Dare County, North Carolina: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+19%. Democratic peak: D+59 in 1940.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+19MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 37,8752024 5-year
- Median household income
- $88,9942024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+59 in 1940MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+51 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Lee County, NC · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Dare CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Dare 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 | −3.0% |
| 1896 | −7.2% |
| 1900 | +9.9% |
| 1904 | +8.5% |
| 1908 | +5.9% |
| 1912 | +22.2% |
| 1916 | +12.8% |
| 1920 | +13.2% |
| 1924 | +13.5% |
| 1928 | +4.1% |
| 1932 | +42.7% |
| 1936 | +43.9% |
| 1940 | +58.8% |
| 1944 | +57.7% |
| 1948 | +35.3% |
| 1952 | +11.1% |
| 1956 | −10.1% |
| 1960 | +8.2% |
| 1964 | +26.0% |
| 1968 | −13.0% |
| 1972 | −51.2% |
| 1976 | +13.1% |
| 1980 | −5.3% |
| 1984 | −44.0% |
| 1988 | −30.1% |
| 1992 | −4.0% |
| 1996 | −4.2% |
| 2000 | +13.2% |
| 2004 | −20.6% |
| 2008 | −9.3% |
| 2012 | −15.9% |
| 2016 | −21.6% |
| 2020 | −16.5% |
| 2024 | −18.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 10,074 | 14,792 | 25,196 | ||
| R | 9,936 | 13,938 | 24,232 | ||
| R | 7,222 | 11,460 | 19,609 | ||
| R | 7,393 | 10,248 | 17,974 | ||
| R | 8,074 | 9,745 | 18,048 | ||
| R | 6,136 | 9,345 | 15,548 | ||
| D | 7,301 | 5,589 | 13,002 | ||
| R | 4,522 | 4,977 | 10,820 | ||
| R | 3,925 | 4,357 | 10,696 | ||
| R | 2,806 | 5,234 | 8,071 | ||
| R | 1,839 | 4,738 | 6,596 | ||
| R | 2,497 | 2,794 | 5,615 | ||
| D | 2,191 | 1,680 | 3,891 | ||
| R | 634 | 1,986 | 2,641 | ||
| R | 700 | 1,035 | 2,579 | ||
| D | 1,476 | 867 | 2,343 | ||
| D | 1,247 | 1,058 | 2,305 | ||
| R | 839 | 1,028 | 1,867 | ||
| D | 959 | 767 | 1,726 | ||
| D | 802 | 373 | 1,214 | ||
| D | 966 | 259 | 1,225 | ||
| D | 1,214 | 315 | 1,529 | ||
| D | 1,389 | 542 | 1,931 | ||
| D | 1,241 | 497 | 1,744 | ||
| D | 883 | 814 | 1,697 | ||
| D | 826 | 629 | 1,457 | ||
| D | 825 | 632 | 1,457 | ||
| D | 470 | 363 | 833 | ||
| D | 397 | 238 | 715 | ||
| D | 416 | 370 | 786 | ||
| D | 415 | 350 | 765 | ||
| D | 404 | 331 | 735 | ||
| R | 408 | 471 | 879 | ||
| R | 335 | 356 | 691 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
19.1%
American
14.2%
German
14.0%
Irish
12.1%
Italian
5.7%
Polish
3.3%
French
2.4%
African American
2.0%
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: 49.0 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
$88,994
Dare County ranks in the top 10% of US counties.
Dare County$88,994
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Dare 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
6.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 188.6%
Working age (18–64)6.3%
Seniors (65+)5.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.4%
speak English only
Spanish6.5%
Other Indo-European1.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Dare County's permanent population of roughly 30,000 swells dramatically each summer with coastal visitors, but its electorate has leaned Republican by double digits in recent presidential cycles, reflecting a pattern common to low-density coastal resort communities.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached fifty-nine points in 1940; the Republican margin reached fifty-one points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was nineteen points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 86% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $88,994, and a 7% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Lee County and Craven 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.
Dare County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37055/. 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 Dare County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Dare County, North Carolina voted Republican by 18.7 points (R+19), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 25,196 votes cast, 10,074 went Democratic and 14,792 went Republican.
What is Dare County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Dare County, North Carolina 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 18 times, Republican 16 times, and other 0 times.
When did Dare County, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Dare County, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Dare County, North Carolina?
Dare County, North Carolina has a population of 37,875 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Dare County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Dare County, North Carolina is $88,994 — above the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Dare County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Dare County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.