Rush County, Indiana: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+54%. Republican peak: R+54 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+54MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 16,7392024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,4732024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+7 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+54 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Benton County, IN · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Rush CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Rush County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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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 | −7.1% |
| 1896 | −5.2% |
| 1900 | −7.3% |
| 1904 | −12.6% |
| 1908 | −9.5% |
| 1912 | +6.8% |
| 1916 | −6.6% |
| 1920 | −14.8% |
| 1924 | −26.7% |
| 1928 | −37.5% |
| 1932 | −0.4% |
| 1936 | +4.7% |
| 1940 | −20.4% |
| 1944 | −20.0% |
| 1948 | −16.6% |
| 1952 | −34.5% |
| 1956 | −29.8% |
| 1960 | −27.6% |
| 1964 | −0.6% |
| 1968 | −28.1% |
| 1972 | −54.2% |
| 1976 | −21.3% |
| 1980 | −32.5% |
| 1984 | −40.2% |
| 1988 | −35.1% |
| 1992 | −21.3% |
| 1996 | −16.8% |
| 2000 | −32.7% |
| 2004 | −45.3% |
| 2008 | −13.7% |
| 2012 | −34.3% |
| 2016 | −51.8% |
| 2020 | −54.0% |
| 2024 | −54.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,675 | 5,812 | 7,656 | ||
| R | 1,754 | 6,035 | 7,932 | ||
| R | 1,525 | 5,292 | 7,266 | ||
| R | 2,221 | 4,633 | 7,026 | ||
| R | 3,229 | 4,271 | 7,629 | ||
| R | 2,000 | 5,363 | 7,421 | ||
| R | 2,370 | 4,749 | 7,284 | ||
| R | 2,578 | 3,827 | 7,428 | ||
| R | 2,168 | 3,873 | 8,008 | ||
| R | 2,451 | 5,112 | 7,583 | ||
| R | 2,307 | 5,429 | 7,771 | ||
| R | 2,388 | 4,829 | 7,511 | ||
| R | 3,052 | 4,723 | 7,830 | ||
| R | 1,764 | 5,965 | 7,752 | ||
| R | 2,636 | 5,004 | 8,421 | ||
| R | 4,450 | 4,507 | 9,025 | ||
| R | 3,516 | 6,215 | 9,782 | ||
| R | 3,346 | 6,202 | 9,587 | ||
| R | 3,348 | 6,918 | 10,353 | ||
| R | 3,814 | 5,362 | 9,321 | ||
| R | 3,891 | 5,853 | 9,821 | ||
| R | 4,282 | 6,486 | 10,807 | ||
| D | 5,999 | 5,457 | 11,500 | ||
| R | 5,056 | 5,094 | 10,290 | ||
| R | 2,996 | 6,640 | 9,711 | ||
| R | 3,415 | 5,958 | 9,521 | ||
| R | 4,513 | 6,113 | 10,803 | ||
| R | 2,569 | 2,950 | 5,760 | ||
| D | 2,312 | 1,931 | 5,586 | ||
| R | 2,544 | 3,102 | 5,857 | ||
| R | 2,363 | 3,082 | 5,695 | ||
| R | 2,503 | 2,913 | 5,579 | ||
| R | 2,602 | 2,891 | 5,573 | ||
| R | 2,210 | 2,566 | 5,006 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
19.0%
English
16.9%
Irish
12.6%
American
10.0%
Scottish
1.7%
Italian
1.6%
French
0.8%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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: 42.4 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
$66,473
Rush County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Rush County$66,473
Indiana$71,957
United States$80,734
Rush County ranks near the middle 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
11.9%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.2%
Working age (18–64)11.5%
Seniors (65+)14.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.3%
speak English only
Spanish1.9%
Other Indo-European1.8%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 69.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Rush County's 2024 presidential margin of R+54 reflects a broader shift in small-town east-central Indiana toward lopsided single-party majorities, leaving Democrats with little competitive foothold in local or federal contests.
The Republican margin here reached fifty-four points in 1972. The 2024 margin was fifty-four points.
A population of 16,739, a 96% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $66,473 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Benton County and Tipton 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.
Rush County, Indiana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/18139/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Rush County, Indiana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Rush County, Indiana voted Republican by 54.0 points (R+54), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 7,656 votes cast, 1,675 went Democratic and 5,812 went Republican.
What is Rush County, Indiana's political typology?
Akashic places Rush County, Indiana in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. 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 2 times, Republican 32 times, and other 0 times.
When did Rush County, Indiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rush County, Indiana voted Democratic was 1936.
How many people live in Rush County, Indiana?
Rush County, Indiana has a population of 16,739 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rush County, Indiana?
Median household income in Rush County, Indiana is $66,473 — below the national median of $80,734. The Indiana state median is $71,957.
What is the political history of Rush County, Indiana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Rush County, Indiana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 2 went Democratic and 32 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.