Lewis and Clark County, Montana: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+6%. Democratic peak: D+57 in 1896.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+6MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 73,4642024 5-year
- Median household income
- $78,2372024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+57 in 1896MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+29 in 1956MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Albany County, WY · similarity 0.90
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Lewis and Clark CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Lewis and Clark 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 | +1.5% |
| 1896 | +57.5% |
| 1900 | +14.8% |
| 1904 | −21.0% |
| 1908 | +0.7% |
| 1912 | +10.2% |
| 1916 | +11.5% |
| 1920 | −28.0% |
| 1924 | −22.7% |
| 1928 | −15.0% |
| 1932 | +12.1% |
| 1936 | +30.5% |
| 1940 | +9.8% |
| 1944 | +2.8% |
| 1948 | −4.2% |
| 1952 | −25.3% |
| 1956 | −28.8% |
| 1960 | −9.4% |
| 1964 | +9.9% |
| 1968 | −18.4% |
| 1972 | −26.8% |
| 1976 | −11.0% |
| 1980 | −25.0% |
| 1984 | −21.2% |
| 1988 | +4.2% |
| 1992 | +6.7% |
| 1996 | −0.5% |
| 2000 | −18.7% |
| 2004 | −12.7% |
| 2008 | +6.5% |
| 2012 | −3.6% |
| 2016 | −6.8% |
| 2020 | −3.9% |
| 2024 | −5.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 19,085 | 21,479 | 42,023 | ||
| R | 19,743 | 21,409 | 42,265 | ||
| R | 14,478 | 16,895 | 35,296 | ||
| R | 15,620 | 16,803 | 33,318 | ||
| D | 17,114 | 14,966 | 32,873 | ||
| R | 12,717 | 16,494 | 29,843 | ||
| R | 9,982 | 15,091 | 27,269 | ||
| R | 11,535 | 11,665 | 26,547 | ||
| D | 11,117 | 9,351 | 26,179 | ||
| D | 11,932 | 10,946 | 23,334 | ||
| R | 8,768 | 13,569 | 22,626 | ||
| R | 6,815 | 12,128 | 21,212 | ||
| R | 8,118 | 10,155 | 18,517 | ||
| R | 6,081 | 10,719 | 17,316 | ||
| R | 5,379 | 7,979 | 14,115 | ||
| D | 7,506 | 6,155 | 13,687 | ||
| R | 6,008 | 7,260 | 13,285 | ||
| R | 4,397 | 7,959 | 12,356 | ||
| R | 4,563 | 7,663 | 12,246 | ||
| R | 4,745 | 5,174 | 10,176 | ||
| D | 4,737 | 4,482 | 9,258 | ||
| D | 5,814 | 4,762 | 10,683 | ||
| D | 5,614 | 2,951 | 8,725 | ||
| D | 4,714 | 3,671 | 8,596 | ||
| R | 3,278 | 4,441 | 7,744 | ||
| R | 1,869 | 3,433 | 6,875 | ||
| R | 2,413 | 4,348 | 6,913 | ||
| D | 4,337 | 3,423 | 7,962 | ||
| O | 1,505 | 1,062 | 4,335 | ||
| D | 2,062 | 2,033 | 4,430 | ||
| R | 1,543 | 2,505 | 4,588 | ||
| D | 2,763 | 2,043 | 4,861 | ||
| D | 3,939 | 1,057 | 5,016 | ||
| D | 2,093 | 2,014 | 5,280 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
23.5%
Irish
15.9%
English
15.4%
American
5.9%
Italian
3.6%
French
3.1%
Scottish
3.0%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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: 41.8 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
$78,237
Lewis and Clark County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Lewis and Clark County$78,237
Montana$72,509
United States$80,734
Lewis and Clark 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
8.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 185.7%
Working age (18–64)8.6%
Seniors (65+)10.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.2%
Spanish0.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 65.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Helena and a sizable state-government workforce, Lewis and Clark voted within single digits in several recent cycles before settling at R+5.7 in 2024 — a narrower margin than most Montana counties but a notable shift from its earlier swing-county status.
The Republican margin here reached twenty-nine points in 1956. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was six points.
A population of 73,464, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $78,237 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Albany County and Klickitat 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.
Lewis and Clark County, Montana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/30049/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Montana
More stable rural right counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Lewis and Clark County, Montana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Lewis and Clark County, Montana voted Republican by 5.7 points (R+6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 42,023 votes cast, 19,085 went Democratic and 21,479 went Republican.
What is Lewis and Clark County, Montana's political typology?
Akashic places Lewis and Clark County, Montana in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. 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 13 times, Republican 20 times, and other 1 times.
When did Lewis and Clark County, Montana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Lewis and Clark County, Montana voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Lewis and Clark County, Montana?
Lewis and Clark County, Montana has a population of 73,464 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lewis and Clark County, Montana?
Median household income in Lewis and Clark County, Montana is $78,237 — below the national median of $80,734. The Montana state median is $72,509.
What is the political history of Lewis and Clark County, Montana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Lewis and Clark County, Montana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.