Shelby County, Indiana: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+48%. Republican peak: R+48 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+48MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 45,2652024 5-year
- Median household income
- $72,1902024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+30 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+48 in 2020MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Decatur County, IN · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Shelby CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Shelby 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 | +12.6% |
| 1896 | +8.4% |
| 1900 | +7.5% |
| 1904 | −1.4% |
| 1908 | +6.4% |
| 1912 | +30.1% |
| 1916 | +9.4% |
| 1920 | +3.8% |
| 1924 | −5.3% |
| 1928 | −12.9% |
| 1932 | +22.1% |
| 1936 | +17.2% |
| 1940 | +5.2% |
| 1944 | −0.1% |
| 1948 | +6.9% |
| 1952 | −15.4% |
| 1956 | −16.5% |
| 1960 | −13.9% |
| 1964 | +10.7% |
| 1968 | −19.5% |
| 1972 | −45.4% |
| 1976 | −11.3% |
| 1980 | −27.0% |
| 1984 | −34.5% |
| 1988 | −30.7% |
| 1992 | −21.7% |
| 1996 | −15.9% |
| 2000 | −27.5% |
| 2004 | −42.9% |
| 2008 | −19.0% |
| 2012 | −33.5% |
| 2016 | −46.9% |
| 2020 | −47.7% |
| 2024 | −48.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 4,955 | 14,438 | 19,754 | ||
| R | 5,023 | 14,568 | 19,991 | ||
| R | 4,247 | 12,718 | 18,080 | ||
| R | 5,359 | 10,978 | 16,760 | ||
| R | 6,987 | 10,333 | 17,574 | ||
| R | 4,519 | 11,397 | 16,027 | ||
| R | 5,374 | 9,590 | 15,310 | ||
| R | 5,374 | 7,778 | 15,142 | ||
| R | 4,560 | 8,075 | 16,211 | ||
| R | 5,382 | 10,176 | 15,621 | ||
| R | 5,357 | 11,056 | 16,522 | ||
| R | 5,861 | 10,496 | 17,150 | ||
| R | 7,098 | 8,918 | 16,150 | ||
| R | 4,028 | 10,794 | 14,900 | ||
| R | 5,417 | 8,574 | 16,226 | ||
| D | 9,078 | 7,310 | 16,455 | ||
| R | 7,111 | 9,421 | 16,602 | ||
| R | 6,561 | 9,170 | 15,811 | ||
| R | 6,552 | 8,961 | 15,671 | ||
| D | 6,992 | 6,068 | 13,324 | ||
| R | 6,798 | 6,816 | 13,733 | ||
| D | 8,015 | 7,216 | 15,348 | ||
| D | 8,552 | 6,026 | 14,717 | ||
| D | 8,552 | 5,410 | 14,219 | ||
| R | 5,790 | 7,516 | 13,389 | ||
| R | 5,976 | 6,664 | 12,936 | ||
| D | 6,845 | 6,336 | 13,437 | ||
| D | 3,900 | 3,201 | 7,461 | ||
| D | 3,432 | 1,254 | 7,230 | ||
| D | 4,035 | 3,529 | 7,923 | ||
| R | 3,550 | 3,660 | 7,592 | ||
| D | 3,846 | 3,291 | 7,353 | ||
| D | 3,828 | 3,219 | 7,214 | ||
| D | 3,490 | 2,664 | 6,553 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
18.6%
American
12.4%
English
10.5%
Irish
8.5%
Italian
2.0%
Scottish
1.5%
French
1.1%
African American
1.1%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
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: 41.5 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
$72,190
Shelby County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Shelby County$72,190
Indiana$71,957
United States$80,734
Shelby 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
13.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.6%
Working age (18–64)11.1%
Seniors (65+)8.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.5%
speak English only
Spanish3.7%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Other languages0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Shelby County, southeast of Indianapolis, recorded an R+48 margin in 2024, reflecting the deep-red lean typical of rural south-central Indiana counties where small-town and agricultural communities dominate the electorate.
The Republican margin here reached forty-eight points in 2024. The 2024 margin was forty-eight points.
A population of 45,265, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $72,190 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Decatur County and Benton 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.
Shelby County, Indiana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/18145/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Shelby County, Indiana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Shelby County, Indiana voted Republican by 48.0 points (R+48), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 19,754 votes cast, 4,955 went Democratic and 14,438 went Republican.
What is Shelby County, Indiana's political typology?
Akashic places Shelby 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 12 times, Republican 22 times, and other 0 times.
When did Shelby County, Indiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Shelby County, Indiana voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Shelby County, Indiana?
Shelby County, Indiana has a population of 45,265 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Shelby County, Indiana?
Median household income in Shelby County, Indiana is $72,190 — below the national median of $80,734. The Indiana state median is $71,957.
What is the political history of Shelby County, Indiana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Shelby County, Indiana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.