Clay County, Minnesota: Republican loyalist county. In 2024, voted a near-tie. Republican peak: R+64 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- TiedMIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Republican loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 66,0592024 5-year
- Median household income
- $81,1722024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 84.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+39 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+64 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Blaine County, MT · similarity 0.86
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Clay CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Clay 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 | 16,121 | 15,965 | 32,874 | ||
| D | 16,357 | 15,043 | 32,239 | ||
| R | 12,971 | 13,543 | 29,398 | ||
| D | 15,208 | 12,920 | 28,886 | ||
| D | 16,666 | 11,978 | 29,259 | ||
| R | 12,989 | 14,365 | 27,737 | ||
| R | 10,128 | 11,712 | 23,358 | ||
| D | 10,476 | 8,764 | 21,319 | ||
| D | 9,845 | 9,666 | 23,478 | ||
| D | 11,186 | 10,380 | 21,705 | ||
| R | 10,294 | 11,565 | 21,978 | ||
| R | 8,940 | 10,447 | 22,508 | ||
| D | 10,876 | 10,317 | 21,708 | ||
| R | 9,076 | 11,089 | 20,400 | ||
| D | 7,987 | 7,910 | 16,560 | ||
| D | 10,161 | 6,085 | 16,285 | ||
| R | 7,241 | 8,278 | 15,544 | ||
| R | 6,057 | 6,783 | 12,855 | ||
| R | 5,036 | 7,178 | 12,234 | ||
| D | 6,624 | 4,302 | 11,145 | ||
| D | 5,230 | 4,392 | 9,674 | ||
| D | 6,295 | 4,450 | 10,793 | ||
| D | 6,282 | 2,880 | 9,621 | ||
| D | 5,938 | 2,556 | 8,764 | ||
| R | 3,128 | 5,057 | 8,272 | ||
| O | 439 | 3,081 | 6,916 | ||
| R | 1,335 | 4,943 | 6,771 | ||
| D | 1,716 | 1,549 | 3,458 | ||
| O | 942 | 549 | 3,052 | ||
| R | 1,125 | 1,857 | 3,164 | ||
| R | 388 | 2,185 | 2,796 | ||
| R | 1,165 | 1,903 | 3,201 | ||
| D | 1,908 | 1,594 | 3,592 | ||
| D | 959 | 594 | 2,386 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
29.7%
Irish
6.6%
English
5.7%
French
2.9%
Polish
2.6%
American
2.1%
Italian
1.4%
African American
3.9%
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: 33.7 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
$81,172
Clay County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Clay County$81,172
Minnesota$89,062
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
13.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.9%
Working age (18–64)13.4%
Seniors (65+)12.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.1%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.5%
Other languages1.9%
Spanish1.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Moorhead and Minnesota State University Moorhead, Clay County swings on college-town turnout balanced against surrounding agricultural precincts, producing presidential margins that have narrowed from double digits to fractions of a point over two decades.
The Republican margin in Clay County reached its widest at sixty-four points in 1904. The margin in 2024 was zero points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $81,172, a 85% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 66,059 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 Blaine County and St. Joseph County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Clay County, Minnesota — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/27027/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More republican loyalist counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Clay County, Minnesota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Clay County, Minnesota voted a near-tie (Tied), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 32,874 votes cast, 16,121 went Democratic and 15,965 went Republican.
What is Clay County, Minnesota's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Clay County, Minnesota as a "Republican loyalist" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 18 times, Republican 14 times, and other 2 times.
When did Clay County, Minnesota last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Clay County, Minnesota voted Republican was 2016.
How many people live in Clay County, Minnesota?
Clay County, Minnesota has a population of 66,059 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Clay County, Minnesota?
Median household income in Clay County, Minnesota is $81,172 — above the national median of $80,734. The Minnesota state median is $89,062.
What is the political history of Clay County, Minnesota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Clay County, Minnesota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 14 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Republican loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.