Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupHarlan CountyNebraskaUnited States
German39.7%31.0%12.5%
English13.3%9.4%9.5%
Swedish7.5%3.1%—
Irish6.6%11.7%9.4%
American2.5%3.5%5.3%
Dutch2.2%——
Czech1.8%3.4%—
French1.6%—1.6%
Mexican1.4%8.7%11.3%
Spaniard0.2%——
Japanese0.9%—0.2%
Filipino0.2%0.2%0.9%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Harlan County
Nebraska
United States
Median age
47.3
37.3
39.1
Age 18–24
6.3%
9.8%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
28.5%
16.8%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Harlan County
Nebraska
United States
Median household income
$70,625
$76,475
$84,427
Poverty rate
6.7%
10.6%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
29.2%
34.7%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Harlan County
Nebraska
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
3.3%
12.8%
22.3%
Spanish
1.2%
8.5%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Harlan County
Nebraska
United States
Catholic
6.7%
19.1%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
14.5%
14.2%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
61.5%
50.8%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
17.3%
12.1%
5.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Harlan County, Nebraska
Precinct data
Results by precinct
2 precincts · 1,802 votes
Precinct boundaries and identifiers are cycle-specific. This table does not join rows across years without a validated crosswalk.
Harlan County precinct-level presidential election results for 2024
Precinct -HARLANHARLAN
166
931
12
1,109
15.0%
83.9%
R+69.0
Precinct -ALMAALMA
114
575
4
693
16.5%
83.0%
R+66.5
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−30.3%
1896
+15.4%
1900
+4.9%
1904
−43.1%
1908
+3.2%
1912
+28.8%
1916
+19.5%
1920
−26.5%
1924
−17.1%
1928
−42.7%
1932
+31.3%
1936
+10.3%
1940
−23.5%
1944
−32.9%
1948
−10.0%
1952
−51.8%
1956
−37.1%
1960
−32.8%
1964
−3.6%
1968
−37.4%
1972
−48.4%
1976
−19.8%
1980
−52.0%
1984
−54.4%
1988
−31.5%
1992
−23.8%
1996
−32.3%
2000
−49.7%
2004
−56.4%
2008
−52.5%
2012
−58.5%
2016
−67.8%
2020
−68.9%
2024
−67.9%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
15.5%Harris280
83.4%Trump1,506
0.3%Oliver6 +3
R+67.9
D+1.0
R+66.5
1,805
All 6 candidates in 2024 · 4 minor / independent
Donald J TrumpRepublican83.4%1,506
Kamala D HarrisDemocratic15.5%280
Chase OliverNonpartisan0.3%6
Cornel WestNonpartisan0.3%5
Jill SteinNonpartisan0.3%5
OtherAll other candidates0.2%3
R
14.6%Biden282
83.5%Trump1,615
1.6%Jorgensen31
R+68.9
R+1.1
R+73.4
1,934
R
13.9%Clinton254
81.7%Trump1,496
3.4%Johnson62
R+67.8
R+9.2
R+69.9
1,832
R
19.9%Obama354
78.5%Romney1,395
1.1%Gray20
R+58.5
R+6.1
R+62.4
1,778
R
22.8%Obama402
75.3%McCain1,329
2.0%
R+52.5
D+3.9
R+59.8
1,766
R
21.0%Kerry398
77.3%Bush1,467
1.7%
R+56.4
R+6.7
R+53.9
1,897
R
23.7%Gore438
73.3%Bush1,358
2.0%Nader37
R+49.7
R+17.4
R+50.2
1,852
R
28.0%Clinton520
60.3%Dole1,120
10.9%Perot203
R+32.3
R+8.5
R+40.8
1,858
R
23.1%Clinton488
46.9%Bush992
29.6%Perot626
R+23.8
D+7.7
R+29.4
2,116
R
33.7%Dukakis725
65.1%Bush1,403
1.2%
R+31.5
D+22.9
R+23.7
2,154
R
22.4%Mondale493
76.8%Reagan1,692
0.8%
R+54.4
R+2.5
R+36.2
2,203
R
21.0%Carter486
72.9%Reagan1,690
6.1%
R+52.0
R+32.2
R+42.2
2,317
R
39.0%Carter879
58.8%Ford1,325
2.3%
R+19.8
D+28.6
R+21.8
2,255
R
25.8%McGovern539
74.2%Nixon1,549
0.0%
R+48.4
R+11.0
R+25.2
2,088
R
26.6%Humphrey579
64.0%Nixon1,392
9.3%
R+37.4
R+33.8
R+36.7
2,174
R
48.2%Johnson1,195
51.8%Goldwater1,283
0.0%
R+3.6
D+29.3
R+26.1
2,478
R
33.6%Kennedy893
66.4%Nixon1,766
0.0%
R+32.8
D+4.3
R+33.0
2,659
R
31.4%Stevenson848
68.6%Eisenhower1,850
0.0%
R+37.1
D+14.7
R+21.7
2,698
R
24.1%Stevenson730
75.9%Eisenhower2,300
0.0%
R+51.8
R+41.9
R+41.1
3,030
R
45.0%Truman1,220
55.0%Dewey1,490
0.0%
R+10.0
D+22.9
R+14.4
2,710
R
33.6%Roosevelt1,006
66.4%Dewey1,991
0.0%
R+32.9
R+9.4
R+40.4
2,997
R
38.3%Roosevelt1,353
61.7%Willkie2,182
0.0%
R+23.5
R+33.7
