Whitley County, Indiana: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+50%. Republican peak: R+51 in 2016.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+50MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 34,6182024 5-year
- Median household income
- $78,0832024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+25 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+51 in 2016MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Logan County, IL · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Whitley CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Whitley 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 | +6.3% |
| 1896 | +5.3% |
| 1900 | +1.9% |
| 1904 | −1.6% |
| 1908 | +3.9% |
| 1912 | +24.9% |
| 1916 | +6.5% |
| 1920 | −7.0% |
| 1924 | −11.6% |
| 1928 | −15.6% |
| 1932 | +17.9% |
| 1936 | +12.6% |
| 1940 | −7.3% |
| 1944 | −12.6% |
| 1948 | −5.2% |
| 1952 | −21.9% |
| 1956 | −26.9% |
| 1960 | −21.5% |
| 1964 | +8.4% |
| 1968 | −17.2% |
| 1972 | −32.0% |
| 1976 | −10.6% |
| 1980 | −20.7% |
| 1984 | −35.3% |
| 1988 | −35.5% |
| 1992 | −13.7% |
| 1996 | −15.4% |
| 2000 | −32.0% |
| 2004 | −41.8% |
| 2008 | −21.5% |
| 2012 | −38.8% |
| 2016 | −50.6% |
| 2020 | −49.1% |
| 2024 | −49.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 4,275 | 13,122 | 17,774 | ||
| R | 4,234 | 12,862 | 17,556 | ||
| R | 3,379 | 11,357 | 15,758 | ||
| R | 4,420 | 10,258 | 15,032 | ||
| R | 5,862 | 9,124 | 15,188 | ||
| R | 3,880 | 9,512 | 13,481 | ||
| R | 4,107 | 8,080 | 12,432 | ||
| R | 4,176 | 5,965 | 11,625 | ||
| R | 3,569 | 5,217 | 12,056 | ||
| R | 3,642 | 7,679 | 11,386 | ||
| R | 3,690 | 7,763 | 11,551 | ||
| R | 4,497 | 7,146 | 12,821 | ||
| R | 5,445 | 6,761 | 12,441 | ||
| R | 3,838 | 7,489 | 11,404 | ||
| R | 3,848 | 5,684 | 10,671 | ||
| D | 5,798 | 4,896 | 10,747 | ||
| R | 4,266 | 6,621 | 10,943 | ||
| R | 3,688 | 6,422 | 10,157 | ||
| R | 3,755 | 5,893 | 9,776 | ||
| R | 4,240 | 4,715 | 9,089 | ||
| R | 4,079 | 5,268 | 9,427 | ||
| R | 4,404 | 5,100 | 9,561 | ||
| D | 5,115 | 3,959 | 9,150 | ||
| D | 5,058 | 3,471 | 8,853 | ||
| R | 3,294 | 4,519 | 7,869 | ||
| R | 3,484 | 4,420 | 8,060 | ||
| R | 3,929 | 4,530 | 8,629 | ||
| D | 2,510 | 2,191 | 4,903 | ||
| D | 2,206 | 1,082 | 4,506 | ||
| D | 2,493 | 2,302 | 4,943 | ||
| R | 2,281 | 2,359 | 4,815 | ||
| D | 2,361 | 2,271 | 4,754 | ||
| D | 2,494 | 2,242 | 4,785 | ||
| D | 2,234 | 1,958 | 4,395 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
30.9%
English
11.4%
Irish
9.9%
American
7.0%
French
2.3%
Scottish
2.2%
Polish
1.6%
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: 41.3 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
$78,083
Whitley County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Whitley County$78,083
Indiana$71,957
United States$80,734
Whitley County ranks in the top 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
9.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.5%
Working age (18–64)8.1%
Seniors (65+)7.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.7%
speak English only
Spanish1.1%
Other Indo-European1.0%
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 62.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Whitley County, anchored by the small city of Columbia City, delivered a nearly 50-point Republican presidential margin in 2024, reflecting the deep rural conservatism that defines much of northeastern Indiana's agricultural corridor.
The Republican margin here reached fifty-one points in 2016. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty points.
A population of 34,618, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $78,083 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Logan County and Wabash 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.
Whitley County, Indiana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/18183/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Whitley County, Indiana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Whitley County, Indiana voted Republican by 49.8 points (R+50), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 17,774 votes cast, 4,275 went Democratic and 13,122 went Republican.
What is Whitley County, Indiana's political typology?
Akashic places Whitley 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 9 times, Republican 25 times, and other 0 times.
When did Whitley County, Indiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Whitley County, Indiana voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Whitley County, Indiana?
Whitley County, Indiana has a population of 34,618 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Whitley County, Indiana?
Median household income in Whitley County, Indiana is $78,083 — below the national median of $80,734. The Indiana state median is $71,957.
What is the political history of Whitley County, Indiana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Whitley County, Indiana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.