Portage County, Wisconsin: Democratic loyalist county. In 2024, voted D+1%. Democratic peak: D+45 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+1MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Democratic loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 70,8322024 5-year
- Median household income
- $76,0702024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+45 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+34 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Ashland County, WI · similarity 0.97
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Portage CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Portage County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 21,503 | 20,987 | 43,258 | ||
| D | 20,428 | 19,299 | 40,603 | ||
| D | 18,529 | 17,305 | 38,589 | ||
| D | 22,075 | 16,615 | 39,337 | ||
| D | 24,817 | 13,810 | 39,422 | ||
| D | 21,861 | 16,546 | 38,961 | ||
| D | 17,942 | 13,214 | 33,760 | ||
| D | 15,901 | 9,631 | 29,928 | ||
| D | 15,553 | 10,914 | 33,716 | ||
| D | 16,317 | 12,057 | 28,535 | ||
| D | 14,399 | 13,605 | 28,179 | ||
| D | 16,443 | 10,465 | 30,702 | ||
| D | 15,912 | 9,520 | 26,237 | ||
| D | 13,564 | 9,346 | 23,341 | ||
| D | 10,014 | 6,180 | 17,121 | ||
| D | 11,887 | 4,579 | 16,498 | ||
| D | 10,516 | 6,436 | 16,972 | ||
| R | 7,010 | 8,320 | 15,386 | ||
| R | 7,537 | 8,499 | 16,087 | ||
| D | 8,154 | 5,424 | 13,791 | ||
| D | 8,678 | 5,405 | 14,125 | ||
| D | 10,148 | 5,670 | 15,912 | ||
| D | 10,576 | 3,969 | 14,844 | ||
| D | 9,195 | 3,434 | 12,820 | ||
| D | 6,764 | 5,161 | 11,995 | ||
| O | 2,010 | 2,854 | 10,280 | ||
| R | 2,656 | 5,527 | 8,452 | ||
| D | 3,000 | 2,520 | 5,660 | ||
| D | 2,301 | 1,932 | 5,312 | ||
| R | 2,362 | 3,269 | 5,794 | ||
| R | 2,168 | 3,633 | 5,947 | ||
| R | 2,633 | 3,285 | 6,016 | ||
| R | 2,890 | 3,537 | 6,573 | ||
| D | 2,570 | 2,291 | 5,119 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
37.5%
Polish
27.8%
Irish
10.9%
English
7.0%
American
5.0%
Italian
2.6%
French
2.2%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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: 38.0 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
$76,070
Portage County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Portage County$76,070
Wisconsin$77,485
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.5%
Working age (18–64)10.3%
Seniors (65+)6.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.2%
speak English only
Spanish2.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.9%
Other Indo-European0.7%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, Portage County sits at a demographic crossroads where a college-town core moderates the surrounding rural conservative lean, producing margins that have flipped repeatedly over the past two decades.
The Democratic margin in Portage County reached its widest at forty-five points in 1932. The margin in 2024 was one points — still decisive.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $76,070, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 70,832 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 Ashland County and Genesee County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Portage County, Wisconsin — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/55097/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More democratic loyalist counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Portage County, Wisconsin vote in 2024?
In 2024, Portage County, Wisconsin voted Democratic by 1.2 points (D+1), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 43,258 votes cast, 21,503 went Democratic and 20,987 went Republican.
What is Portage County, Wisconsin's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Portage County, Wisconsin as a "Democratic loyalist" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 26 times, Republican 7 times, and other 1 times.
When did Portage County, Wisconsin last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Portage County, Wisconsin voted Republican was 1956.
How many people live in Portage County, Wisconsin?
Portage County, Wisconsin has a population of 70,832 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Portage County, Wisconsin?
Median household income in Portage County, Wisconsin is $76,070 — below the national median of $80,734. The Wisconsin state median is $77,485.
What is the political history of Portage County, Wisconsin?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Portage County, Wisconsin from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 26 went Democratic and 7 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Democratic loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.