† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
1 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
GroupWaynesville, NCNorth CarolinaUnited States
English19.2%12.7%9.5%
German12.1%9.4%12.5%
Irish12.1%8.4%9.4%
American8.4%8.3%5.3%
Scotch-Irish5.6%1.4%—
Scottish4.5%2.3%1.3%
Italian3.1%3.3%4.8%
French2.4%—1.6%
Mexican2.5%5.6%11.3%
Puerto Rican0.6%1.2%1.8%
Cuban0.6%0.3%0.7%
Guatemalan0.3%0.4%0.5%
Spaniard0.3%——
Nicaraguan0.2%——
Colombian0.2%0.3%0.4%
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
Waynesville, NC
North Carolina
United States
Median age
47.8
39.5
39.1
Age 18–24
6.5%
9.5%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
25.8%
17.2%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Waynesville, NC
North Carolina
United States
Median household income
$61,912
$72,388
$84,427
Poverty rate
13.1%
13.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
29.5%
35.8%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Waynesville, NC
North Carolina
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
3.8%
13.5%
22.3%
Spanish
3.0%
8.7%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Waynesville, NC
North Carolina
United States
Catholic
4.3%
8.9%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
40.9%
26.5%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
38.6%
48.0%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
13.7%
9.1%
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.
Waynesville, NC
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
+21.6%
1896
+29.1%
1900
+15.9%
1904
+18.4%
1908
+19.9%
1912
+52.1%
1916
+22.4%
1920
+17.0%
1924
+30.5%
1928
−3.5%
1932
+37.4%
1936
+42.1%
1940
+57.1%
1944
+45.3%
1948
+45.7%
1952
+17.7%
1956
+4.4%
1960
−3.2%
1964
+31.3%
1968
−3.2%
1972
−32.0%
1976
+28.9%
1980
+14.9%
1984
−12.1%
1988
+0.3%
1992
+14.7%
1996
+6.8%
2000
−10.4%
2004
−12.8%
2008
−7.8%
2012
−13.6%
2016
−27.5%
2020
−26.5%
2024
−25.0%
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
36.8%Harris13,913
61.8%Trump23,393
1.4%
R+25.0
D+1.5
R+23.6
37,851
R
36.0%Biden13,144
62.5%Trump22,834
1.5%
R+26.5
D+1.0
R+31.0
36,542
R
34.1%Clinton10,473
61.6%Trump18,929
4.3%
R+27.5
R+13.9
R+29.6
30,727
R
42.3%Obama11,833
55.9%Romney15,633
1.8%
R+13.6
R+5.8
R+17.4
27,974
R
45.4%Obama12,730
53.1%McCain14,910
1.5%
R+7.8
D+5.0
R+15.0
28,067
R
43.3%Kerry11,237
56.1%Bush14,545
0.6%
R+12.8
R+2.3
R+10.3
25,932
R
44.0%Gore9,793
54.4%Bush12,118
1.6%
R+10.4
R+17.2
R+11.0
22,273
D
46.6%Clinton9,350
39.8%Dole7,995
13.6%
D+6.8
R+8.0
R+1.8
20,069
D
49.4%Clinton10,385
34.7%Bush7,292
15.9%
D+14.7
D+14.4
D+9.2
21,009
D
50.0%Dukakis9,010
49.7%Bush8,957
0.3%
D+0.3
D+12.4
D+8.0
18,028
R
43.9%Mondale7,958
56.0%Reagan10,146
0.1%
R+12.1
R+26.9
D+6.2
18,131
D
56.2%Carter9,814
41.3%Reagan7,217
2.5%
D+14.9
R+14.0
D+24.6
17,462
D
64.2%Carter10,692
35.3%Ford5,885
0.4%
D+28.9
D+60.8
D+26.8
16,648
R
32.9%McGovern4,515
64.8%Nixon8,903
2.3%
R+32.0
R+28.8
R+8.8
13,731
R
36.1%Humphrey5,703
39.3%Nixon6,205
24.7%
R+3.2
R+34.5
R+2.5
15,806
D
65.7%Johnson10,664
34.3%Goldwater5,575
0.0%
D+31.3
D+34.6
D+8.8
16,239
R
48.4%Kennedy8,044
51.6%Nixon8,583
0.0%
R+3.2
R+7.7
R+3.4
16,627
D
52.2%Stevenson7,598
47.8%Eisenhower6,955
0.0%
D+4.4
R+13.3
D+19.8
14,553
D
58.9%Stevenson8,761
41.1%Eisenhower6,124
0.0%
D+17.7
R+28.0
D+28.5
14,885
D
71.8%Truman7,373
26.1%Dewey2,684
2.0%
D+45.7
D+0.4
D+41.2
10,266
D
72.7%Roosevelt7,755
27.3%Dewey2,919
0.0%
D+45.3
R+11.8
D+37.8
10,674
D
78.5%Roosevelt8,631
21.5%Willkie2,357
0.0%
D+57.1
D+15.0
D+47.2
10,988
D
71.0%Roosevelt8,175
29.0%Landon3,331
0.0%
D+42.1
D+4.7
D+17.8
11,506
D
68.5%Roosevelt6,790
31.1%Hoover3,082
0.3%
D+37.4
D+40.9
