Bristol County, Massachusetts: Florida Surge county. In 2024, voted D+1%. Democratic peak: D+58 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+1MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Florida SurgeAkashic typology
- Population
- 582,2702024 5-year
- Median household income
- $85,6252024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 76.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 10.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+58 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+55 in 1896MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Marlboro County, SC · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Bristol CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Bristol 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 | −18.0% |
| 1896 | −54.9% |
| 1900 | −33.5% |
| 1904 | −24.5% |
| 1908 | −29.2% |
| 1912 | −2.3% |
| 1916 | −10.7% |
| 1920 | −50.6% |
| 1924 | −44.0% |
| 1928 | +3.5% |
| 1932 | +10.0% |
| 1936 | +22.0% |
| 1940 | +23.6% |
| 1944 | +19.5% |
| 1948 | +25.2% |
| 1952 | −2.4% |
| 1956 | −15.9% |
| 1960 | +33.8% |
| 1964 | +57.7% |
| 1968 | +34.2% |
| 1972 | +9.9% |
| 1976 | +24.2% |
| 1980 | +3.1% |
| 1984 | +0.4% |
| 1988 | +12.4% |
| 1992 | +23.6% |
| 1996 | +40.6% |
| 2000 | +34.8% |
| 2004 | +28.1% |
| 2008 | +23.2% |
| 2012 | +20.5% |
| 2016 | +9.4% |
| 2020 | +11.9% |
| 2024 | +1.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 137,813 | 134,201 | 278,002 | ||
| D | 153,377 | 119,872 | 281,364 | ||
| D | 129,540 | 105,443 | 256,686 | ||
| D | 143,433 | 93,898 | 241,509 | ||
| D | 146,861 | 90,531 | 243,120 | ||
| D | 147,854 | 82,524 | 232,878 | ||
| D | 136,325 | 62,848 | 211,337 | ||
| D | 127,725 | 47,164 | 198,213 | ||
| D | 102,406 | 52,370 | 211,754 | ||
| D | 107,854 | 83,797 | 193,530 | ||
| D | 94,010 | 93,232 | 188,039 | ||
| D | 83,460 | 77,545 | 188,605 | ||
| D | 116,318 | 69,957 | 191,771 | ||
| D | 103,163 | 84,390 | 188,768 | ||
| D | 119,439 | 56,672 | 183,569 | ||
| D | 146,885 | 39,230 | 186,636 | ||
| D | 130,049 | 64,290 | 194,722 | ||
| R | 79,357 | 109,542 | 189,365 | ||
| R | 93,444 | 98,105 | 192,011 | ||
| D | 106,741 | 63,216 | 172,551 | ||
| D | 90,529 | 60,880 | 151,692 | ||
| D | 97,571 | 60,143 | 158,391 | ||
| D | 80,805 | 49,754 | 141,145 | ||
| D | 62,474 | 50,846 | 116,675 | ||
| D | 59,257 | 55,205 | 115,755 | ||
| R | 19,802 | 58,929 | 88,980 | ||
| R | 17,719 | 56,734 | 77,032 | ||
| R | 18,065 | 22,578 | 42,050 | ||
| R | 12,420 | 13,279 | 37,963 | ||
| R | 10,719 | 20,683 | 34,144 | ||
| R | 11,103 | 18,742 | 31,235 | ||
| R | 9,355 | 19,396 | 29,947 | ||
| R | 6,022 | 21,629 | 28,435 | ||
| R | 10,825 | 15,732 | 27,256 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
16.8%
English
10.1%
Italian
8.1%
French
7.5%
German
3.6%
Polish
3.2%
American
2.9%
African American
3.6%
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: 40.9 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
$85,625
Bristol County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Bristol County$85,625
Massachusetts$103,960
United States$80,734
Bristol 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
11.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.7%
Working age (18–64)10.1%
Seniors (65+)13.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
78.3%
speak English only
Other Indo-European13.2%
Spanish6.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.3%
Other languages0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Bristol County, anchored by cities like New Bedford and Fall River, swung significantly rightward over the past decade — its 2024 presidential margin of D+1.3 made it among the most competitive counties in an otherwise heavily Democratic state.
The Democratic margin here once reached fifty-eight points in 1964. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved eleven points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was one point.
A population of 582,270, a 77% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $85,625 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Marlboro County and Hampton 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.
Bristol County, Massachusetts. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/25005/. 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 Bristol County, Massachusetts vote in 2024?
In 2024, Bristol County, Massachusetts voted Democratic by 1.3 points (D+1), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 278,002 votes cast, 137,813 went Democratic and 134,201 went Republican.
What is Bristol County, Massachusetts's political typology?
Akashic places Bristol County, Massachusetts in the "Florida Surge" typology — Florida coastal and retiree counties that moved sharply Republican across the Trump era. 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 Bristol County, Massachusetts last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Bristol County, Massachusetts voted Republican was 1956.
How many people live in Bristol County, Massachusetts?
Bristol County, Massachusetts has a population of 582,270 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Bristol County, Massachusetts?
Median household income in Bristol County, Massachusetts is $85,625 — above the national median of $80,734. The Massachusetts state median is $103,960.
What is the political history of Bristol County, Massachusetts?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Bristol County, Massachusetts from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 23 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The county's typology — "Florida Surge" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.