Clark County, Kentucky: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+35%. Democratic peak: D+42 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+35MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 37,1922024 5-year
- Median household income
- $64,3482024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 88.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+42 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+38 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Mercer County, KY · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Clark CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Clark 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 | +9.9% |
| 1896 | +0.5% |
| 1900 | +9.5% |
| 1904 | +18.2% |
| 1908 | +14.9% |
| 1912 | +31.2% |
| 1916 | +20.3% |
| 1920 | +21.8% |
| 1924 | +17.4% |
| 1928 | −0.5% |
| 1932 | +42.4% |
| 1936 | +32.3% |
| 1940 | +29.9% |
| 1944 | +30.2% |
| 1948 | +36.3% |
| 1952 | +16.5% |
| 1956 | +8.7% |
| 1960 | −4.6% |
| 1964 | +35.0% |
| 1968 | −4.6% |
| 1972 | −37.8% |
| 1976 | +18.8% |
| 1980 | +7.9% |
| 1984 | −26.0% |
| 1988 | −11.2% |
| 1992 | +2.3% |
| 1996 | +2.3% |
| 2000 | −19.1% |
| 2004 | −25.3% |
| 2008 | −25.1% |
| 2012 | −30.5% |
| 2016 | −37.1% |
| 2020 | −32.0% |
| 2024 | −35.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 5,639 | 11,950 | 17,885 | ||
| R | 6,004 | 11,811 | 18,139 | ||
| R | 4,706 | 10,710 | 16,205 | ||
| R | 5,228 | 9,931 | 15,416 | ||
| R | 5,749 | 9,664 | 15,628 | ||
| R | 5,661 | 9,540 | 15,317 | ||
| R | 4,918 | 7,297 | 12,473 | ||
| D | 4,987 | 4,739 | 10,896 | ||
| D | 4,892 | 4,625 | 11,517 | ||
| R | 4,252 | 5,329 | 9,622 | ||
| R | 3,595 | 6,130 | 9,758 | ||
| D | 5,071 | 4,302 | 9,685 | ||
| D | 4,575 | 3,114 | 7,768 | ||
| R | 2,020 | 4,506 | 6,585 | ||
| R | 2,385 | 2,698 | 6,808 | ||
| D | 4,205 | 2,019 | 6,237 | ||
| R | 3,024 | 3,317 | 6,341 | ||
| D | 3,609 | 3,030 | 6,663 | ||
| D | 3,620 | 2,592 | 6,212 | ||
| D | 3,292 | 1,508 | 4,908 | ||
| D | 3,608 | 1,929 | 5,564 | ||
| D | 3,970 | 2,136 | 6,125 | ||
| D | 4,396 | 2,246 | 6,659 | ||
| D | 4,920 | 1,981 | 6,936 | ||
| R | 3,460 | 3,495 | 6,955 | ||
| D | 3,857 | 2,703 | 6,629 | ||
| D | 4,846 | 3,105 | 7,987 | ||
| D | 2,620 | 1,731 | 4,388 | ||
| D | 2,321 | 1,056 | 4,050 | ||
| D | 2,525 | 1,859 | 4,456 | ||
| D | 2,442 | 1,683 | 4,174 | ||
| D | 2,302 | 1,900 | 4,231 | ||
| D | 2,055 | 2,032 | 4,218 | ||
| D | 1,958 | 1,599 | 3,627 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
16.5%
Irish
11.1%
German
10.5%
American
10.2%
Scottish
3.8%
Italian
1.3%
Polish
0.9%
African American
2.3%
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: 40.5 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
$64,348
Clark County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Clark County$64,348
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Clark 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
14.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.1%
Working age (18–64)13.4%
Seniors (65+)12.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.6%
speak English only
Spanish2.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other Indo-European0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 58.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Clark County sits in Kentucky's Inner Bluegrass region and has moved steadily toward lopsided Republican presidential margins since the early 2000s, reflecting a broader rural realignment that reshaped much of the non-metropolitan South.
The Republican margin here reached thirty-eight points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-five points.
A population of 37,192, a 89% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $64,348 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Mercer County and Vernon Parish.
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.
Clark County, Kentucky. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/21049/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Clark County, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Clark County, Kentucky voted Republican by 35.3 points (R+35), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 17,885 votes cast, 5,639 went Democratic and 11,950 went Republican.
What is Clark County, Kentucky's political typology?
Akashic places Clark County, Kentucky in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. 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 21 times, Republican 13 times, and other 0 times.
When did Clark County, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Clark County, Kentucky voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Clark County, Kentucky?
Clark County, Kentucky has a population of 37,192 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Clark County, Kentucky?
Median household income in Clark County, Kentucky is $64,348 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Clark County, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Clark County, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 21 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.