Ulster County, New York: Diversifying Metro county. In 2024, voted D+18%. Republican peak: R+53 in 1956.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+18MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Diversifying MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 182,6012024 5-year
- Median household income
- $86,2712024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 74.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 6.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 12.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+24 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+53 in 1956MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Knox County, ME · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Ulster CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Ulster 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 | +1.8% |
| 1896 | −15.0% |
| 1900 | −9.5% |
| 1904 | −8.6% |
| 1908 | −9.7% |
| 1912 | +5.2% |
| 1916 | −15.4% |
| 1920 | −35.8% |
| 1924 | −33.8% |
| 1928 | −27.6% |
| 1932 | −7.3% |
| 1936 | −12.5% |
| 1940 | −14.2% |
| 1944 | −22.3% |
| 1948 | −32.2% |
| 1952 | −39.2% |
| 1956 | −52.7% |
| 1960 | −22.5% |
| 1964 | +19.8% |
| 1968 | −23.0% |
| 1972 | −37.3% |
| 1976 | −7.8% |
| 1980 | −21.8% |
| 1984 | −28.2% |
| 1988 | −14.4% |
| 1992 | +4.5% |
| 1996 | +13.1% |
| 2000 | +6.0% |
| 2004 | +11.2% |
| 2008 | +23.6% |
| 2012 | +22.6% |
| 2016 | +11.0% |
| 2020 | +20.9% |
| 2024 | +18.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 57,974 | 39,743 | 99,172 | ||
| D | 57,970 | 37,590 | 97,420 | ||
| D | 44,597 | 35,239 | 85,290 | ||
| D | 47,752 | 29,759 | 79,626 | ||
| D | 54,320 | 33,300 | 89,149 | ||
| D | 47,602 | 37,821 | 87,712 | ||
| D | 38,162 | 33,447 | 78,237 | ||
| D | 35,852 | 26,212 | 73,851 | ||
| D | 32,886 | 29,223 | 80,821 | ||
| R | 30,744 | 41,173 | 72,557 | ||
| R | 26,445 | 47,372 | 74,102 | ||
| R | 22,179 | 36,709 | 66,726 | ||
| R | 30,190 | 35,353 | 66,153 | ||
| R | 21,371 | 46,883 | 68,433 | ||
| R | 20,886 | 34,798 | 60,387 | ||
| D | 35,486 | 23,749 | 59,326 | ||
| R | 23,017 | 36,418 | 59,502 | ||
| R | 13,321 | 43,034 | 56,355 | ||
| R | 15,733 | 36,141 | 52,085 | ||
| R | 14,441 | 28,941 | 45,012 | ||
| R | 16,943 | 26,703 | 43,763 | ||
| R | 20,403 | 27,186 | 47,696 | ||
| R | 19,118 | 24,678 | 44,611 | ||
| R | 18,092 | 21,002 | 39,721 | ||
| R | 14,200 | 25,418 | 40,695 | ||
| R | 9,361 | 20,048 | 31,660 | ||
| R | 8,759 | 19,001 | 28,612 | ||
| R | 7,807 | 10,734 | 18,971 | ||
| D | 8,510 | 7,485 | 19,526 | ||
| R | 8,560 | 10,475 | 19,740 | ||
| R | 9,516 | 11,356 | 21,373 | ||
| R | 9,349 | 11,348 | 21,141 | ||
| R | 8,140 | 11,100 | 19,711 | ||
| D | 9,808 | 9,450 | 20,415 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
17.7%
Italian
16.1%
German
14.3%
English
8.6%
American
6.3%
Polish
4.2%
French
2.2%
African American
5.0%
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: 44.1 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
$86,271
Ulster County ranks in the top 10% of US counties.
Ulster County$86,271
New York$85,974
United States$80,734
Ulster 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
14.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.5%
Working age (18–64)15.3%
Seniors (65+)11.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
87.9%
speak English only
Spanish7.1%
Other Indo-European3.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.3%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 64.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Ulster sits at the intersection of Catskill foothills and the Hudson River corridor, drawing a mix of longtime agricultural residents and transplants from New York City. That demographic shift has coincided with a sustained Democratic lean in presidential contests.
The Democratic margin here reached twenty-four points in 2008. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was eighteen points.
A population of 182,601, a 75% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $86,271 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Knox County and Grafton 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.
Ulster County, New York. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/36111/. 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 Ulster County, New York vote in 2024?
In 2024, Ulster County, New York voted Democratic by 18.4 points (D+18), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 99,172 votes cast, 57,974 went Democratic and 39,743 went Republican.
What is Ulster County, New York's political typology?
Akashic places Ulster County, New York in the "Diversifying Metro" typology — Mid-size metropolitan counties growing more diverse and trending Democratic. 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 12 times, Republican 22 times, and other 0 times.
When did Ulster County, New York last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Ulster County, New York voted Republican was 1988.
How many people live in Ulster County, New York?
Ulster County, New York has a population of 182,601 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Ulster County, New York?
Median household income in Ulster County, New York is $86,271 — above the national median of $80,734. The New York state median is $85,974.
What is the political history of Ulster County, New York?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Ulster County, New York from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The county's typology — "Diversifying Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.