Berkshire County, Massachusetts: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted D+40%. Democratic peak: D+54 in 2012.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+40MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 129,4302024 5-year
- Median household income
- $76,0132024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 85.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+54 in 2012MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+41 in 1896MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Cuyahoga County, OH · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Berkshire CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Berkshire 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 | −4.4% |
| 1896 | −40.5% |
| 1900 | −23.6% |
| 1904 | −22.2% |
| 1908 | −20.2% |
| 1912 | −1.1% |
| 1916 | −7.6% |
| 1920 | −28.8% |
| 1924 | −28.3% |
| 1928 | +0.5% |
| 1932 | +0.1% |
| 1936 | +12.1% |
| 1940 | +11.3% |
| 1944 | +11.4% |
| 1948 | +5.4% |
| 1952 | −12.6% |
| 1956 | −23.9% |
| 1960 | +20.1% |
| 1964 | +52.4% |
| 1968 | +23.9% |
| 1972 | +7.6% |
| 1976 | +17.2% |
| 1980 | +3.5% |
| 1984 | −6.2% |
| 1988 | +22.4% |
| 1992 | +32.7% |
| 1996 | +43.2% |
| 2000 | +37.2% |
| 2004 | +47.4% |
| 2008 | +52.4% |
| 2012 | +53.6% |
| 2016 | +40.4% |
| 2020 | +46.9% |
| 2024 | +39.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 47,094 | 19,805 | 68,674 | ||
| D | 51,705 | 18,064 | 71,771 | ||
| D | 43,714 | 16,839 | 66,508 | ||
| D | 48,843 | 14,252 | 64,486 | ||
| D | 49,558 | 14,876 | 66,130 | ||
| D | 47,743 | 16,806 | 65,291 | ||
| D | 37,934 | 15,805 | 59,411 | ||
| D | 39,338 | 13,055 | 60,774 | ||
| D | 36,857 | 14,726 | 67,746 | ||
| D | 38,217 | 24,116 | 62,859 | ||
| R | 29,745 | 33,712 | 63,785 | ||
| D | 29,458 | 27,063 | 68,031 | ||
| D | 39,337 | 27,462 | 68,871 | ||
| D | 35,391 | 30,380 | 66,284 | ||
| D | 38,497 | 23,078 | 64,465 | ||
| D | 48,839 | 15,160 | 64,331 | ||
| D | 41,132 | 27,335 | 68,629 | ||
| R | 25,361 | 41,355 | 66,973 | ||
| R | 29,785 | 38,413 | 68,441 | ||
| D | 30,668 | 27,482 | 59,267 | ||
| D | 31,212 | 24,830 | 56,227 | ||
| D | 32,620 | 25,973 | 58,880 | ||
| D | 29,087 | 22,607 | 53,568 | ||
| D | 23,252 | 23,186 | 48,220 | ||
| D | 24,075 | 23,855 | 48,174 | ||
| R | 10,956 | 21,106 | 35,815 | ||
| R | 10,956 | 20,138 | 31,910 | ||
| R | 8,357 | 9,787 | 18,789 | ||
| R | 6,211 | 6,397 | 17,203 | ||
| R | 5,903 | 9,137 | 15,981 | ||
| R | 5,800 | 9,310 | 15,821 | ||
| R | 5,461 | 8,980 | 14,896 | ||
| R | 3,913 | 9,710 | 14,299 | ||
| R | 6,697 | 7,336 | 14,498 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
19.0%
Italian
14.8%
English
13.8%
German
10.4%
French
9.0%
Polish
6.6%
American
4.2%
African American
2.1%
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: 47.3 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
$76,013
Berkshire County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Berkshire County$76,013
Massachusetts$103,960
United States$80,734
Berkshire County ranks in the top 25% 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
11.4%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.0%
Working age (18–64)10.7%
Seniors (65+)9.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.9%
speak English only
Spanish3.7%
Other Indo-European2.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
Other languages0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Despite its rural and post-industrial character, Berkshire County delivers Democratic presidential margins that rival dense urban cores, a pattern rooted in its arts-economy towns and a college presence anchored by Williams and Bard at Simon's Rock.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached fifty-four points in 2012; the Republican margin reached forty-one points in 1896. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved seven points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 86% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $76,013, and a 11% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Cuyahoga County and Philadelphia 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.
Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/25003/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Massachusetts
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Frequently asked questions
How did Berkshire County, Massachusetts vote in 2024?
In 2024, Berkshire County, Massachusetts voted Democratic by 39.7 points (D+40), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 68,674 votes cast, 47,094 went Democratic and 19,805 went Republican.
What is Berkshire County, Massachusetts's political typology?
Akashic places Berkshire County, Massachusetts 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 22 times, Republican 12 times, and other 0 times.
When did Berkshire County, Massachusetts last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Berkshire County, Massachusetts voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Berkshire County, Massachusetts?
Berkshire County, Massachusetts has a population of 129,430 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Berkshire County, Massachusetts?
Median household income in Berkshire County, Massachusetts is $76,013 — below the national median of $80,734. The Massachusetts state median is $103,960.
What is the political history of Berkshire County, Massachusetts?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Berkshire County, Massachusetts from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 12 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.