Russell County, Alabama: Black Belt county. In 2024, voted D+2%. Democratic peak: D+99 in 1916.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+2MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Black BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 58,8112024 5-year
- Median household income
- $51,1972024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 45.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 45.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+99 in 1916MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+76 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Broome County, NY · similarity 0.95
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Russell CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Russell County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | +33.5% |
| 1880 | +9.0% |
| 1884 | +19.5% |
| 1888 | +28.8% |
| 1892 | +58.4% |
| 1896 | +35.5% |
| 1900 | +81.5% |
| 1904 | +90.6% |
| 1908 | +85.4% |
| 1912 | +96.0% |
| 1916 | +98.7% |
| 1920 | +85.8% |
| 1924 | +88.6% |
| 1928 | +42.9% |
| 1932 | +94.9% |
| 1936 | +93.8% |
| 1940 | +96.0% |
| 1944 | +89.5% |
| 1948 | −5.3% |
| 1952 | +60.8% |
| 1956 | +40.1% |
| 1960 | +32.3% |
| 1964 | −76.0% |
| 1968 | +17.8% |
| 1972 | −37.5% |
| 1976 | +31.2% |
| 1980 | +26.9% |
| 1984 | +6.6% |
| 1988 | +2.0% |
| 1992 | +19.5% |
| 1996 | +20.5% |
| 2000 | +14.9% |
| 2004 | +0.2% |
| 2008 | +7.3% |
| 2012 | +11.8% |
| 2016 | +1.9% |
| 2020 | +6.4% |
| 2024 | +1.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 10,422 | 10,078 | 20,718 | ||
| D | 11,228 | 9,864 | 21,329 | ||
| D | 9,579 | 9,210 | 19,070 | ||
| D | 10,500 | 8,278 | 18,879 | ||
| D | 10,085 | 8,705 | 18,915 | ||
| D | 8,375 | 8,337 | 16,809 | ||
| D | 8,396 | 6,198 | 14,775 | ||
| D | 7,834 | 5,025 | 13,695 | ||
| D | 8,647 | 5,587 | 15,689 | ||
| D | 6,589 | 6,333 | 13,086 | ||
| D | 7,610 | 6,654 | 14,452 | ||
| D | 8,123 | 4,485 | 13,500 | ||
| D | 8,077 | 4,150 | 12,592 | ||
| R | 2,644 | 6,034 | 9,043 | ||
| O | 2,707 | 704 | 11,245 | ||
| R | 0 | 4,877 | 6,414 | ||
| D | 3,480 | 1,770 | 5,298 | ||
| D | 3,060 | 1,265 | 4,479 | ||
| D | 3,564 | 867 | 4,434 | ||
| O | 0 | 94 | 1,776 | ||
| D | 2,109 | 115 | 2,228 | ||
| D | 2,435 | 48 | 2,486 | ||
| D | 2,181 | 66 | 2,256 | ||
| D | 1,894 | 46 | 1,947 | ||
| D | 846 | 333 | 1,197 | ||
| D | 474 | 14 | 519 | ||
| D | 671 | 29 | 748 | ||
| D | 752 | 3 | 759 | ||
| D | 1,553 | 4 | 1,614 | ||
| D | 516 | 32 | 567 | ||
| D | 558 | 21 | 593 | ||
| D | 1,416 | 135 | 1,571 | ||
| D | 1,645 | 773 | 2,456 | ||
| D | 2,150 | 10 | 3,666 | ||
| D | 1,970 | 1,088 | 3,058 | ||
| D | 1,998 | 1,347 | 3,345 | ||
| D | 1,678 | 1,402 | 3,080 | ||
| D | 2,051 | 1,022 | 3,073 |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
10.1%
English
8.4%
Irish
5.8%
German
5.2%
Scottish
1.4%
French
1.3%
Italian
1.2%
African American
36.5%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
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.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 37.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$51,197
Russell County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Russell County$51,197
Alabama$63,999
United States$80,734
Russell County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
22.2%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1832.4%
Working age (18–64)19.3%
Seniors (65+)13.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.9%
speak English only
Spanish3.0%
Other Indo-European0.4%
Other languages0.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 39.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Russell County, anchored by Phenix City across the river from Columbus, Georgia, is one of Alabama's few counties to trend toward Democrats in presidential races, driven by a population that is roughly 55% Black.
The Democratic margin here reached ninety-nine points in 1916. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was two points. The recent movement, modest against a deep Democratic baseline, mirrors a broader rightward drift across the Black Belt.
The economic context is part of the story: a median household income of $51,197 and a 22% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Broome County and Issaquena County.
Most similar counties
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.
Russell County, Alabama. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/01113/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More black belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Russell County, Alabama vote in 2024?
In 2024, Russell County, Alabama voted Democratic by 1.7 points (D+2), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 20,718 votes cast, 10,422 went Democratic and 10,078 went Republican.
What is Russell County, Alabama's political typology?
Akashic places Russell County, Alabama in the "Black Belt" typology — Black-majority counties of the rural South — long the most Democratic ground in the region, now trending Republican at the margins. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 34 times, Republican 2 times, and other 2 times.
When did Russell County, Alabama last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Russell County, Alabama voted Republican was 1972.
How many people live in Russell County, Alabama?
Russell County, Alabama has a population of 58,811 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Russell County, Alabama?
Median household income in Russell County, Alabama is $51,197 — below the national median of $80,734. The Alabama state median is $63,999.
What is the political history of Russell County, Alabama?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Russell County, Alabama from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 34 went Democratic and 2 went Republican. The county's typology — "Black Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.