Johnston County, North Carolina: Diversifying Metro county. In 2024, voted R+21%. Republican peak: R+60 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+21MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Diversifying MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 234,2632024 5-year
- Median household income
- $83,3842024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 64.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 16.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 16.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+46 in 1948MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+60 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Union County, NC · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Johnston CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Johnston 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 | +43.8% |
| 1896 | +29.4% |
| 1900 | +22.4% |
| 1904 | +24.7% |
| 1908 | −4.3% |
| 1912 | +27.5% |
| 1916 | +9.7% |
| 1920 | +3.8% |
| 1924 | −2.6% |
| 1928 | −20.8% |
| 1932 | +42.1% |
| 1936 | +44.3% |
| 1940 | +40.8% |
| 1944 | +30.4% |
| 1948 | +46.0% |
| 1952 | +29.6% |
| 1956 | +33.6% |
| 1960 | +19.6% |
| 1964 | +15.7% |
| 1968 | −11.1% |
| 1972 | −59.9% |
| 1976 | +9.5% |
| 1980 | −4.1% |
| 1984 | −34.8% |
| 1988 | −28.1% |
| 1992 | −13.0% |
| 1996 | −23.4% |
| 2000 | +32.8% |
| 2004 | −36.1% |
| 2008 | −23.7% |
| 2012 | −27.6% |
| 2016 | −30.3% |
| 2020 | −24.3% |
| 2024 | −21.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 48,116 | 74,878 | 124,678 | ||
| R | 41,257 | 68,353 | 111,357 | ||
| R | 28,362 | 54,372 | 85,909 | ||
| R | 27,290 | 48,427 | 76,691 | ||
| R | 26,795 | 43,622 | 71,017 | ||
| R | 17,266 | 36,903 | 54,357 | ||
| D | 27,212 | 13,704 | 41,155 | ||
| R | 11,175 | 18,704 | 32,119 | ||
| R | 11,284 | 15,418 | 31,679 | ||
| R | 8,717 | 15,563 | 24,329 | ||
| R | 7,833 | 16,210 | 24,080 | ||
| R | 9,601 | 10,444 | 20,376 | ||
| D | 10,301 | 8,511 | 18,879 | ||
| R | 3,488 | 14,272 | 18,011 | ||
| O | 4,492 | 6,764 | 20,468 | ||
| D | 10,326 | 7,523 | 17,849 | ||
| D | 9,914 | 6,660 | 16,574 | ||
| D | 9,852 | 4,893 | 14,745 | ||
| D | 9,997 | 5,429 | 15,426 | ||
| D | 9,188 | 3,211 | 12,997 | ||
| D | 8,282 | 4,423 | 12,705 | ||
| D | 9,976 | 4,192 | 14,168 | ||
| D | 11,253 | 4,339 | 15,592 | ||
| D | 9,574 | 3,887 | 13,511 | ||
| R | 5,041 | 7,696 | 12,737 | ||
| R | 4,656 | 4,910 | 9,589 | ||
| D | 6,030 | 5,588 | 11,618 | ||
| D | 3,468 | 2,857 | 6,325 | ||
| D | 2,757 | 1,335 | 5,175 | ||
| R | 2,593 | 2,827 | 5,420 | ||
| D | 2,572 | 1,553 | 4,125 | ||
| D | 3,154 | 1,997 | 5,168 | ||
| D | 3,343 | 1,824 | 5,169 | ||
| D | 3,135 | 1,036 | 4,791 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
12.4%
American
9.2%
Irish
8.6%
German
7.3%
Italian
4.0%
French
1.8%
Scottish
1.7%
African American
13.5%
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: 38.1 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
$83,384
Johnston County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Johnston County$83,384
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Johnston County ranks in the top 25% 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
10.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.3%
Working age (18–64)8.8%
Seniors (65+)13.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
84.5%
speak English only
Spanish13.6%
Other Indo-European0.9%
Other languages0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 61.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Johnston County has absorbed significant population spillover from the Raleigh metro while maintaining a consistent Republican margin, landing at R+21.5 in 2024 despite demographic churn typical of rapidly expanding commuter counties.
The Democratic margin here reached forty-six points in 1948. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-one points.
A population of 234,263, a 64% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $83,384 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Union County and Davie 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.
Johnston County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37101/. 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 Johnston County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Johnston County, North Carolina voted Republican by 21.5 points (R+21), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 124,678 votes cast, 48,116 went Democratic and 74,878 went Republican.
What is Johnston County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Johnston County, North Carolina 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 18 times, Republican 15 times, and other 1 times.
When did Johnston County, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Johnston County, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Johnston County, North Carolina?
Johnston County, North Carolina has a population of 234,263 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Johnston County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Johnston County, North Carolina is $83,384 — above the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Johnston County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Johnston County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 15 went Republican. The county's typology — "Diversifying Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.