Cortland County, New York: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+6%. Republican peak: R+60 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+6MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 46,2462024 5-year
- Median household income
- $70,4182024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+60 in 1924MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Coos County, NH · similarity 0.95
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Cortland CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Cortland 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 | −15.9% |
| 1896 | −30.4% |
| 1900 | −26.4% |
| 1904 | −31.2% |
| 1908 | −30.3% |
| 1912 | −9.1% |
| 1916 | −23.9% |
| 1920 | −56.4% |
| 1924 | −60.3% |
| 1928 | −52.3% |
| 1932 | −37.3% |
| 1936 | −42.7% |
| 1940 | −40.7% |
| 1944 | −35.5% |
| 1948 | −38.1% |
| 1952 | −54.8% |
| 1956 | −59.2% |
| 1960 | −35.0% |
| 1964 | +28.7% |
| 1968 | −26.3% |
| 1972 | −42.1% |
| 1976 | −23.4% |
| 1980 | −20.6% |
| 1984 | −35.9% |
| 1988 | −17.4% |
| 1992 | +0.2% |
| 1996 | +7.8% |
| 2000 | −0.8% |
| 2004 | −4.1% |
| 2008 | +10.0% |
| 2012 | +9.1% |
| 2016 | −5.6% |
| 2020 | −1.9% |
| 2024 | −6.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 10,290 | 11,706 | 22,063 | ||
| R | 10,370 | 10,789 | 21,679 | ||
| R | 8,771 | 9,900 | 20,244 | ||
| D | 10,482 | 8,695 | 19,624 | ||
| D | 11,861 | 9,678 | 21,920 | ||
| R | 10,670 | 11,613 | 22,760 | ||
| R | 9,691 | 9,857 | 20,726 | ||
| D | 9,130 | 7,606 | 19,449 | ||
| D | 7,815 | 7,782 | 20,851 | ||
| R | 7,673 | 10,934 | 18,769 | ||
| R | 6,438 | 13,691 | 20,224 | ||
| R | 6,176 | 9,885 | 18,048 | ||
| R | 6,947 | 11,222 | 18,300 | ||
| R | 5,234 | 12,885 | 18,156 | ||
| R | 5,791 | 10,209 | 16,801 | ||
| D | 11,110 | 6,149 | 17,270 | ||
| R | 5,921 | 12,305 | 18,235 | ||
| R | 3,612 | 14,085 | 17,697 | ||
| R | 4,079 | 13,985 | 18,093 | ||
| R | 4,614 | 10,433 | 15,283 | ||
| R | 4,967 | 10,450 | 15,441 | ||
| R | 5,147 | 12,233 | 17,411 | ||
| R | 4,606 | 11,718 | 16,637 | ||
| R | 4,425 | 9,859 | 14,585 | ||
| R | 3,662 | 11,960 | 15,869 | ||
| R | 2,170 | 10,032 | 13,041 | ||
| R | 2,541 | 9,606 | 12,516 | ||
| R | 2,693 | 4,521 | 7,636 | ||
| R | 2,283 | 2,959 | 7,399 | ||
| R | 2,616 | 5,090 | 8,176 | ||
| R | 2,649 | 5,222 | 8,244 | ||
| R | 2,773 | 4,895 | 8,026 | ||
| R | 2,574 | 4,939 | 7,791 | ||
| R | 2,907 | 4,134 | 7,717 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
16.4%
English
15.8%
German
14.6%
Italian
9.8%
American
9.4%
Polish
2.6%
French
1.7%
African American
1.5%
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: 37.0 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
$70,418
Cortland County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Cortland County$70,418
New York$85,974
United States$80,734
Cortland 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
12.8%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.0%
Working age (18–64)13.5%
Seniors (65+)9.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.4%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.5%
Spanish1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
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 67.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to SUNY Cortland, the county blends a student-influenced urban core with surrounding agricultural townships, a tension that has compressed its presidential margins over successive cycles before landing at R+6.4 in 2024.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached twenty-nine points in 1964; the Republican margin reached sixty points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was six points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $70,418, and a 13% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Coos County and Pinellas 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.
Cortland County, New York. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/36023/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in New York
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Cortland County, New York vote in 2024?
In 2024, Cortland County, New York voted Republican by 6.4 points (R+6), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 22,063 votes cast, 10,290 went Democratic and 11,706 went Republican.
What is Cortland County, New York's political typology?
Akashic places Cortland County, New York in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. 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 29 times, and other 0 times.
When did Cortland County, New York last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Cortland County, New York voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Cortland County, New York?
Cortland County, New York has a population of 46,246 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Cortland County, New York?
Median household income in Cortland County, New York is $70,418 — below the national median of $80,734. The New York state median is $85,974.
What is the political history of Cortland County, New York?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Cortland County, New York from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.