Burke County, North Carolina: Sunbelt Conservative county. In 2024, voted R+41%. Democratic peak: D+49 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+41MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Sunbelt ConservativeAkashic typology
- Population
- 87,7952024 5-year
- Median household income
- $58,5922024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 80.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 6.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+49 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+41 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Fall River County, SD · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Burke CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Burke 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 | +11.3% |
| 1896 | +5.6% |
| 1900 | +11.1% |
| 1904 | +3.8% |
| 1908 | −1.8% |
| 1912 | +48.8% |
| 1916 | +4.7% |
| 1920 | −4.8% |
| 1924 | +12.9% |
| 1928 | −27.9% |
| 1932 | +9.7% |
| 1936 | +15.0% |
| 1940 | +19.4% |
| 1944 | +7.4% |
| 1948 | −1.1% |
| 1952 | −17.9% |
| 1956 | −19.3% |
| 1960 | −12.7% |
| 1964 | +11.9% |
| 1968 | −23.7% |
| 1972 | −39.4% |
| 1976 | +17.1% |
| 1980 | −5.0% |
| 1984 | −28.8% |
| 1988 | −19.0% |
| 1992 | −2.8% |
| 1996 | −7.7% |
| 2000 | +21.3% |
| 2004 | −23.4% |
| 2008 | −19.2% |
| 2012 | −23.4% |
| 2016 | −38.5% |
| 2020 | −40.1% |
| 2024 | −41.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 13,272 | 32,130 | 45,847 | ||
| R | 13,118 | 31,019 | 44,602 | ||
| R | 11,251 | 26,238 | 38,920 | ||
| R | 13,701 | 22,267 | 36,544 | ||
| R | 14,901 | 22,102 | 37,443 | ||
| R | 11,728 | 18,922 | 30,762 | ||
| D | 18,466 | 11,924 | 30,658 | ||
| R | 11,678 | 13,853 | 28,291 | ||
| R | 12,565 | 13,397 | 30,122 | ||
| R | 10,848 | 15,933 | 26,819 | ||
| R | 10,353 | 18,766 | 29,178 | ||
| R | 11,680 | 12,956 | 25,417 | ||
| D | 14,254 | 10,070 | 24,431 | ||
| R | 6,197 | 14,447 | 20,950 | ||
| R | 5,704 | 11,068 | 22,664 | ||
| D | 12,815 | 10,081 | 22,896 | ||
| R | 10,015 | 12,925 | 22,940 | ||
| R | 7,999 | 11,823 | 19,822 | ||
| R | 7,732 | 11,113 | 18,845 | ||
| R | 6,226 | 6,374 | 13,488 | ||
| D | 6,795 | 5,855 | 12,650 | ||
| D | 7,242 | 4,889 | 12,131 | ||
| D | 7,454 | 5,506 | 12,960 | ||
| D | 5,866 | 4,823 | 10,736 | ||
| R | 2,881 | 5,108 | 7,989 | ||
| D | 4,137 | 3,190 | 7,327 | ||
| R | 3,262 | 3,592 | 6,854 | ||
| D | 1,621 | 1,474 | 3,095 | ||
| D | 1,365 | 48 | 2,701 | ||
| R | 1,310 | 1,358 | 2,668 | ||
| D | 1,080 | 1,001 | 2,081 | ||
| D | 1,389 | 1,110 | 2,514 | ||
| D | 1,550 | 1,385 | 2,968 | ||
| D | 1,410 | 1,098 | 2,758 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
14.8%
English
12.1%
German
11.1%
Irish
9.4%
Scottish
2.7%
Italian
1.8%
Polish
1.5%
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: 44.9 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
$58,592
Burke County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Burke County$58,592
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Burke 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
15.6%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1826.9%
Working age (18–64)13.3%
Seniors (65+)10.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.7%
speak English only
Spanish5.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.6%
Other languages0.5%
Other Indo-European0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 36.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Nestled against the Blue Ridge in western North Carolina, Burke County has shifted decisively toward Republican candidates over the past two decades, with its manufacturing-rooted, majority-white electorate consistently producing some of the state's widest presidential margins.
The Republican margin here reached forty-one points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-one points.
A median household income of $58,592, a 81% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 87,795 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Fall River County and Cleveland 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.
Burke County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37023/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in North Carolina
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Frequently asked questions
How did Burke County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Burke County, North Carolina voted Republican by 41.1 points (R+41), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 45,847 votes cast, 13,272 went Democratic and 32,130 went Republican.
What is Burke County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Burke County, North Carolina in the "Sunbelt Conservative" typology — Affluent, predominantly white Sunbelt counties — reliably Republican. 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 14 times, Republican 20 times, and other 0 times.
When did Burke County, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Burke County, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Burke County, North Carolina?
Burke County, North Carolina has a population of 87,795 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Burke County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Burke County, North Carolina is $58,592 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Burke County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Burke County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 14 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The county's typology — "Sunbelt Conservative" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.