† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
5 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
GroupWinston-Salem, NCNorth CarolinaUnited States
English14.0%12.7%9.5%
German11.2%9.4%12.5%
Irish8.5%8.4%9.4%
American7.3%8.3%5.3%
Italian2.5%3.3%4.8%
Scottish2.2%2.3%1.3%
Scotch-Irish1.7%1.4%—
Polish0.8%1.0%2.2%
African American†15.4%18.3%9.9%
African0.7%0.7%0.5%
Jamaican0.2%0.2%0.4%
Mexican7.2%5.6%11.3%
Puerto Rican1.3%1.2%1.8%
Salvadoran0.9%0.7%0.7%
Colombian0.4%0.3%0.4%
Honduran0.3%0.7%0.3%
Dominican0.3%0.3%0.7%
Cuban0.2%0.3%0.7%
Guatemalan0.2%0.4%0.5%
Asian Indian0.4%1.2%1.4%
Filipino0.3%0.2%0.9%
Chinese0.3%0.4%1.3%
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
Winston-Salem, NC
North Carolina
United States
Median age
40.7
39.5
39.1
Age 18–24
8.8%
9.5%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
18.6%
17.2%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Winston-Salem, NC
North Carolina
United States
Median household income
$66,414
$72,388
$84,427
Poverty rate
13.5%
13.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
31.1%
35.8%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Winston-Salem, NC
North Carolina
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
12.8%
13.5%
22.3%
Spanish
9.8%
8.7%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Winston-Salem, NC
North Carolina
United States
Catholic
9.3%
8.9%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
31.5%
26.5%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
39.6%
48.0%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
13.6%
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.
Winston-Salem, NC
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−2.1%
1896
−15.2%
1900
−12.5%
1904
−9.1%
1908
−16.0%
1912
+10.6%
1916
−4.9%
1920
−9.3%
1924
−0.5%
1928
−35.3%
1932
+22.5%
1936
+26.8%
1940
+29.0%
1944
+6.5%
1948
+0.6%
1952
−9.0%
1956
−27.3%
1960
−19.1%
1964
−4.7%
1968
−22.5%
1972
−43.4%
1976
−1.5%
1980
−12.6%
1984
−32.5%
1988
−26.2%
1992
−9.7%
1996
−19.9%
2000
−25.4%
2004
−24.5%
2008
−9.8%
2012
−14.1%
2016
−16.3%
2020
−14.6%
2024
−15.6%
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
41.4%Harris154,402
57.1%Trump212,636
1.5%
R+15.6
R+1.0
R+14.2
372,600
R
42.0%Biden151,431
56.6%Trump204,027
1.5%
R+14.6
D+1.7
R+19.0
360,721
R
39.9%Clinton125,668
56.1%Trump176,890
4.0%
R+16.3
R+2.1
R+18.3
315,098
R
42.3%Obama128,657
56.4%Romney171,653
1.2%
R+14.1
R+4.3
R+18.0
304,106
R
44.6%Obama131,098
54.4%McCain159,971
1.0%
R+9.8
D+14.6
R+17.1
293,972
R
37.6%Kerry93,982
62.0%Bush155,140
0.4%
R+24.5
D+0.9
R+22.0
250,028
R
36.9%Gore80,464
62.3%Bush135,734
0.8%
R+25.4
R+5.5
R+25.9
217,851
R
36.7%Clinton71,357
56.6%Dole110,008
6.7%
R+19.9
R+10.2
R+28.4
194,493
R
38.2%Clinton79,519
47.9%Bush99,742
13.8%
R+9.7
D+16.5
R+15.3
208,020
R
36.8%Dukakis64,621
63.0%Bush110,629
0.3%
R+26.2
D+6.3
R+18.5
175,738
R
33.7%Mondale59,219
66.2%Reagan116,371
0.2%
R+32.5
R+19.9
R+14.3
175,905
R
42.1%Carter66,352
54.7%Reagan86,290
3.2%
R+12.6
R+11.1
R+2.9
157,762
R
49.0%Carter72,199
50.5%Ford74,416
0.5%
R+1.5
D+41.9
R+3.6
147,304
R
27.3%McGovern35,043
70.7%Nixon90,845
2.0%
R+43.4
R+20.9
R+20.3
128,514
R
25.2%Humphrey33,194
47.8%Nixon62,833
27.0%
R+22.5
R+17.9
R+21.8
131,574
R
47.7%Johnson56,972
52.3%Goldwater62,552
0.0%
R+4.7
D+14.5
R+27.3
119,524
R
40.4%Kennedy46,896
59.6%Nixon69,099
0.0%
R+19.1
D+8.2
R+19.3
115,995
R
36.3%Stevenson34,225
63.7%Eisenhower59,955
0.0%
R+27.3
R+18.3
R+11.9
94,180
R
45.5%Stevenson45,162
54.5%Eisenhower54,077
0.0%
R+9.0
R+9.5
D+1.8
99,239
D
47.1%Truman28,623
46.5%Dewey28,287
6.4%
D+0.6
R+5.9
R+3.9
60,823
D
53.2%Roosevelt34,691
46.8%Dewey30,471
0.0%
D+6.5
R+22.5
R+1.0
65,162
D
64.5%Roosevelt42,578
35.5%Willkie23,424
