† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
2 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupSpencer-Spirit Lake, IAIowaUnited States
German41.9%30.5%12.5%
Irish10.6%12.8%9.4%
Norwegian9.0%4.1%—
English7.8%10.2%9.5%
Dutch5.3%2.7%—
American5.0%4.6%5.3%
Swedish4.1%1.9%—
Danish3.9%——
Mexican2.4%5.0%11.3%
Honduran0.8%0.2%0.3%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA
Iowa
United States
Median age
45.6
38.8
39.1
Age 18–24
6.4%
10.0%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
25.4%
18.1%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA
Iowa
United States
Median household income
$70,652
$75,059
$84,427
Poverty rate
9.4%
11.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
29.4%
31.8%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA
Iowa
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
2.4%
9.2%
22.3%
Spanish
1.6%
4.7%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA
Iowa
United States
Catholic
16.2%
14.7%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
12.7%
10.9%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
34.0%
55.2%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
30.5%
15.8%
5.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−33.3%
1896
−34.5%
1900
−48.4%
1904
−60.4%
1908
−39.5%
1912
+1.6%
1916
−14.9%
1920
−62.0%
1924
−55.3%
1928
−35.7%
1932
+15.4%
1936
+22.4%
1940
+6.6%
1944
+8.1%
1948
+5.4%
1952
−44.9%
1956
−22.9%
1960
−17.5%
1964
+19.6%
1968
−19.4%
1972
−21.6%
1976
−9.6%
1980
−16.7%
1984
−11.1%
1988
+1.3%
1992
+1.5%
1996
+6.3%
2000
−8.0%
2004
−14.0%
2008
−5.3%
2012
−18.1%
2016
−38.2%
2020
−35.9%
2024
−41.3%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
28.6%Harris5,664
69.9%Trump13,822
1.5%
R+41.3
R+5.4
R+39.8
19,775
R
31.3%Biden6,323
67.2%Trump13,575
1.6%
R+35.9
D+2.3
R+40.3
20,213
R
27.7%Clinton5,305
65.9%Trump12,630
6.4%
R+38.2
R+20.1
R+40.3
19,163
R
40.1%Obama7,480
58.2%Romney10,863
1.7%
R+18.1
R+12.8
R+22.0
18,661
R
46.7%Obama8,550
52.0%McCain9,517
1.3%
R+5.3
D+8.8
R+12.6
18,304
R
42.4%Kerry7,687
56.4%Bush10,235
1.2%
R+14.0
R+6.0
R+11.6
18,141
R
44.3%Gore6,954
52.3%Bush8,217
3.4%
R+8.0
R+14.3
R+8.6
15,699
D
47.2%Clinton7,221
40.9%Dole6,258
11.9%
D+6.3
D+4.8
R+2.2
15,301
D
38.7%Clinton6,452
37.2%Bush6,207
24.1%
D+1.5
D+0.2
R+4.1
16,684
D
50.2%Dukakis7,515
48.9%Bush7,319
0.9%
D+1.3
D+12.4
D+9.0
14,971
R
43.9%Mondale6,799
55.0%Reagan8,514
1.1%
R+11.1
D+5.6
D+7.1
15,486
R
35.8%Carter5,799
52.5%Reagan8,507
11.7%
R+16.7
R+7.1
R+7.0
16,206
R
44.2%Carter6,850
53.8%Ford8,343
2.0%
R+9.6
D+12.0
R+11.7
15,510
R
37.4%McGovern5,260
59.0%Nixon8,303
3.7%
R+21.6
R+2.2
D+1.5
14,077
R
37.2%Humphrey5,126
56.6%Nixon7,797
6.2%
R+19.4
R+39.0
R+18.7
13,779
D
59.3%Johnson8,121
39.8%Goldwater5,442
0.9%
D+19.6
D+37.1
R+3.0
13,687
R
41.2%Kennedy6,133
58.7%Nixon8,740
0.0%
R+17.5
D+5.3
R+17.7
14,877
R
38.1%Stevenson5,468
61.0%Eisenhower8,748
0.9%
R+22.9
D+22.1
R+7.5
14,347
R
27.0%Stevenson4,006
71.9%Eisenhower10,672
1.1%
R+44.9
R+50.3
R+34.2
14,835
D
50.9%Truman5,973
45.5%Dewey5,340
3.5%
D+5.4
R+2.7
D+0.9
11,727
D
53.8%Roosevelt6,112
45.7%Dewey5,188
0.4%
D+8.1
D+1.6
D+0.6
11,351
D
53.1%Roosevelt7,313
46.6%Willkie6,409
0.3%
D+6.6
R+15.8
R+3.4
13,767
D
60.5%Roosevelt8,090
38.1%Landon5,096
1.4%
D+22.4
D+6.9
R+1.9
13,377
D
56.2%Roosevelt6,444
40.7%Hoover4,673
3.1%
D+15.4
D+51.2
R+2.4
11,475
R
31.9%Smith3,315
67.6%Hoover7,031
0.5%
R+35.7
D+19.6
R+18.3
10,400
R
7.9%Davis813
63.2%Coolidge6,516
28.9%
R+55.3
D+6.7
R+30.2
10,306
R
18.2%Cox1,761
80.2%Harding7,769
1.6%
R+62.0
R+47.1
R+35.8
9,686
R
41.2%Wilson2,127
56.2%Hughes2,898
2.6%
R+14.9
R+16.5
R+18.1
5,158
O
