Dorchester County, Maryland: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+15%. Democratic peak: D+58 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+15MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 32,7542024 5-year
- Median household income
- $61,8392024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 61.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 24.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+58 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+52 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Polk County, FL · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Dorchester CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Dorchester 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 | −7.6% |
| 1896 | −7.0% |
| 1900 | No data |
| 1904 | No data |
| 1908 | No data |
| 1912 | +58.1% |
| 1916 | +5.3% |
| 1920 | −3.3% |
| 1924 | −4.7% |
| 1928 | −48.7% |
| 1932 | +13.4% |
| 1936 | +17.2% |
| 1940 | +21.1% |
| 1944 | +5.8% |
| 1948 | +9.1% |
| 1952 | −6.7% |
| 1956 | −21.8% |
| 1960 | +3.5% |
| 1964 | −7.7% |
| 1968 | −14.5% |
| 1972 | −51.6% |
| 1976 | −2.6% |
| 1980 | −2.4% |
| 1984 | −35.5% |
| 1988 | −26.0% |
| 1992 | −9.1% |
| 1996 | +2.7% |
| 2000 | −5.4% |
| 2004 | −17.9% |
| 2008 | −8.2% |
| 2012 | −4.7% |
| 2016 | −14.4% |
| 2020 | −11.9% |
| 2024 | −14.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 6,954 | 9,390 | 16,772 | ||
| R | 6,857 | 8,764 | 15,977 | ||
| R | 6,245 | 8,413 | 15,104 | ||
| R | 7,257 | 7,976 | 15,444 | ||
| R | 6,912 | 8,168 | 15,274 | ||
| R | 5,411 | 7,801 | 13,339 | ||
| R | 5,232 | 5,847 | 11,392 | ||
| D | 4,613 | 4,337 | 10,054 | ||
| R | 3,933 | 4,934 | 10,957 | ||
| R | 3,709 | 6,343 | 10,140 | ||
| R | 3,160 | 6,699 | 9,981 | ||
| R | 4,908 | 5,160 | 10,550 | ||
| R | 4,528 | 4,768 | 9,296 | ||
| R | 2,136 | 6,859 | 9,149 | ||
| R | 2,714 | 4,183 | 10,114 | ||
| R | 4,564 | 5,327 | 9,891 | ||
| D | 4,964 | 4,626 | 9,590 | ||
| R | 3,733 | 5,809 | 9,542 | ||
| R | 4,823 | 5,524 | 10,499 | ||
| D | 4,507 | 3,751 | 8,351 | ||
| D | 4,764 | 4,241 | 9,005 | ||
| D | 6,088 | 3,953 | 10,128 | ||
| D | 5,293 | 3,735 | 9,039 | ||
| D | 4,547 | 3,466 | 8,052 | ||
| R | 2,180 | 6,333 | 8,535 | ||
| R | 3,047 | 3,356 | 6,612 | ||
| R | 3,950 | 4,218 | 8,210 | ||
| D | 2,750 | 2,468 | 5,320 | ||
| D | 5,485 | 2,387 | 5,329 | ||
| — | 4,869 | 2,769 | 89 | ||
| — | 6,242 | 2,680 | 102 | ||
| — | 2,733 | 3,366 | 15 | ||
| R | 2,638 | 3,048 | 5,835 | ||
| R | 2,015 | 2,365 | 4,597 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.5%
German
12.1%
American
10.2%
Irish
9.8%
Italian
3.3%
Polish
2.3%
French
1.5%
African American
19.8%
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: 43.5 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
$61,839
Dorchester County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Dorchester County$61,839
Maryland$103,678
United States$80,734
Dorchester 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
17.1%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1829.4%
Working age (18–64)13.8%
Seniors (65+)14.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.9%
speak English only
Spanish4.3%
Other Indo-European1.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 64.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Dorchester's economy has long centered on the Bay's crabbing and farming industries, and its rural, majority-white electorate has shifted steadily rightward over the past two decades, delivering R+14.5 in 2024.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached fifty-eight points in 1912; the Republican margin reached fifty-two points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifteen points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 62% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $61,839, and a 17% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Polk County and Cape May 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.
Dorchester County, Maryland. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/24019/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Maryland
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Frequently asked questions
How did Dorchester County, Maryland vote in 2024?
In 2024, Dorchester County, Maryland voted Republican by 14.5 points (R+15), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 16,772 votes cast, 6,954 went Democratic and 9,390 went Republican.
What is Dorchester County, Maryland's political typology?
Akashic places Dorchester County, Maryland in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. 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 9 times, Republican 22 times, and other 0 times.
When did Dorchester County, Maryland last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Dorchester County, Maryland voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Dorchester County, Maryland?
Dorchester County, Maryland has a population of 32,754 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Dorchester County, Maryland?
Median household income in Dorchester County, Maryland is $61,839 — below the national median of $80,734. The Maryland state median is $103,678.
What is the political history of Dorchester County, Maryland?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Dorchester County, Maryland from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.