Butler County, Kentucky: Sunbelt Conservative county. In 2024, voted R+66%. Republican peak: R+70 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+66MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Sunbelt ConservativeAkashic typology
- Population
- 12,3932024 5-year
- Median household income
- $56,0922024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Republican margin
- R+70 in 1928MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Pittsylvania County, VA · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Butler CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Butler County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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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 | −25.3% |
| 1896 | −24.8% |
| 1900 | −34.2% |
| 1904 | −40.5% |
| 1908 | −38.6% |
| 1912 | −6.4% |
| 1916 | −35.6% |
| 1920 | −50.1% |
| 1924 | −37.8% |
| 1928 | −70.3% |
| 1932 | −19.6% |
| 1936 | −35.4% |
| 1940 | −36.9% |
| 1944 | −48.8% |
| 1948 | −38.0% |
| 1952 | −44.2% |
| 1956 | −46.6% |
| 1960 | −57.3% |
| 1964 | −21.9% |
| 1968 | −49.1% |
| 1972 | −55.2% |
| 1976 | −19.5% |
| 1980 | −41.7% |
| 1984 | −49.3% |
| 1988 | −44.8% |
| 1992 | −26.2% |
| 1996 | −30.6% |
| 2000 | −47.0% |
| 2004 | −47.9% |
| 2008 | −40.3% |
| 2012 | −47.9% |
| 2016 | −62.4% |
| 2020 | −63.4% |
| 2024 | −66.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 965 | 4,905 | 5,943 | ||
| R | 1,079 | 4,960 | 6,125 | ||
| R | 947 | 4,428 | 5,576 | ||
| R | 1,293 | 3,716 | 5,060 | ||
| R | 1,555 | 3,696 | 5,307 | ||
| R | 1,436 | 4,109 | 5,578 | ||
| R | 1,299 | 3,654 | 5,010 | ||
| R | 1,260 | 2,531 | 4,149 | ||
| R | 1,468 | 2,729 | 4,806 | ||
| R | 1,245 | 3,278 | 4,539 | ||
| R | 1,055 | 3,121 | 4,191 | ||
| R | 1,274 | 3,129 | 4,450 | ||
| R | 1,588 | 2,363 | 3,981 | ||
| R | 835 | 2,941 | 3,818 | ||
| R | 691 | 2,637 | 3,967 | ||
| R | 1,555 | 2,429 | 3,992 | ||
| R | 992 | 3,656 | 4,648 | ||
| R | 1,202 | 3,303 | 4,513 | ||
| R | 1,157 | 2,996 | 4,165 | ||
| R | 1,105 | 2,494 | 3,658 | ||
| R | 1,153 | 3,354 | 4,514 | ||
| R | 1,455 | 3,163 | 4,624 | ||
| R | 1,237 | 2,594 | 3,835 | ||
| R | 1,736 | 2,586 | 4,331 | ||
| R | 684 | 3,942 | 4,633 | ||
| R | 1,177 | 2,644 | 3,878 | ||
| R | 1,356 | 4,097 | 5,466 | ||
| R | 1,158 | 2,456 | 3,647 | ||
| R | 879 | 1,070 | 2,990 | ||
| R | 1,012 | 2,328 | 3,407 | ||
| R | 951 | 2,298 | 3,328 | ||
| R | 1,131 | 2,333 | 3,512 | ||
| R | 1,139 | 1,907 | 3,101 | ||
| R | 715 | 1,327 | 2,415 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
16.4%
English
15.7%
Irish
11.3%
German
4.8%
Italian
1.3%
Scottish
1.2%
French
0.8%
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
$56,092
Butler County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Butler County$56,092
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Butler 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
20.5%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1824.0%
Working age (18–64)19.5%
Seniors (65+)19.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.1%
speak English only
Other Indo-European6.8%
Spanish2.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 23.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Butler County's R+66.3 margin in 2024 places it among the most heavily one-sided presidential counties in the state, reflecting the broader rural realignment that has reshaped western Kentucky's small, agrarian communities over the past two decades.
The Republican margin here reached seventy points in 1928. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was sixty-six points.
A median household income of $56,092, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 12,393 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Pittsylvania County and Putnam 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.
Butler County, Kentucky. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/21031/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More sunbelt conservative counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Butler County, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Butler County, Kentucky voted Republican by 66.3 points (R+66), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 5,943 votes cast, 965 went Democratic and 4,905 went Republican.
What is Butler County, Kentucky's political typology?
Akashic places Butler County, Kentucky in the "Sunbelt Conservative" typology — Affluent, predominantly white Sunbelt counties — reliably 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 0 times, Republican 34 times, and other 0 times.
How many people live in Butler County, Kentucky?
Butler County, Kentucky has a population of 12,393 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Butler County, Kentucky?
Median household income in Butler County, Kentucky is $56,092 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Butler County, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Butler County, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 0 went Democratic and 34 went Republican. The county's typology — "Sunbelt Conservative" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.