0.0%
D+29.0
D+2.2
D+19.1
66,002
D
63.4%Roosevelt39,647
36.6%Landon22,873
0.0%
D+26.8
D+4.3
D+2.6
62,520
D
60.7%Roosevelt32,199
38.2%Hoover20,250
1.2%
D+22.5
D+57.9
D+4.7
53,070
R
32.3%Smith15,675
67.7%Hoover32,814
0.0%
R+35.3
R+34.9
R+17.9
48,489
R
49.0%Davis19,396
49.5%Coolidge19,585
1.5%
R+0.5
D+8.8
D+24.7
39,564
R
45.3%Cox17,893
54.7%Harding21,570
0.0%
R+9.3
R+4.4
D+16.9
39,463
R
46.9%Wilson10,148
51.8%Hughes11,204
1.3%
R+4.9
R+15.5
R+8.0
21,629
D
44.6%Wilson8,206
34.0%Taft6,249
21.4%
D+10.6
D+26.6
R+8.9
18,388
R
41.4%Bryan7,036
57.4%Taft9,756
1.2%
R+16.0
R+6.9
R+6.4
16,996
R
44.9%Parker6,852
54.0%Roosevelt8,246
1.0%
R+9.1
D+3.4
D+10.5
15,258
R
43.4%Bryan7,529
55.9%McKinley9,699
0.7%
R+12.5
D+2.7
R+5.0
17,350
R
42.1%Bryan8,284
57.3%McKinley11,284
0.6%
R+15.2
R+13.1
R+9.2
19,679
R
44.1%Cleveland7,796
46.2%Harrison8,170
9.6%
R+2.1
—
R+3.8
17,665
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
40.5%98,871
57.3%139,966
244,212
2020
R
41.1%147,154
54.4%194,726
358,107
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024R+9.7
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+15.6
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 6.0 points more Democratic.
DemocraticRepublicanUnaffiliatedOther parties
Voter registration in Winston-Salem, NC
Year
Total registered
Democratic
Republican
Unaffiliated
Other
2008
400,535
158,892
162,446
78,937
260
2012
436,179
162,428
170,858
101,681
1,212
2016
447,423
152,851
170,242
122,422
1,908
2020
475,173
146,583
178,644
146,839
3,107
2022
474,658
139,066
175,700
156,987
2,905
2024
495,062
134,588
182,441
173,157
4,876
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+5,477 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net +50,645 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Winston-Salem, NC in Winston-Salem, NC: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+946
2012
+453
2013
+1,595
2014
+1,664
2015
+1,775
2016
+3,306
2017
+4,302
2018
+3,236
2019
+3,808
2021
+6,053
2022
+6,262
2023
+5,984
2024
+5,784
2025
+5,477
Winston-Salem's metro has trended toward competitive margins as college-educated suburban voters shifted in recent cycles, while the city proper—nearly 40% Black—anchors strong Democratic turnout that rural Forsyth precincts partially offset.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 29.0 points in 1940 and a Republican high of 43.4 points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 1.0 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 15.6 points.
A population of 689,766, a 65% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $66,414 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Birmingham, AL and Jacksonville, FL.
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 →
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All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/49180/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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How did Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina voted Republican by 15.6 points (R+15.6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 372,600 votes cast, 154,402 went Democratic and 212,636 went Republican.
When did Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina voted Democratic was 1948.
How many people live in Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina?
Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina has a population of 689,766 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina?
Median household income in Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina is $66,414 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 28 went Republican.
