Hancock County, Kentucky: Appalachian Realigners county. In 2024, voted R+48%. Republican peak: R+48 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+48MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Appalachian RealignersAkashic typology
- Population
- 9,0342024 5-year
- Median household income
- $65,4642024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 94.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 0.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+30 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+48 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Tuscarawas County, OH · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Hancock CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Hancock 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 | +10.4% |
| 1896 | +2.5% |
| 1900 | −5.8% |
| 1904 | −7.9% |
| 1908 | −9.3% |
| 1912 | +27.8% |
| 1916 | −4.7% |
| 1920 | −2.2% |
| 1924 | −0.3% |
| 1928 | −16.7% |
| 1932 | +15.9% |
| 1936 | +9.5% |
| 1940 | −3.1% |
| 1944 | −9.4% |
| 1948 | +7.5% |
| 1952 | −6.5% |
| 1956 | −12.6% |
| 1960 | −18.8% |
| 1964 | +30.5% |
| 1968 | −7.8% |
| 1972 | −32.3% |
| 1976 | +15.9% |
| 1980 | +5.4% |
| 1984 | −20.6% |
| 1988 | −7.9% |
| 1992 | +12.6% |
| 1996 | +5.7% |
| 2000 | −14.5% |
| 2004 | −14.3% |
| 2008 | +5.0% |
| 2012 | −9.2% |
| 2016 | −35.9% |
| 2020 | −39.1% |
| 2024 | −47.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,173 | 3,375 | 4,633 | ||
| R | 1,351 | 3,145 | 4,587 | ||
| R | 1,244 | 2,788 | 4,295 | ||
| R | 1,833 | 2,212 | 4,134 | ||
| D | 2,135 | 1,928 | 4,144 | ||
| R | 1,709 | 2,286 | 4,029 | ||
| R | 1,508 | 2,032 | 3,610 | ||
| D | 1,547 | 1,356 | 3,339 | ||
| D | 1,714 | 1,261 | 3,605 | ||
| R | 1,478 | 1,733 | 3,243 | ||
| R | 1,287 | 1,967 | 3,301 | ||
| D | 1,530 | 1,367 | 3,004 | ||
| D | 1,562 | 1,124 | 2,747 | ||
| R | 791 | 1,583 | 2,450 | ||
| R | 867 | 1,049 | 2,347 | ||
| D | 1,423 | 756 | 2,190 | ||
| R | 1,018 | 1,488 | 2,506 | ||
| R | 1,022 | 1,317 | 2,346 | ||
| R | 1,177 | 1,341 | 2,525 | ||
| D | 1,146 | 985 | 2,147 | ||
| R | 1,129 | 1,365 | 2,509 | ||
| R | 1,338 | 1,424 | 2,764 | ||
| D | 1,317 | 1,087 | 2,421 | ||
| D | 1,623 | 1,174 | 2,826 | ||
| R | 1,151 | 1,614 | 2,767 | ||
| R | 1,323 | 1,332 | 2,725 | ||
| R | 1,384 | 1,446 | 2,879 | ||
| R | 833 | 918 | 1,795 | ||
| D | 757 | 268 | 1,760 | ||
| R | 868 | 1,052 | 1,984 | ||
| R | 846 | 997 | 1,923 | ||
| R | 989 | 1,113 | 2,138 | ||
| D | 1,080 | 1,026 | 2,134 | ||
| D | 786 | 607 | 1,725 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
18.8%
Irish
13.7%
English
13.4%
German
11.9%
French
2.7%
Scottish
1.8%
Italian
1.1%
African American
1.0%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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: 41.8 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
$65,464
Hancock County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Hancock County$65,464
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Hancock 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
16.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.7%
Working age (18–64)15.5%
Seniors (65+)9.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
99.3%
speak English only
Other Indo-European0.3%
Spanish0.2%
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 12.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Hancock County's 2024 presidential margin of R+47.5 places it among Kentucky's most lopsided rural counties, reflecting the broader realignment of small Ohio River communities away from competitive voting patterns over the past two decades.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin peaked at thirty points in 1964 and narrowed across the late twentieth century. The 2012 election carried the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by nine points. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved eight points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-eight points.
The economic context is severe: a median household income of $65,464 — among the lowest at this geographic scale — and a 16% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Tuscarawas County and Crawford 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.
Hancock County, Kentucky. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/21091/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More appalachian realigners counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Hancock County, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Hancock County, Kentucky voted Republican by 47.5 points (R+48), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 4,633 votes cast, 1,173 went Democratic and 3,375 went Republican.
What is Hancock County, Kentucky's political typology?
Akashic places Hancock County, Kentucky 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 12 times, Republican 22 times, and other 0 times.
When did Hancock County, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Hancock County, Kentucky voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Hancock County, Kentucky?
Hancock County, Kentucky has a population of 9,034 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Hancock County, Kentucky?
Median household income in Hancock County, Kentucky is $65,464 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Hancock County, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Hancock County, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The county's typology — "Appalachian Realigners" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.