Participation measured against the same-year citizen voting-age population. Audited cycles count total general-election participants — ballots or participating voters, not presidential candidate votes. Cycles before 2016 predate that series and are derived from the certified presidential returns instead; they are marked everywhere they appear and are excluded from the figures below.
2012–20246 cycles · 5 audited
2024 turnout
84.0%36,604 participants ÷ 43,580 CVAP
2020→2022 drop-off
+34.9 ptsPresidential-dependent
Drop-off vs state
+11.3 ptsPositive means a larger decline than the statewide pattern
Mechanical 2026
49.1%–55.3%Recent-cycle and two-cycle persistence scenarios; not a forecast
Participation by cycle
Presidential Midterm Derived, pre-2016
0%20%40%60%80%100%
65.8%
59.1%
201220162018202020222024
Select a presidential cycle to show it on the map and results ledger above.
Cycle
Participants
CVAP
Turnout
Series
Quality
36,604
43,580 ± 1,388
84.0%
Audited
E/A
2022Mid
24,702
41,805 ± 1,257
59.1%
Audited
E/A
33,752
35,902 ± 1,101
94.0%
Audited
E/A
2018Mid
20,381
30,996 ± 792
65.8%
Audited
E/A
24,713
28,020 ± 828
88.2%
Audited
E/A
20,887
22,914
91.2%
Derived
—
Sources and methods
Audited cycles (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024) count total general-election participants against the same-year CVAP special tabulation, each cell carrying its own numerator and denominator quality grade. Derived cycles (2012) come from the certified presidential returns on this page over the ACS 5-year CVAP series, so they measure presidential votes cast rather than ballots — a floor on participation. Where a derived cycle predates the ACS its denominator is extrapolated rather than read, and says so on its own line below. They are shown for the longer arc and are excluded from the drop-off, excess-drop-off, and 2026 scenario figures above.
2024: numerator source 160, denominator source 157; estimated total ballots; preferred-county:block-reference-presidential-or-cvap-weight:v2; allocation share 100.0%; series 323/229.
2022: numerator source 160, denominator source 157; estimated total ballots; preferred-county:block-reference-presidential-or-cvap-weight:v2; allocation share 100.0%; series 322/184.
2020: numerator source 160, denominator source 157; estimated total ballots; preferred-county:block-reference-presidential-or-cvap-weight:v2; allocation share 100.0%; series 321/4.
2018: numerator source 160, denominator source 157; estimated total ballots; preferred-county:block-reference-presidential-or-cvap-weight:v2; allocation share 100.0%; series 320/139.
2016: numerator source 160, denominator source 157; estimated total ballots; preferred-county:block-reference-presidential-or-cvap-weight:v2; allocation share 100.0%; series 319/133.
2012 (derived): Certified presidential returns · ACS 5-year CVAP (B05003); presidential votes cast — a floor on participation, not a ballot count.
presidential history
Party record book
Apex, NC · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
2004–2024 · 6 presidential cycles
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Kamala Harris2024
59.8%
21,591 votes · D+22.0
Runner-up · Joe Biden, 2020 · 59.4%
Republican
George W. Bush2004
57.4%
8,768 votes · R+15.0
Runner-up · Mitt Romney, 2012 · 51.7%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Kamala Harris2024
21,591votes
59.8% of the vote · D+22.0
Runner-up · Joe Biden, 2020 · 19,966 votes
Republican
Donald Trump2024
13,665votes
37.9% of the vote · D+22.0
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · 12,935 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
Kamala Harris2024
+23.4pts D vs U.S.
Place D+22.0 · U.S. R+1.5
Runner-up · Joe Biden, 2020 · +16.5 pts
Republican
George W. Bush2004
+12.6pts R vs U.S.
Place R+15.0 · U.S. R+2.5
Runner-up · Mitt Romney, 2012 · +8.9 pts
U.S. House elections · 1 House
U.S. House
Each row shows U.S. House votes counted inside this Place. “Vote lead” is the local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
Apex · which candidate this place backed in each party’s presidential nominating contest, cycle by cycle. A primary is a contest inside one party, so it has no Democratic–Republican margin and is not part of the general-election record above.
Akashic reports votes cast, not delegates awarded. The two can disagree: Clinton led the 2008 national primary popular vote by less than half a point and did not win the nomination.
Primary returns are published at county grain. The figures below are Wake County, North Carolina, the county containing Apex — Apex’s own primary vote sits inside those totals and is not separately reported.
Presidential nominating contests in Apex, by party and cycle.
○no contest record — Akashic holds no result for that party and cycle here. It is not a claim that no contest was held. Telling apart a contest that was cancelled, one that went uncontested, and one simply not yet ingested needs a nominating-contest calendar, which is a separate ingest from results and does not exist yet.
Republican presidential primaries are not yet ingested — the Republican series runs from 1856 and is in scope. The row is kept so its absence is visible: a Democratic-only panel would otherwise read as though no one else held a contest.
Akashic carries 10 states for 2012 and 3 states for 2024. Cycles in which an incumbent president seeks renomination are thin by nature — few states run a contested primary — so a sparse column is politics, not a hole in the record.
County returns carry a leader and a lead over the runner-up, and nothing more. The full candidate field with vote shares is published at state grain — follow a cycle above to the state contest for it.
Apex has ranked among the fastest-growing towns in the U.S. for over a decade, drawing Research Triangle professionals whose arrival has gradually compressed once-reliable margins in Wake County's southwestern corner.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 22.0 points in 2024 and a Republican high of 15.0 points in 2004. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 1.0 points toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was 22.0 points.
A population of 70,630, a 63% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $144,135 describe the city. The city's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Cary and Holly Springs.
Akashic
Political twins — cities
The cities 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.
In 2024, Apex, North Carolina voted Democratic by 22.0 points (D+22.0), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 36,103 votes cast, 21,591 went Democratic and 13,665 went Republican.
When did Apex, North Carolina last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Apex, North Carolina voted Republican was 2012.
How many people live in Apex, North Carolina?
Apex, North Carolina has a population of 70,630 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Apex, North Carolina?
Median household income in Apex, North Carolina is $144,135 — above the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Apex, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 6 presidential elections in Apex, North Carolina from 2004 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 2 went Republican.
