Buchanan County, Missouri: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+28%. Democratic peak: D+36 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+28MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 83,5682024 5-year
- Median household income
- $62,1582024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 80.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+36 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+31 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Crawford County, KS · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Buchanan CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Buchanan 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 | +11.1% |
| 1896 | +3.4% |
| 1900 | +3.4% |
| 1904 | −5.7% |
| 1908 | +7.8% |
| 1912 | +26.7% |
| 1916 | +16.8% |
| 1920 | −3.0% |
| 1924 | −7.9% |
| 1928 | −25.6% |
| 1932 | +28.0% |
| 1936 | +28.7% |
| 1940 | +16.7% |
| 1944 | +14.1% |
| 1948 | +27.7% |
| 1952 | −5.3% |
| 1956 | −5.0% |
| 1960 | −5.1% |
| 1964 | +35.5% |
| 1968 | −0.7% |
| 1972 | −31.4% |
| 1976 | +2.9% |
| 1980 | +1.2% |
| 1984 | −12.4% |
| 1988 | +9.6% |
| 1992 | +14.2% |
| 1996 | +9.8% |
| 2000 | +1.9% |
| 2004 | −5.3% |
| 2008 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | −8.7% |
| 2016 | −25.9% |
| 2020 | −24.5% |
| 2024 | −27.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 12,598 | 22,606 | 35,905 | ||
| R | 13,445 | 22,450 | 36,713 | ||
| R | 12,013 | 21,320 | 35,964 | ||
| R | 15,594 | 18,660 | 35,106 | ||
| D | 19,164 | 19,110 | 39,040 | ||
| R | 17,799 | 19,812 | 37,950 | ||
| D | 17,085 | 16,423 | 34,751 | ||
| D | 15,848 | 12,610 | 33,018 | ||
| D | 16,570 | 11,275 | 37,365 | ||
| D | 18,601 | 15,336 | 34,089 | ||
| R | 15,369 | 19,735 | 35,104 | ||
| D | 16,967 | 16,551 | 35,150 | ||
| D | 17,427 | 16,446 | 34,124 | ||
| R | 11,395 | 21,850 | 33,245 | ||
| R | 15,860 | 16,101 | 34,713 | ||
| D | 24,164 | 11,501 | 35,665 | ||
| R | 19,348 | 21,448 | 40,796 | ||
| R | 18,384 | 20,311 | 38,695 | ||
| R | 19,854 | 22,087 | 41,985 | ||
| D | 22,975 | 13,002 | 36,034 | ||
| D | 20,091 | 15,113 | 35,224 | ||
| D | 24,482 | 17,484 | 41,995 | ||
| D | 28,825 | 15,912 | 44,933 | ||
| D | 26,060 | 14,602 | 40,922 | ||
| R | 12,110 | 20,459 | 32,624 | ||
| R | 14,759 | 17,509 | 34,926 | ||
| R | 16,188 | 17,191 | 33,714 | ||
| D | 10,973 | 7,761 | 19,134 | ||
| D | 8,869 | 4,412 | 16,676 | ||
| D | 9,836 | 8,394 | 18,513 | ||
| R | 7,736 | 8,703 | 16,859 | ||
| D | 8,925 | 8,329 | 17,532 | ||
| D | 7,336 | 6,854 | 14,337 | ||
| D | 6,949 | 5,522 | 12,872 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
22.5%
English
11.8%
Irish
11.3%
American
5.6%
Polish
1.9%
Scottish
1.9%
French
1.7%
African American
4.6%
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: 38.9 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
$62,158
Buchanan County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Buchanan County$62,158
Missouri$70,702
United States$80,734
Buchanan 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
16.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.1%
Working age (18–64)15.3%
Seniors (65+)9.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.8%
speak English only
Spanish4.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Other Indo-European0.7%
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 55.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Anchored by St. Joseph, Missouri's fourth-largest city, Buchanan County has moved from a reliably competitive battleground to a consistent Republican stronghold, posting a 28-point presidential margin in 2024 despite its urban core.
The Republican margin here reached thirty-one points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-eight points.
A population of 83,568, a 81% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $62,158 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Crawford County and Montgomery 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.
Buchanan County, Missouri. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/29021/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Buchanan County, Missouri vote in 2024?
In 2024, Buchanan County, Missouri voted Republican by 27.9 points (R+28), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 35,905 votes cast, 12,598 went Democratic and 22,606 went Republican.
What is Buchanan County, Missouri's political typology?
Akashic places Buchanan County, Missouri in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. 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 19 times, Republican 15 times, and other 0 times.
When did Buchanan County, Missouri last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Buchanan County, Missouri voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Buchanan County, Missouri?
Buchanan County, Missouri has a population of 83,568 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Buchanan County, Missouri?
Median household income in Buchanan County, Missouri is $62,158 — below the national median of $80,734. The Missouri state median is $70,702.
What is the political history of Buchanan County, Missouri?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Buchanan County, Missouri from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 19 went Democratic and 15 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.