Shawnee County, Kansas: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted a near-tie. Republican peak: R+54 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- TiedMIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 178,0252024 5-year
- Median household income
- $67,1042024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 74.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 6.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 13.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+11 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+54 in 1924MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Lancaster County, NE · similarity 0.76
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Shawnee CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Shawnee 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 | −37.8% |
| 1896 | −11.3% |
| 1900 | −22.0% |
| 1904 | −51.9% |
| 1908 | −14.7% |
| 1912 | +11.4% |
| 1916 | −13.8% |
| 1920 | −34.0% |
| 1924 | −53.9% |
| 1928 | −53.5% |
| 1932 | −9.1% |
| 1936 | +7.4% |
| 1940 | −10.4% |
| 1944 | −18.5% |
| 1948 | −7.4% |
| 1952 | −30.5% |
| 1956 | −33.3% |
| 1960 | −21.5% |
| 1964 | +8.6% |
| 1968 | −15.7% |
| 1972 | −35.6% |
| 1976 | −12.7% |
| 1980 | −16.9% |
| 1984 | −24.3% |
| 1988 | −2.2% |
| 1992 | +3.2% |
| 1996 | −2.7% |
| 2000 | −1.4% |
| 2004 | −9.7% |
| 2008 | −0.3% |
| 2012 | −1.1% |
| 2016 | −2.6% |
| 2020 | +3.0% |
| 2024 | +0.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 40,308 | 39,901 | 82,350 | ||
| D | 43,015 | 40,443 | 85,657 | ||
| R | 33,926 | 35,934 | 76,766 | ||
| R | 36,975 | 37,782 | 76,508 | ||
| R | 41,235 | 41,476 | 84,177 | ||
| R | 36,264 | 44,188 | 81,577 | ||
| R | 34,818 | 35,894 | 74,373 | ||
| R | 32,803 | 34,845 | 75,663 | ||
| D | 31,972 | 29,344 | 82,284 | ||
| R | 33,940 | 35,489 | 70,197 | ||
| R | 26,338 | 43,465 | 70,589 | ||
| R | 24,852 | 36,290 | 67,776 | ||
| R | 28,578 | 37,101 | 67,370 | ||
| R | 20,383 | 43,727 | 65,506 | ||
| R | 21,735 | 31,140 | 59,850 | ||
| D | 30,626 | 25,736 | 56,625 | ||
| R | 21,799 | 33,803 | 55,749 | ||
| R | 16,298 | 32,647 | 49,075 | ||
| R | 17,651 | 33,201 | 51,067 | ||
| R | 20,346 | 23,673 | 44,808 | ||
| R | 14,678 | 21,396 | 36,247 | ||
| R | 19,375 | 23,882 | 43,454 | ||
| D | 22,942 | 19,785 | 42,889 | ||
| R | 16,471 | 19,847 | 37,141 | ||
| R | 7,433 | 24,723 | 32,336 | ||
| R | 5,099 | 20,132 | 27,878 | ||
| R | 7,217 | 14,814 | 22,349 | ||
| R | 9,468 | 12,634 | 23,014 | ||
| D | 5,094 | 3,592 | 13,141 | ||
| R | 5,585 | 7,554 | 13,421 | ||
| R | 2,441 | 8,409 | 11,491 | ||
| R | 4,875 | 7,667 | 12,719 | ||
| R | 5,536 | 6,958 | 12,614 | ||
| O | 0 | 4,206 | 11,113 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
22.1%
English
18.0%
Irish
11.2%
American
4.6%
Italian
1.9%
Scottish
1.8%
French
1.7%
African American
5.4%
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: 39.4 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
$67,104
Shawnee County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Shawnee County$67,104
Kansas$74,275
United States$80,734
Shawnee 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
12.7%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.0%
Working age (18–64)12.1%
Seniors (65+)11.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.9%
speak English only
Spanish5.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Other Indo-European0.7%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Shawnee County anchors Kansas state government in Topeka and has trended toward battleground status over the past decade, with its 2024 presidential result landing within half a percentage point — a dramatic shift from its reliably Republican past.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached eleven points in 1912; the Republican margin reached fifty-four points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was zero points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 75% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $67,104, and a 13% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Lancaster County and Deschutes 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.
Shawnee County, Kansas. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/20177/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Shawnee County, Kansas vote in 2024?
In 2024, Shawnee County, Kansas voted a near-tie (Tied), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 82,350 votes cast, 40,308 went Democratic and 39,901 went Republican.
What is Shawnee County, Kansas's political typology?
Akashic places Shawnee County, Kansas in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. 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 6 times, Republican 27 times, and other 1 times.
When did Shawnee County, Kansas last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Shawnee County, Kansas voted Republican was 2016.
How many people live in Shawnee County, Kansas?
Shawnee County, Kansas has a population of 178,025 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Shawnee County, Kansas?
Median household income in Shawnee County, Kansas is $67,104 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kansas state median is $74,275.
What is the political history of Shawnee County, Kansas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Shawnee County, Kansas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.