Nelson County, Kentucky: Evangelical Deep South county. In 2024, voted R+42%. Democratic peak: D+53 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+42MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Evangelical Deep SouthAkashic typology
- Population
- 47,6062024 5-year
- Median household income
- $69,5622024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+53 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+42 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Meade County, KY · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Nelson CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Nelson 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 | +27.2% |
| 1896 | +20.8% |
| 1900 | +26.6% |
| 1904 | +25.7% |
| 1908 | +25.8% |
| 1912 | +40.3% |
| 1916 | +25.9% |
| 1920 | +26.3% |
| 1924 | +29.6% |
| 1928 | +15.9% |
| 1932 | +42.9% |
| 1936 | +36.5% |
| 1940 | +33.0% |
| 1944 | +26.0% |
| 1948 | +34.5% |
| 1952 | +5.4% |
| 1956 | −11.8% |
| 1960 | +21.9% |
| 1964 | +53.5% |
| 1968 | +15.1% |
| 1972 | −10.2% |
| 1976 | +22.0% |
| 1980 | +23.8% |
| 1984 | −17.9% |
| 1988 | −4.9% |
| 1992 | +8.1% |
| 1996 | +6.7% |
| 2000 | −16.6% |
| 2004 | −21.6% |
| 2008 | −13.7% |
| 2012 | −16.5% |
| 2016 | −33.6% |
| 2020 | −36.6% |
| 2024 | −41.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 6,515 | 16,052 | 22,852 | ||
| R | 7,188 | 15,703 | 23,256 | ||
| R | 6,434 | 13,431 | 20,802 | ||
| R | 7,611 | 10,673 | 18,533 | ||
| R | 7,654 | 10,139 | 18,146 | ||
| R | 6,524 | 10,161 | 16,844 | ||
| R | 5,481 | 7,714 | 13,488 | ||
| D | 5,392 | 4,645 | 11,159 | ||
| D | 5,437 | 4,495 | 11,672 | ||
| R | 4,788 | 5,283 | 10,179 | ||
| R | 4,199 | 6,044 | 10,319 | ||
| D | 5,514 | 3,349 | 9,114 | ||
| D | 4,454 | 2,804 | 7,504 | ||
| R | 2,828 | 3,495 | 6,528 | ||
| D | 3,420 | 2,373 | 6,916 | ||
| D | 5,586 | 1,683 | 7,296 | ||
| D | 4,713 | 3,021 | 7,734 | ||
| R | 3,240 | 4,107 | 7,365 | ||
| D | 3,417 | 3,064 | 6,494 | ||
| D | 3,556 | 1,715 | 5,336 | ||
| D | 3,648 | 2,136 | 5,811 | ||
| D | 4,193 | 2,109 | 6,310 | ||
| D | 4,234 | 1,913 | 6,358 | ||
| D | 5,272 | 2,100 | 7,401 | ||
| D | 4,031 | 2,926 | 6,960 | ||
| D | 3,863 | 2,082 | 6,024 | ||
| D | 5,061 | 2,945 | 8,033 | ||
| D | 2,639 | 1,546 | 4,220 | ||
| D | 2,275 | 751 | 3,784 | ||
| D | 2,452 | 1,436 | 3,935 | ||
| D | 2,160 | 1,263 | 3,485 | ||
| D | 2,438 | 1,407 | 3,869 | ||
| D | 2,223 | 1,446 | 3,740 | ||
| D | 1,858 | 1,025 | 3,058 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
16.7%
American
13.7%
Irish
11.6%
German
10.6%
Italian
2.2%
Scottish
2.0%
French
1.3%
African American
4.2%
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: 39.5 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
$69,562
Nelson County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Nelson County$69,562
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Nelson 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
10.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.7%
Working age (18–64)8.6%
Seniors (65+)18.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.8%
speak English only
Spanish1.5%
Other Indo-European1.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 55.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Nelson County, home to Bardstown and the heart of Kentucky's bourbon distilling region, has shifted steadily toward lopsided Republican margins over two decades, reflecting a rural realignment that mirrors the state's broader electoral trajectory.
The Republican margin here reached its widest at forty-two points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-two points.
A median household income of $69,562, a 11% poverty rate, and a 90% non-Hispanic-white share describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Meade County and Scotland 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.
Nelson County, Kentucky. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/21179/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More evangelical deep south counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Nelson County, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Nelson County, Kentucky voted Republican by 41.7 points (R+42), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 22,852 votes cast, 6,515 went Democratic and 16,052 went Republican.
What is Nelson County, Kentucky's political typology?
Akashic places Nelson County, Kentucky in the "Evangelical Deep South" typology — Deeply Republican, heavily Baptist counties of the Deep South. 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 23 times, Republican 11 times, and other 0 times.
When did Nelson County, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Nelson County, Kentucky voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Nelson County, Kentucky?
Nelson County, Kentucky has a population of 47,606 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Nelson County, Kentucky?
Median household income in Nelson County, Kentucky is $69,562 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Nelson County, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Nelson County, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 23 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The county's typology — "Evangelical Deep South" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.