Laurel County, Kentucky: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+70%. Republican peak: R+70 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+70MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 62,9832024 5-year
- Median household income
- $57,7712024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Republican margin
- R+70 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Washington County, OK · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Laurel CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Laurel 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 | −12.3% |
| 1896 | −32.0% |
| 1900 | −29.9% |
| 1904 | −33.7% |
| 1908 | −37.4% |
| 1912 | +0.3% |
| 1916 | −33.2% |
| 1920 | −44.5% |
| 1924 | −36.9% |
| 1928 | −62.2% |
| 1932 | −14.9% |
| 1936 | −28.3% |
| 1940 | −28.8% |
| 1944 | −41.2% |
| 1948 | −30.4% |
| 1952 | −43.6% |
| 1956 | −47.9% |
| 1960 | −52.8% |
| 1964 | −15.9% |
| 1968 | −48.6% |
| 1972 | −52.0% |
| 1976 | −23.6% |
| 1980 | −37.7% |
| 1984 | −49.1% |
| 1988 | −43.7% |
| 1992 | −26.7% |
| 1996 | −34.1% |
| 2000 | −45.1% |
| 2004 | −51.8% |
| 2008 | −58.0% |
| 2012 | −63.6% |
| 2016 | −69.1% |
| 2020 | −66.7% |
| 2024 | −69.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 4,037 | 23,516 | 27,938 | ||
| R | 4,475 | 23,237 | 28,111 | ||
| R | 3,440 | 20,592 | 24,833 | ||
| R | 3,905 | 18,151 | 22,408 | ||
| R | 4,618 | 17,660 | 22,500 | ||
| R | 5,297 | 16,819 | 22,264 | ||
| R | 4,856 | 13,029 | 18,120 | ||
| R | 4,306 | 9,454 | 15,090 | ||
| R | 4,560 | 8,583 | 15,050 | ||
| R | 3,620 | 9,296 | 12,994 | ||
| R | 3,267 | 9,621 | 12,929 | ||
| R | 3,969 | 8,868 | 12,997 | ||
| R | 3,813 | 6,186 | 10,073 | ||
| R | 2,274 | 7,276 | 9,620 | ||
| R | 1,756 | 6,251 | 9,251 | ||
| R | 3,633 | 5,008 | 8,665 | ||
| R | 2,309 | 7,485 | 9,794 | ||
| R | 2,316 | 6,586 | 8,916 | ||
| R | 2,263 | 5,776 | 8,051 | ||
| R | 2,187 | 4,107 | 6,326 | ||
| R | 2,104 | 5,051 | 7,160 | ||
| R | 2,860 | 5,180 | 8,060 | ||
| R | 2,677 | 4,798 | 7,487 | ||
| R | 3,569 | 4,827 | 8,430 | ||
| R | 1,141 | 4,906 | 6,052 | ||
| R | 1,451 | 3,274 | 4,943 | ||
| R | 1,621 | 4,252 | 5,909 | ||
| R | 1,171 | 2,383 | 3,650 | ||
| O | 1,094 | 1,085 | 3,322 | ||
| R | 1,165 | 2,594 | 3,816 | ||
| R | 1,050 | 2,152 | 3,268 | ||
| R | 1,198 | 2,241 | 3,487 | ||
| R | 969 | 1,921 | 2,979 | ||
| R | 832 | 1,080 | 2,017 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
15.4%
American
12.6%
Irish
9.5%
German
7.8%
Scottish
1.4%
Italian
0.9%
French
0.6%
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: 40.1 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
$57,771
Laurel County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Laurel County$57,771
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Laurel 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 higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1826.2%
Working age (18–64)19.0%
Seniors (65+)16.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.6%
speak English only
Spanish0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other Indo-European0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Laurel County, anchored by London in southeastern Kentucky, recorded an R+69.8 presidential margin in 2024 — among the most lopsided results in a state where rural Appalachian counties have shifted sharply over the past two decades.
The Republican margin here reached seventy points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was seventy points.
A population of 62,983, a 95% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $57,771 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Washington County and Pulaski 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.
Laurel County, Kentucky. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/21125/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Laurel County, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Laurel County, Kentucky voted Republican by 69.7 points (R+70), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 27,938 votes cast, 4,037 went Democratic and 23,516 went Republican.
What is Laurel County, Kentucky's political typology?
Akashic places Laurel 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 0 times, Republican 33 times, and other 1 times.
How many people live in Laurel County, Kentucky?
Laurel County, Kentucky has a population of 62,983 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Laurel County, Kentucky?
Median household income in Laurel County, Kentucky is $57,771 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Laurel County, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Laurel County, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 0 went Democratic and 33 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.