Washington County, Nebraska: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+42%. Republican peak: R+53 in 1984.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+42MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 21,1062024 5-year
- Median household income
- $94,3962024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 93.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+45 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+53 in 1984MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Adams County, NE · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Washington CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Washington 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 | +20.7% |
| 1896 | −6.7% |
| 1900 | −10.3% |
| 1904 | −37.0% |
| 1908 | −4.2% |
| 1912 | +20.8% |
| 1916 | +8.7% |
| 1920 | −29.4% |
| 1924 | −15.5% |
| 1928 | −17.9% |
| 1932 | +45.1% |
| 1936 | +20.3% |
| 1940 | −5.1% |
| 1944 | −11.1% |
| 1948 | −11.5% |
| 1952 | −38.2% |
| 1956 | −34.2% |
| 1960 | −38.0% |
| 1964 | +1.2% |
| 1968 | −36.9% |
| 1972 | −50.8% |
| 1976 | −25.6% |
| 1980 | −48.2% |
| 1984 | −53.4% |
| 1988 | −28.1% |
| 1992 | −23.1% |
| 1996 | −27.8% |
| 2000 | −37.2% |
| 2004 | −43.5% |
| 2008 | −26.3% |
| 2012 | −36.8% |
| 2016 | −44.3% |
| 2020 | −40.3% |
| 2024 | −42.2% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,538 | 8,855 | 12,607 | ||
| R | 3,554 | 8,583 | 12,467 | ||
| R | 2,623 | 7,424 | 10,832 | ||
| R | 3,132 | 6,899 | 10,246 | ||
| R | 3,711 | 6,425 | 10,320 | ||
| R | 2,754 | 7,083 | 9,950 | ||
| R | 2,550 | 5,758 | 8,626 | ||
| R | 2,248 | 4,391 | 7,700 | ||
| R | 2,116 | 4,042 | 8,340 | ||
| R | 2,567 | 4,587 | 7,190 | ||
| R | 1,565 | 5,191 | 6,791 | ||
| R | 1,454 | 4,570 | 6,463 | ||
| R | 2,233 | 3,799 | 6,111 | ||
| R | 1,401 | 4,290 | 5,691 | ||
| R | 1,279 | 3,063 | 4,834 | ||
| D | 2,701 | 2,638 | 5,339 | ||
| R | 1,694 | 3,772 | 5,466 | ||
| R | 1,731 | 3,531 | 5,262 | ||
| R | 1,685 | 3,770 | 5,455 | ||
| R | 1,906 | 2,400 | 4,306 | ||
| R | 2,274 | 2,844 | 5,118 | ||
| R | 2,636 | 2,922 | 5,558 | ||
| D | 3,426 | 2,263 | 5,734 | ||
| D | 3,709 | 1,382 | 5,157 | ||
| R | 1,912 | 2,750 | 4,684 | ||
| R | 1,231 | 1,876 | 4,154 | ||
| R | 1,295 | 2,409 | 3,788 | ||
| D | 1,555 | 1,297 | 2,950 | ||
| D | 1,180 | 599 | 2,794 | ||
| R | 1,460 | 1,592 | 3,131 | ||
| R | 795 | 1,868 | 2,901 | ||
| R | 1,412 | 1,741 | 3,201 | ||
| R | 1,391 | 1,597 | 3,064 | ||
| D | 1,068 | 567 | 2,425 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
36.2%
English
13.8%
Irish
12.6%
American
6.9%
Polish
4.0%
French
2.2%
Italian
1.8%
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: 42.9 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
$94,396
Washington County ranks in the top 5% of US counties.
Washington County$94,396
Nebraska$76,475
United States$80,734
Washington County ranks in the top 5% 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
6.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 187.0%
Working age (18–64)5.7%
Seniors (65+)10.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.2%
speak English only
Spanish2.8%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
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 53.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Washington County sits along Nebraska's eastern edge, anchored by the small city of Blair. Its predominantly rural, white demographic profile has produced consistently lopsided Republican presidential margins, hitting R+42 in 2024.
The Republican margin here reached fifty-three points in 1984. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-two points.
A population of 21,106, a 94% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $94,396 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Adams County and Hamilton 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.
Washington County, Nebraska. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/31177/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More stable rural right counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Washington County, Nebraska vote in 2024?
In 2024, Washington County, Nebraska voted Republican by 42.2 points (R+42), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 12,607 votes cast, 3,538 went Democratic and 8,855 went Republican.
What is Washington County, Nebraska's political typology?
Akashic places Washington 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 6 times, Republican 28 times, and other 0 times.
When did Washington County, Nebraska last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Washington County, Nebraska voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Washington County, Nebraska?
Washington County, Nebraska has a population of 21,106 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Washington County, Nebraska?
Median household income in Washington County, Nebraska is $94,396 — above the national median of $80,734. The Nebraska state median is $76,475.
What is the political history of Washington County, Nebraska?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Washington County, Nebraska from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.