Washington County, Indiana: Appalachian Realigners county. In 2024, voted R+55%. Republican peak: R+55 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+55MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Appalachian RealignersAkashic typology
- Population
- 28,2122024 5-year
- Median household income
- $64,6412024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+36 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+55 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Harrison County, IN · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Washington CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Washington 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 | +11.0% |
| 1896 | +8.2% |
| 1900 | +11.6% |
| 1904 | +5.8% |
| 1908 | +12.9% |
| 1912 | +36.3% |
| 1916 | +12.4% |
| 1920 | +5.7% |
| 1924 | +6.2% |
| 1928 | −4.3% |
| 1932 | +18.2% |
| 1936 | +12.7% |
| 1940 | +2.9% |
| 1944 | −1.2% |
| 1948 | +4.8% |
| 1952 | −11.5% |
| 1956 | −11.6% |
| 1960 | −13.9% |
| 1964 | +15.7% |
| 1968 | −11.9% |
| 1972 | −21.1% |
| 1976 | +7.4% |
| 1980 | −16.9% |
| 1984 | −27.1% |
| 1988 | −19.3% |
| 1992 | +0.5% |
| 1996 | −2.7% |
| 2000 | −22.4% |
| 2004 | −27.9% |
| 2008 | −17.3% |
| 2012 | −24.4% |
| 2016 | −48.9% |
| 2020 | −52.1% |
| 2024 | −54.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,764 | 9,739 | 12,723 | ||
| R | 2,784 | 9,114 | 12,139 | ||
| R | 2,636 | 8,204 | 11,377 | ||
| R | 3,909 | 6,533 | 10,737 | ||
| R | 4,562 | 6,519 | 11,305 | ||
| R | 3,879 | 6,915 | 10,880 | ||
| R | 3,675 | 5,868 | 9,801 | ||
| R | 3,819 | 4,066 | 9,211 | ||
| D | 4,092 | 4,043 | 10,057 | ||
| R | 3,370 | 4,998 | 8,416 | ||
| R | 3,334 | 5,874 | 9,380 | ||
| R | 3,663 | 5,234 | 9,297 | ||
| D | 4,409 | 3,794 | 8,318 | ||
| R | 3,086 | 4,758 | 7,922 | ||
| R | 2,936 | 3,891 | 8,004 | ||
| D | 4,943 | 3,598 | 8,573 | ||
| R | 3,821 | 5,057 | 8,913 | ||
| R | 3,849 | 4,864 | 8,739 | ||
| R | 3,844 | 4,849 | 8,745 | ||
| D | 4,033 | 3,660 | 7,757 | ||
| R | 3,940 | 4,033 | 8,015 | ||
| D | 4,471 | 4,216 | 8,716 | ||
| D | 4,766 | 3,690 | 8,482 | ||
| D | 4,809 | 3,316 | 8,181 | ||
| R | 3,518 | 3,835 | 7,381 | ||
| D | 3,942 | 3,479 | 7,502 | ||
| D | 4,157 | 3,708 | 7,913 | ||
| D | 2,414 | 1,871 | 4,371 | ||
| D | 2,233 | 712 | 4,189 | ||
| D | 2,573 | 1,976 | 4,641 | ||
| D | 2,364 | 2,094 | 4,617 | ||
| D | 2,723 | 2,152 | 4,923 | ||
| D | 2,613 | 2,214 | 4,864 | ||
| D | 2,322 | 1,833 | 4,438 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
15.3%
English
15.1%
American
14.1%
Irish
10.0%
French
2.1%
Italian
1.8%
Scottish
1.7%
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: 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
$64,641
Washington County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Washington County$64,641
Indiana$71,957
United States$80,734
Washington 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
14.4%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.2%
Working age (18–64)13.8%
Seniors (65+)12.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European0.9%
Spanish0.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 67.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Washington County, anchored by Salem in south-central Indiana, delivered a 54.8-point Republican margin in 2024, reflecting the deep red shift that has reshaped rural communities across the Ohio Valley over the past two decades.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin peaked at thirty-six points in 1912 and narrowed across the late twentieth century. The 1996 election carried the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by three points. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-five points.
The economic context is severe: a median household income of $64,641 — 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 Harrison County and Brown 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.
Washington County, Indiana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/18175/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More appalachian realigners counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Washington County, Indiana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Washington County, Indiana voted Republican by 54.8 points (R+55), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 12,723 votes cast, 2,764 went Democratic and 9,739 went Republican.
What is Washington County, Indiana's political typology?
Akashic places Washington 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 16 times, Republican 18 times, and other 0 times.
When did Washington County, Indiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Washington County, Indiana voted Democratic was 1992.
How many people live in Washington County, Indiana?
Washington County, Indiana has a population of 28,212 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Washington County, Indiana?
Median household income in Washington County, Indiana is $64,641 — below the national median of $80,734. The Indiana state median is $71,957.
What is the political history of Washington County, Indiana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Washington County, Indiana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The county's typology — "Appalachian Realigners" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.