25.8%Wilson1,209
24.2%Taft1,136
50.0%
Roosevelt +24.2
D+41.1
R+18.0
4,686
R
29.0%Bryan1,281
68.5%Taft3,030
2.5%
R+39.5
D+20.9
R+30.0
4,423
R
18.0%Parker799
78.4%Roosevelt3,474
3.5%
R+60.4
R+12.0
R+40.7
4,429
R
24.5%Bryan1,226
72.9%McKinley3,644
2.6%
R+48.4
R+13.9
R+40.8
4,998
R
32.0%Bryan1,450
66.5%McKinley3,011
1.5%
R+34.5
R+1.2
R+28.4
4,528
R
29.9%Cleveland1,097
63.2%Harrison2,317
6.9%
R+33.3
—
R+34.9
3,668
Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
R
29.0%4,254
70.9%10,399
14,669
2020
R
33.2%6,652
64.2%12,865
20,039
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024R+32.8
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+41.3
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 8.4 points more Democratic.
DemocraticRepublicanUnaffiliatedOther parties
Voter registration in Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA
Year
Total registered
Democratic
Republican
Unaffiliated
Other
2008
26,263
6,363
9,340
10,557
3
2010
26,056
6,081
9,623
10,342
10
2012
26,109
5,701
10,324
10,069
15
2014
24,899
5,192
10,120
9,550
37
2016
25,654
4,843
11,789
8,939
83
2018
25,503
4,742
11,811
8,813
137
2020
26,541
5,400
12,669
8,289
183
2022
26,530
4,996
13,011
8,303
220
2024
26,667
4,647
13,403
8,380
237
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
−184 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net +694 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA in Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+210
2012
+29
2013
−127
2014
+58
2015
+169
2016
−73
2017
−86
2018
−56
2019
+30
2021
+287
2022
+308
2023
+79
2024
+50
2025
−184
Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA sits in the Corn Belt. In 2024 it voted Republican.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 22.4 points in 1936 and a Republican high of 62.0 points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the region moved 5.4 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 41.3 points.
A population of 34,451, a 92% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $70,652 describe the region. The region's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Quincy-Hannibal, IL-MO and Johnstown-Somerset, PA.
Akashic
Political twins — combined metros
The combined metros whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
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.
Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA, Iowa. Akashic. https://akashic.app/csa/517/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
How did Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA, Iowa vote in 2024?
In 2024, Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA, Iowa voted Republican by 41.3 points (R+41.3), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 19,775 votes cast, 5,664 went Democratic and 13,822 went Republican.
When did Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA, Iowa last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA, Iowa voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA, Iowa?
Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA, Iowa has a population of 34,451 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA, Iowa?
Median household income in Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA, Iowa is $70,652 — below the national median of $80,734. The Iowa state median is $75,059.
What is the political history of Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA, Iowa?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Spencer-Spirit Lake, IA, Iowa from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 24 went Republican.
