 | ||
| D | 29,175 | 20,340 | 51,038 | ||
| D | 25,709 | 19,458 | 50,974 | ||
| D | 26,192 | 19,668 | 47,150 | ||
| D | 26,548 | 18,995 | 46,575 | ||
| D | 23,296 | 20,819 | 44,652 | ||
| D | 17,478 | 16,228 | 35,364 | ||
| D | 17,234 | 12,468 | 32,695 | ||
| D | 17,118 | 12,702 | 36,311 | ||
| D | 19,051 | 13,782 | 33,105 | ||
| R | 18,277 | 19,804 | 38,410 | ||
| R | 13,529 | 15,829 | 37,371 | ||
| R | 15,717 | 18,394 | 35,476 | ||
| R | 13,972 | 16,617 | 31,025 | ||
| R | 9,456 | 13,327 | 23,675 | ||
| D | 12,329 | 8,188 | 20,610 | ||
| R | 7,281 | 13,708 | 21,004 | ||
| R | 6,352 | 13,264 | 19,640 | ||
| R | 5,299 | 13,857 | 19,296 | ||
| R | 6,152 | 8,307 | 15,251 | ||
| R | 6,554 | 7,163 | 13,818 | ||
| R | 7,152 | 7,853 | 15,070 | ||
| D | 6,933 | 6,358 | 13,588 | ||
| R | 5,638 | 6,735 | 12,992 | ||
| R | 2,714 | 9,035 | 11,932 | ||
| R | 1,310 | 6,916 | 10,968 | ||
| R | 1,909 | 8,713 | 10,784 | ||
| R | 1,772 | 3,722 | 5,624 | ||
| O | 1,224 | 1,247 | 5,234 | ||
| R | 1,195 | 3,790 | 5,334 | ||
| R | 752 | 3,919 | 4,977 | ||
| R | 1,343 | 4,032 | 5,607 | ||
| R | 1,589 | 3,630 | 5,282 | ||
| R | 1,321 | 2,797 | 4,336 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
28.6%
Irish
10.7%
English
10.3%
American
2.9%
Italian
2.3%
Polish
1.7%
Scottish
1.6%
African American
2.2%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
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: 26.9 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
$69,685
Story County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Story County$69,685
Iowa$75,059
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
18.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 189.7%
Working age (18–64)21.1%
Seniors (65+)7.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.9%
speak English only
Asian & Pacific Islander4.0%
Other Indo-European3.5%
Spanish2.5%
Other languages1.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 65.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Story County's Democratic lean in an otherwise Republican-trending state traces directly to Ames and Iowa State University, where students and faculty form a durable left-of-center voting bloc that has held margins in double digits across recent cycles.
The Republican margin in Story County reached its widest at sixty-four points in 1904. The margin in 2024 was ten points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $69,685, a 82% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 100,466 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 Polk County and Presidio County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Story County, Iowa — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/19169/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More republican loyalist counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Story County, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Story County, Iowa voted Democratic by 10.3 points (D+10), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 49,526 votes cast, 26,765 went Democratic and 21,665 went Republican.
What is Story County, Iowa's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Story 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 12 times, Republican 21 times, and other 1 times.
When did Story County, Iowa last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Story County, Iowa voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Story County, Iowa?
Story County, Iowa has a population of 100,466 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Story County, Iowa?
Median household income in Story County, Iowa is $69,685 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Story County, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Story County, Iowa from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Republican loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.