Rensselaer County, New York: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted D+1%. Republican peak: R+46 in 1956.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+1MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 160,3322024 5-year
- Median household income
- $87,9152024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 80.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 7.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+42 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+46 in 1956MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Cumberland County, NJ · similarity 0.94
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Rensselaer CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Rensselaer 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 | +4.1% |
| 1896 | −13.3% |
| 1900 | −12.0% |
| 1904 | −16.4% |
| 1908 | −12.9% |
| 1912 | +3.0% |
| 1916 | −3.9% |
| 1920 | −16.7% |
| 1924 | −19.7% |
| 1928 | +1.1% |
| 1932 | +3.4% |
| 1936 | −4.4% |
| 1940 | −10.1% |
| 1944 | −11.2% |
| 1948 | −16.7% |
| 1952 | −33.3% |
| 1956 | −45.8% |
| 1960 | −5.3% |
| 1964 | +42.1% |
| 1968 | −6.5% |
| 1972 | −34.0% |
| 1976 | −16.2% |
| 1980 | −3.0% |
| 1984 | −24.2% |
| 1988 | −3.4% |
| 1992 | +1.1% |
| 1996 | +16.0% |
| 2000 | +7.7% |
| 2004 | +1.8% |
| 2008 | +9.3% |
| 2012 | +12.2% |
| 2016 | −1.4% |
| 2020 | +5.6% |
| 2024 | +1.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 39,668 | 38,601 | 79,154 | ||
| D | 40,969 | 36,500 | 79,286 | ||
| R | 32,717 | 33,726 | 71,562 | ||
| D | 37,408 | 29,113 | 68,061 | ||
| D | 39,753 | 32,840 | 73,986 | ||
| D | 36,075 | 34,734 | 72,514 | ||
| D | 34,808 | 29,562 | 68,436 | ||
| D | 34,273 | 23,482 | 67,625 | ||
| D | 29,793 | 28,937 | 74,580 | ||
| R | 33,066 | 35,412 | 69,197 | ||
| R | 26,755 | 43,892 | 70,864 | ||
| R | 29,880 | 32,005 | 69,747 | ||
| R | 28,979 | 40,229 | 69,653 | ||
| R | 24,019 | 48,864 | 73,071 | ||
| R | 30,232 | 34,674 | 68,681 | ||
| D | 51,170 | 20,814 | 72,060 | ||
| R | 36,109 | 40,124 | 76,294 | ||
| R | 20,516 | 55,186 | 75,702 | ||
| R | 25,734 | 51,453 | 77,337 | ||
| R | 28,468 | 40,375 | 71,197 | ||
| R | 30,173 | 37,819 | 68,131 | ||
| R | 32,387 | 39,648 | 72,132 | ||
| R | 31,754 | 34,772 | 68,621 | ||
| D | 32,783 | 30,606 | 64,217 | ||
| D | 33,094 | 32,370 | 66,191 | ||
| R | 19,783 | 30,549 | 54,673 | ||
| R | 20,224 | 28,810 | 51,371 | ||
| R | 13,822 | 14,968 | 29,230 | ||
| D | 11,684 | 10,853 | 27,491 | ||
| R | 13,162 | 17,196 | 31,311 | ||
| R | 12,529 | 17,631 | 31,085 | ||
| R | 13,464 | 17,228 | 31,306 | ||
| R | 13,119 | 17,221 | 30,914 | ||
| D | 14,879 | 13,666 | 29,942 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
23.7%
German
14.7%
Italian
13.9%
English
10.6%
French
6.2%
Polish
5.6%
American
3.6%
African American
5.6%
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: 40.1 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
$87,915
Rensselaer County ranks in the top 10% of US counties.
Rensselaer County$87,915
New York$85,974
United States$80,734
Rensselaer County ranks in the top 10% 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
11.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.8%
Working age (18–64)10.6%
Seniors (65+)8.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.3%
speak English only
Spanish2.8%
Other Indo-European2.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.7%
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 69.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Rensselaer sits across the Hudson from Albany and has grown increasingly competitive in presidential contests, swinging from double-digit Democratic margins a decade ago to a D+1.4 result in 2024.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached forty-two points in 1964; the Republican margin reached forty-six points in 1956. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was one point.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 80% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $87,915, and a 12% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Cumberland County and Clinton 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.
Rensselaer County, New York. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/36083/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in New York
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Frequently asked questions
How did Rensselaer County, New York vote in 2024?
In 2024, Rensselaer County, New York voted Democratic by 1.3 points (D+1), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 79,154 votes cast, 39,668 went Democratic and 38,601 went Republican.
What is Rensselaer County, New York's political typology?
Akashic places Rensselaer 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 13 times, Republican 21 times, and other 0 times.
When did Rensselaer County, New York last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Rensselaer County, New York voted Republican was 2016.
How many people live in Rensselaer County, New York?
Rensselaer County, New York has a population of 160,332 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rensselaer County, New York?
Median household income in Rensselaer County, New York is $87,915 — above the national median of $80,734. The New York state median is $85,974.
What is the political history of Rensselaer County, New York?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Rensselaer County, New York from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.