Sullivan County, Indiana: Appalachian Realigners county. In 2024, voted R+53%. Republican peak: R+53 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+53MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Appalachian RealignersAkashic typology
- Population
- 20,7802024 5-year
- Median household income
- $56,2042024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+36 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+53 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Clinton County, PA · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Sullivan CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Sullivan 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 | +25.2% |
| 1896 | +26.4% |
| 1900 | +25.5% |
| 1904 | +7.7% |
| 1908 | +20.8% |
| 1912 | +29.6% |
| 1916 | +16.7% |
| 1920 | +6.0% |
| 1924 | +0.6% |
| 1928 | −4.6% |
| 1932 | +33.4% |
| 1936 | +36.4% |
| 1940 | +14.4% |
| 1944 | +4.6% |
| 1948 | +15.9% |
| 1952 | +8.0% |
| 1956 | +1.8% |
| 1960 | −0.3% |
| 1964 | +30.9% |
| 1968 | +1.9% |
| 1972 | −19.0% |
| 1976 | +16.1% |
| 1980 | −1.4% |
| 1984 | −8.7% |
| 1988 | +0.9% |
| 1992 | +12.6% |
| 1996 | +10.1% |
| 2000 | −5.9% |
| 2004 | −19.8% |
| 2008 | −0.7% |
| 2012 | −20.6% |
| 2016 | −46.7% |
| 2020 | −50.5% |
| 2024 | −52.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,006 | 6,639 | 8,795 | ||
| R | 2,153 | 6,691 | 8,994 | ||
| R | 2,113 | 6,138 | 8,613 | ||
| R | 3,191 | 4,902 | 8,290 | ||
| R | 4,284 | 4,343 | 8,782 | ||
| R | 3,341 | 4,999 | 8,394 | ||
| R | 3,833 | 4,319 | 8,262 | ||
| D | 4,076 | 3,207 | 8,642 | ||
| D | 4,211 | 3,052 | 9,168 | ||
| D | 4,320 | 4,246 | 8,597 | ||
| R | 4,006 | 4,771 | 8,813 | ||
| R | 4,335 | 4,465 | 9,103 | ||
| D | 5,198 | 3,747 | 9,006 | ||
| R | 3,624 | 5,338 | 9,001 | ||
| D | 4,453 | 4,266 | 9,874 | ||
| D | 7,351 | 3,867 | 11,260 | ||
| R | 5,975 | 6,012 | 12,060 | ||
| D | 6,048 | 5,829 | 11,946 | ||
| D | 6,964 | 5,929 | 12,988 | ||
| D | 6,705 | 4,824 | 11,801 | ||
| D | 6,420 | 5,855 | 12,397 | ||
| D | 8,667 | 6,471 | 15,289 | ||
| D | 10,203 | 4,685 | 15,154 | ||
| D | 7,835 | 3,667 | 12,477 | ||
| R | 5,642 | 6,199 | 12,134 | ||
| D | 5,213 | 5,139 | 12,053 | ||
| D | 6,160 | 5,376 | 12,991 | ||
| D | 3,880 | 2,630 | 7,463 | ||
| D | 3,707 | 1,406 | 7,771 | ||
| D | 4,657 | 2,942 | 8,248 | ||
| D | 3,641 | 3,076 | 7,295 | ||
| D | 4,008 | 2,326 | 6,591 | ||
| D | 4,010 | 2,317 | 6,409 | ||
| D | 3,159 | 1,784 | 5,462 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
16.5%
English
13.7%
Irish
12.2%
American
9.8%
Italian
2.3%
Scottish
2.2%
French
1.5%
African American
2.4%
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: 41.7 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
$56,204
Sullivan County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Sullivan County$56,204
Indiana$71,957
United States$80,734
Sullivan 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
13.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.4%
Working age (18–64)12.4%
Seniors (65+)12.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.5%
speak English only
Spanish1.0%
Other languages0.4%
Other Indo-European0.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 65.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Sullivan County's 2024 presidential margin of R+52.7 reflects a broader realignment of southwestern Indiana's historically Democratic coal-country precincts, where union-era voting patterns have steadily given way to Republican dominance over the past two decades.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin peaked at thirty-six points in 1936 and narrowed across the late twentieth century. The 2000 election carried the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by six points. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-three points.
The economic context is severe: a median household income of $56,204 — among the lowest at this geographic scale — and a 14% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Clinton County and Greene 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.
Sullivan County, Indiana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/18153/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Sullivan County, Indiana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Sullivan County, Indiana voted Republican by 52.7 points (R+53), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 8,795 votes cast, 2,006 went Democratic and 6,639 went Republican.
What is Sullivan County, Indiana's political typology?
Akashic places Sullivan County, Indiana in the "Appalachian Realigners" typology — Lower-income counties of Greater Appalachia — a long, deep arc from Democratic to Republican. 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 22 times, Republican 12 times, and other 0 times.
When did Sullivan County, Indiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Sullivan County, Indiana voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Sullivan County, Indiana?
Sullivan County, Indiana has a population of 20,780 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Sullivan County, Indiana?
Median household income in Sullivan County, Indiana is $56,204 — below the national median of $80,734. The Indiana state median is $71,957.
What is the political history of Sullivan County, Indiana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Sullivan County, Indiana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 12 went Republican. The county's typology — "Appalachian Realigners" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.