Dawes County, Nebraska: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+47%. Republican peak: R+62 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+47MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 8,1402024 5-year
- Median household income
- $56,2802024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 87.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 1892MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+62 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Lincoln County, NM · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Dawes CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Dawes 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 | +35.3% |
| 1896 | +4.7% |
| 1900 | −2.1% |
| 1904 | −46.4% |
| 1908 | −6.8% |
| 1912 | +18.1% |
| 1916 | +17.7% |
| 1920 | −32.3% |
| 1924 | −25.7% |
| 1928 | −47.1% |
| 1932 | +7.7% |
| 1936 | +13.7% |
| 1940 | −28.5% |
| 1944 | −31.0% |
| 1948 | −23.1% |
| 1952 | −51.2% |
| 1956 | −47.7% |
| 1960 | −41.7% |
| 1964 | −23.2% |
| 1968 | −51.4% |
| 1972 | −61.5% |
| 1976 | −29.7% |
| 1980 | −59.9% |
| 1984 | −58.2% |
| 1988 | −39.7% |
| 1992 | −23.9% |
| 1996 | −24.7% |
| 2000 | −47.7% |
| 2004 | −42.3% |
| 2008 | −28.9% |
| 2012 | −36.1% |
| 2016 | −49.8% |
| 2020 | −44.5% |
| 2024 | −46.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 992 | 2,812 | 3,889 | ||
| R | 1,082 | 2,931 | 4,151 | ||
| R | 801 | 2,632 | 3,676 | ||
| R | 1,132 | 2,478 | 3,728 | ||
| R | 1,285 | 2,376 | 3,775 | ||
| R | 1,119 | 2,809 | 3,994 | ||
| R | 823 | 2,549 | 3,621 | ||
| R | 1,108 | 1,991 | 3,575 | ||
| R | 987 | 1,961 | 4,068 | ||
| R | 1,123 | 2,621 | 3,771 | ||
| R | 865 | 3,326 | 4,232 | ||
| R | 705 | 3,283 | 4,306 | ||
| R | 1,286 | 2,446 | 3,910 | ||
| R | 711 | 2,987 | 3,698 | ||
| R | 741 | 2,600 | 3,614 | ||
| R | 1,569 | 2,518 | 4,087 | ||
| R | 1,279 | 3,106 | 4,385 | ||
| R | 893 | 2,523 | 3,416 | ||
| R | 1,157 | 3,583 | 4,740 | ||
| R | 1,499 | 2,399 | 3,898 | ||
| R | 1,447 | 2,747 | 4,194 | ||
| R | 1,771 | 3,184 | 4,955 | ||
| D | 2,784 | 2,083 | 5,122 | ||
| D | 2,457 | 2,095 | 4,672 | ||
| R | 1,173 | 3,276 | 4,468 | ||
| O | 595 | 1,575 | 3,818 | ||
| R | 900 | 1,801 | 2,788 | ||
| D | 1,088 | 751 | 1,905 | ||
| O | 583 | 298 | 1,571 | ||
| R | 727 | 836 | 1,608 | ||
| R | 247 | 818 | 1,231 | ||
| R | 587 | 613 | 1,243 | ||
| D | 916 | 832 | 1,795 | ||
| D | 803 | 190 | 1,736 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
31.1%
English
23.9%
Irish
10.0%
French
3.2%
American
2.6%
Scottish
2.5%
Italian
2.2%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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: 35.8 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
$56,280
Dawes County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Dawes County$56,280
Nebraska$76,475
United States$80,734
Dawes 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
13.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 186.7%
Working age (18–64)15.6%
Seniors (65+)8.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.6%
speak English only
Spanish1.8%
Other languages1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other Indo-European0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 58.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Dawes County, anchored by Chadron in the Pine Ridge region, delivered a 47-point Republican presidential margin in 2024 — a result consistent with its sparse, ranching-dominated economy and a population that has trended steadily more Republican over the past two decades.
The Republican margin here reached sixty-two points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-seven points.
A population of 8,140, a 87% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $56,280 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Lincoln County and Churchill 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.
Dawes County, Nebraska. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/31045/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Dawes County, Nebraska vote in 2024?
In 2024, Dawes County, Nebraska voted Republican by 46.8 points (R+47), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 3,889 votes cast, 992 went Democratic and 2,812 went Republican.
What is Dawes County, Nebraska's political typology?
Akashic places Dawes County, Nebraska 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 5 times, Republican 27 times, and other 2 times.
When did Dawes County, Nebraska last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Dawes County, Nebraska voted Democratic was 1936.
How many people live in Dawes County, Nebraska?
Dawes County, Nebraska has a population of 8,140 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Dawes County, Nebraska?
Median household income in Dawes County, Nebraska is $56,280 — below the national median of $80,734. The Nebraska state median is $76,475.
What is the political history of Dawes County, Nebraska?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Dawes County, Nebraska from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.