Otero County, Colorado: Texan Right county. In 2024, voted R+26%. Democratic peak: D+60 in 1896.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+26MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Texan RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 18,3212024 5-year
- Median household income
- $54,0372024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 67.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 42.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+60 in 1896MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+51 in 1928MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Jefferson County, OR · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Otero CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Otero 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 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | −41.4% |
| 1896 | +60.0% |
| 1900 | +8.1% |
| 1904 | −13.6% |
| 1908 | +4.3% |
| 1912 | +25.8% |
| 1916 | +18.6% |
| 1920 | −16.3% |
| 1924 | −34.8% |
| 1928 | −50.6% |
| 1932 | +12.2% |
| 1936 | +19.6% |
| 1940 | −8.8% |
| 1944 | −13.7% |
| 1948 | +33.2% |
| 1952 | −27.5% |
| 1956 | −23.1% |
| 1960 | −17.8% |
| 1964 | +24.8% |
| 1968 | −8.5% |
| 1972 | −33.7% |
| 1976 | −5.4% |
| 1980 | −17.1% |
| 1984 | −27.5% |
| 1988 | −4.3% |
| 1992 | +4.4% |
| 1996 | +0.4% |
| 2000 | −15.3% |
| 2004 | −21.8% |
| 2008 | −10.5% |
| 2012 | −9.0% |
| 2016 | −23.5% |
| 2020 | −22.5% |
| 2024 | −26.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,164 | 5,520 | 8,926 | ||
| R | 3,605 | 5,756 | 9,576 | ||
| R | 2,943 | 4,928 | 8,452 | ||
| R | 3,647 | 4,382 | 8,192 | ||
| R | 3,546 | 4,393 | 8,064 | ||
| R | 3,164 | 4,947 | 8,180 | ||
| R | 2,963 | 4,082 | 7,312 | ||
| D | 3,386 | 3,356 | 7,437 | ||
| D | 3,485 | 3,120 | 8,313 | ||
| R | 3,910 | 4,265 | 8,299 | ||
| R | 3,005 | 5,373 | 8,615 | ||
| R | 3,294 | 4,801 | 8,801 | ||
| R | 4,118 | 4,597 | 8,920 | ||
| R | 2,929 | 6,016 | 9,150 | ||
| R | 3,891 | 4,690 | 9,445 | ||
| D | 5,999 | 3,605 | 9,636 | ||
| R | 4,199 | 6,015 | 10,229 | ||
| R | 3,722 | 5,964 | 9,693 | ||
| R | 3,721 | 6,552 | 10,307 | ||
| D | 8,640 | 4,311 | 13,032 | ||
| R | 3,791 | 5,002 | 8,816 | ||
| R | 4,567 | 5,459 | 10,088 | ||
| D | 5,775 | 3,859 | 9,772 | ||
| D | 5,107 | 3,974 | 9,287 | ||
| R | 1,876 | 5,788 | 7,730 | ||
| R | 1,938 | 4,694 | 7,930 | ||
| R | 2,727 | 3,846 | 6,876 | ||
| D | 3,963 | 2,678 | 6,924 | ||
| D | 2,885 | 1,293 | 6,164 | ||
| D | 3,542 | 3,232 | 7,268 | ||
| R | 2,225 | 2,975 | 5,511 | ||
| D | 2,266 | 1,913 | 4,375 | ||
| D | 2,167 | 524 | 2,739 | ||
| O | 0 | 480 | 1,160 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
15.6%
English
11.5%
Irish
8.2%
American
4.3%
Italian
3.5%
French
3.1%
Scottish
2.1%
African American
1.0%
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: 41.8 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
$54,037
Otero County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Otero County$54,037
Colorado$95,470
United States$80,734
Otero 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
22.1%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1835.3%
Working age (18–64)18.7%
Seniors (65+)12.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
84.8%
speak English only
Spanish14.4%
Other Indo-European0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 62.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Otero's economy has long centered on agriculture and the former sugar-beet industry, and its sparse, largely Hispanic and Anglo rural population has shifted steadily toward Republican presidential candidates over the past decade, widening margins with each cycle.
The Republican margin here reached fifty-one points in 1928. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-six points.
A population of 18,321, a 67% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $54,037 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Jefferson County and Carbon County. A non-English-speaking share of 15% reflects a meaningful Latino presence that votes, here, with the Republican grain.
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.
Otero County, Colorado. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/08089/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Otero County, Colorado vote in 2024?
In 2024, Otero County, Colorado voted Republican by 26.4 points (R+26), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 8,926 votes cast, 3,164 went Democratic and 5,520 went Republican.
What is Otero County, Colorado's political typology?
Akashic places Otero County, Colorado in the "Texan Right" typology — East Texas and the Piney Woods — solidly Republican, with a meaningful Latino presence. 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 11 times, Republican 22 times, and other 1 times.
When did Otero County, Colorado last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Otero County, Colorado voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Otero County, Colorado?
Otero County, Colorado has a population of 18,321 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Otero County, Colorado?
Median household income in Otero County, Colorado is $54,037 — below the national median of $80,734. The Colorado state median is $95,470.
What is the political history of Otero County, Colorado?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Otero County, Colorado from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The county's typology — "Texan Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.