akashic
1876–2024
State House District 16·Montana

Montana 16th State House District was solidly Democratic for decades. In the last twenty years, it flipped.

One of Montana's most Democratic state house seats by a wide margin

18762024·38 elections
MT
Latest
D+20
in 2024
Archetype
Populist
since the recent cycles
Population
11,974
2024 ACS

Montana 16th State House District, Montana: Populist district. In 2024, voted D+20%. Democratic peak: D+51 in 1936.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
D+20MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
PopulistAkashic typology
Population
11,9742024 5-year
Median household income
$46,8752024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
30.2%2024 5-year
Black
0.2%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
2.9%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+51 in 1936MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+41 in 1920MIT Election Lab
1 counties · 1 D · 0 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
D
+19.6%
2,5751,7034,459
D
+30.7%
3,1701,6544,932
D
+29.6%
2,7401,4224,456
D
+33.9%
2,5671,2423,912
D
+39.7%
3,0061,2744,364
D
+17.8%
2,3191,6054,006
D
+12.2%
1,9411,5013,621
D
+24.9%
2,0121,1153,596
D
+19.8%
1,8231,0733,796
D
+10.6%
1,8891,5173,516
R
−1.4%
1,9031,9563,894
R
−21.7%
1,2242,0053,594
R
−3.7%
1,5411,6613,270
R
−17.7%
1,2901,8823,353
D
+2.2%
1,5131,4433,223
D
+20.5%
1,9471,2803,246
D
+12.0%
1,9841,5593,546
R
−6.0%
1,6001,8033,403
R
−9.6%
1,4911,8103,309
D
+28.5%
1,9651,0873,080
D
+27.1%
1,8811,0782,967
D
+27.8%
2,1061,1873,301
D
+51.2%
2,1546862,867
D
+41.6%
1,5086162,142
D
+7.0%
8577441,603
R
−5.3%
4495151,235
R
−40.9%
4661,1391,647
No data
No data
No data
No data
No data
No data
No data
No data
No data
No data
No data

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
10.0%
Irish
5.4%
English
4.0%
American
1.8%
French
1.3%
Scottish
0.9%
Italian
0.8%
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.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.9%
speak English only
Other languages4.0%
Other Indo-European3.1%
Spanish0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
62.4%
Other Christian
12.3%
Mainline Protestant
2.8%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.8%
Baptist
1.0%
Methodist
0.3%
Non-Christian
0.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 19.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Anchored in Missoula, this compact urban district delivered a 27-point Democratic presidential margin in 2024, making it a reliable anchor for the left flank of Montana's otherwise competitive legislative map.

The Democratic margin in Montana 16th State House District peaked at fifty-one points in 1936. By 1988 the district had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the district's modern history.

The economic context is the key. The median household income of $46,875 sits well below state and national norms, and 31% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.

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.
State House District 16, Montana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/30016/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did State House District 16, Montana vote in 2024?
In 2024, State House District 16, Montana voted Democratic by 19.6 points (D+20), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 4,459 votes cast, 2,575 went Democratic and 1,703 went Republican.
What is State House District 16, Montana's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State House District 16, Montana as a "Populist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 19 times, Republican 8 times, and other 0 times.
When did State House District 16, Montana last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which State House District 16, Montana voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in State House District 16, Montana?
State House District 16, Montana has a population of 11,974 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State House District 16, Montana?
Median household income in State House District 16, Montana is $46,875 — below the national median of $80,734. The Montana state median is $72,509.
What is the political history of State House District 16, Montana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State House District 16, Montana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 19 went Democratic and 8 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.