R+33.4
3,535
D
54.6%Roosevelt2,084
44.4%Landon1,692
1.0%
D+10.3
R+21.0
R+14.0
3,814
D
64.1%Roosevelt2,486
32.8%Hoover1,272
3.1%
D+31.3
D+74.0
D+13.5
3,879
R
27.3%Smith1,055
70.0%Hoover2,702
2.7%
R+42.7
R+25.6
R+25.2
3,861
R
33.0%Davis1,216
50.0%Coolidge1,845
16.4%La Follette604
R+17.1
D+9.5
D+8.1
3,689
R
33.1%Cox974
59.6%Harding1,756
7.4%
R+26.5
R+46.0
R+0.3
2,947
D
56.9%Wilson1,267
37.5%Hughes834
5.6%
D+19.5
R+9.3
D+16.3
2,225
D
44.6%Wilson918
15.8%Taft325
39.6%
D+28.8
D+25.6
D+9.3
2,059
D
48.2%Bryan1,158
45.0%Taft1,081
6.8%
D+3.2
D+46.3
D+12.8
2,403
R
14.7%Parker299
57.8%Roosevelt1,178
27.6%
R+43.1
R+48.0
R+23.4
2,039
D
49.7%Bryan977
44.7%McKinley880
5.6%
D+4.9
R+10.4
D+12.5
1,967
D
56.1%Bryan1,151
40.8%McKinley836
3.1%
D+15.4
D+45.7
D+21.4
2,050
O
6.6%Cleveland101
36.9%Harrison568
56.6%
Weaver +19.7
—
R+32.0
1,540
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No data
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Congressional elections · 3 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
R
18.2%653
81.8%2,926
3,579
2020
R
11.3%208
83.0%1,529
1,842
2018
R
19.3%287
77.2%1,149
1,488
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2026R+60.5
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+67.9
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 7.4 points more Democratic.
Net migration over time, and who arrivals are — where they came from and what those places vote
+3 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net +31 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Arrivals reported $58,855 in average income, against $80,077 for residents who stayed — 27% lower. (IRS SOI, 2022–23)
Where departures went households, 2022–23
Phelps County, NE22
Migration is one input to a place’s political change, not its cause — a shift can also come from residents changing their minds, generational turnover, or turnout. These figures describe the places people moved between; they do not measure how any mover voted.
Domestic migration in Harlan County, NE in Harlan County, NE: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+14
2012
−2
2013
+89
2014
−31
2015
−34
2016
+15
2017
−18
2018
−34
2019
+3
2021
+47
2022
−36
2023
+33
2024
−18
2025
+3
Harlan County, anchored by the reservoir bearing its name in south-central Nebraska, recorded an R+68 presidential margin in 2024, placing it among the state's most one-sided rural counties. Its shrinking, agriculture-dependent population has trended heavily Republican for decades.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 31.3 points in 1932 and a Republican high of 68.9 points in 2020. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved 1.0 points toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was 67.9 points.
A population of 2,847, a 94% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $70,625 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Decatur County and Phelps County.
Akashic
Political twins — counties
The counties whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
In 2024, Harlan County, Nebraska voted Republican by 67.9 points (R+67.9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,805 votes cast, 280 went Democratic and 1,506 went Republican.
When did Harlan County, Nebraska last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Harlan County, Nebraska voted Democratic was 1936.
How many people live in Harlan County, Nebraska?
Harlan County, Nebraska has a population of 2,847 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Harlan County, Nebraska?
Median household income in Harlan County, Nebraska is $70,625 — below the national median of $80,734. The Nebraska state median is $76,475.
What is the political history of Harlan County, Nebraska?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Harlan County, Nebraska from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 26 went Republican.