D+19.6
9,906
R
48.3%Smith4,173
51.7%Hoover4,472
0.0%
R+3.5
R+33.9
D+14.0
8,645
D
65.2%Davis4,582
34.7%Coolidge2,440
0.1%
D+30.5
D+13.5
D+55.6
7,030
D
58.5%Cox4,229
41.5%Harding3,000
0.0%
D+17.0
R+5.4
D+43.2
7,229
D
61.2%Wilson2,403
38.8%Hughes1,523
0.0%
D+22.4
R+29.7
D+19.3
3,926
D
62.9%Wilson2,068
10.8%Taft354
26.4%
D+52.1
D+32.2
D+32.6
3,289
D
59.9%Bryan1,952
40.0%Taft1,304
0.1%
D+19.9
D+1.5
D+29.4
3,258
D
59.2%Parker1,631
40.8%Roosevelt1,125
0.0%
D+18.4
D+2.5
D+38.0
2,756
D
57.6%Bryan1,735
41.7%McKinley1,257
0.6%
D+15.9
R+13.2
D+23.4
3,011
D
64.1%Bryan1,901
35.0%McKinley1,039
0.9%
D+29.1
D+7.4
D+35.1
2,967
D
58.3%Cleveland1,525
36.7%Harrison959
5.0%
D+21.6
—
D+20.0
2,616
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
37.3%9,972
60.1%16,078
26,768
2020
R
36.1%13,113
59.3%21,502
36,283
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024R+10.8
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+25.0
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 14 points more Democratic.
DemocraticRepublicanUnaffiliatedOther parties
Voter registration in Waynesville, NC
Year
Total registered
Democratic
Republican
Unaffiliated
Other
2008
40,712
20,262
11,722
8,710
18
2012
43,197
19,504
12,592
11,009
92
2016
44,384
17,429
13,309
13,435
211
2020
46,496
14,415
15,828
15,885
368
2022
45,925
12,833
15,971
16,777
344
2024
48,250
11,966
17,171
18,620
493
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+489 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net +8,232 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Waynesville, NC in Waynesville, NC: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−60
2012
+73
2013
+516
2014
+366
2015
+693
2016
+924
2017
+843
2018
+1,110
2019
+630
2021
+790
2022
+545
2023
+734
2024
+579
2025
+489
Waynesville anchors Haywood County, a historically Democratic mountain enclave that has trended Republican over the past two decades while remaining a hub for retirees and outdoor-economy workers who complicate simple partisan sorting.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 57.1 points in 1940 and a Republican high of 32.0 points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 1.5 points toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was 25.0 points.
A population of 62,662, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $61,912 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Brevard, NC and Mountain Home, AR.
Akashic
Political twins — metros
The 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.
Waynesville, NC, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/48200/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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How did Waynesville, NC, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Waynesville, NC, North Carolina voted Republican by 25.0 points (R+25.0), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 37,851 votes cast, 13,913 went Democratic and 23,393 went Republican.
When did Waynesville, NC, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Waynesville, NC, North Carolina voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Waynesville, NC, North Carolina?
Waynesville, NC, North Carolina has a population of 62,662 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Waynesville, NC, North Carolina?
Median household income in Waynesville, NC, North Carolina is $61,912 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Waynesville, NC, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Waynesville, NC, North Carolina from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 12 went Republican.
