akashic
1876–2024
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Milwaukee County·Wisconsin

Milwaukee County was solidly one party for decades. In the last twenty years, it flipped.

Wisconsin's most populous county anchors Democratic margins statewide

18762024·38 elections
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin · Kenneth C. Zirkel · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
D+38
in 2024
Archetype
Populist
since the recent cycles
Population
926,331
2024 ACS
Most similar
Ramsey County
MN · similarity 1.00
511 precincts · 464,107 votes cast
Harris · D+38
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024D
+38.4%
316,292138,022464,107
2020D
+39.8%
317,527134,482459,723
2016D
+36.9%
288,822126,069441,053
2012D
+36.0%
332,438154,924492,576
2008D
+35.9%
319,819149,445475,192
2004D
+24.3%
297,653180,287482,236
2000D
+20.5%
252,329163,491433,537
1996D
+26.2%
216,620119,407371,380
1992D
+18.1%
235,521151,314465,496
1988D
+22.7%
268,287168,363439,545
1984D
+13.7%
259,144196,290458,017
1980D
+12.2%
240,174183,450464,008
1976D
+12.7%
249,739192,008456,160
1972D
+4.5%
210,802191,874416,677
1968D
+11.4%
206,027160,022401,936
1964D
+31.5%
288,577149,962439,459
1960D
+15.8%
257,707187,067445,807
1956R
−12.3%
177,286227,253407,318
1952R
−3.5%
204,474219,477426,006
1948D
+14.3%
187,637138,672342,910
1944D
+17.7%
205,282142,448354,830
1940D
+22.4%
209,861131,120351,197
1936D
+56.1%
221,51254,811296,958
1932D
+44.5%
170,20254,693259,388
1928D
+13.9%
110,66882,025206,237
1924R
−24.5%
14,51050,730148,029
1920R
−33.7%
25,46473,410142,311
1916D
+8.7%
34,81227,83180,011
1912D
+13.7%
27,62817,87771,302
1908R
−3.6%
26,00028,62573,456
1904R
−19.9%
18,56032,58770,512
1900R
−13.9%
25,59634,79066,243
1896R
−14.6%
26,53635,93964,344
1892D
+0.0%
24,60724,60251,008
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
Polish
0.5%
African American
20.7%
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. 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
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
21.3%
Other Christian
9.5%
Mainline Protestant
6.8%
Non-Christian
5.6%
Baptist
4.9%
Pentecostal & Holiness
3.5%
Methodist
0.8%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 47.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Milwaukee County delivers the largest raw Democratic vote totals in Wisconsin, but turnout variation within the city itself has repeatedly determined how much of that margin actually offsets Republican strength in the WOW counties surrounding it.

The Democratic margin in Milwaukee County peaked at fifty-six points in 1936. By 1960 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-eight points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the county's modern history.

The economic context is the key. Milwaukee County's median household income of $64,435 sits well below state and national norms, and 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Ramsey County and Denver County.