Lee County, North Carolina: Texan Right county. In 2024, voted R+17%. Democratic peak: D+75 in 1940.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+17MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Texan RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 65,8162024 5-year
- Median household income
- $65,3872024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 63.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 17.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 21.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+75 in 1940MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+47 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Craven County, NC · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Lee CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Lee 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 | No data |
| 1896 | No data |
| 1900 | No data |
| 1904 | No data |
| 1908 | +19.4% |
| 1912 | +29.9% |
| 1916 | +29.6% |
| 1920 | +34.1% |
| 1924 | +44.0% |
| 1928 | +9.5% |
| 1932 | +63.4% |
| 1936 | +69.5% |
| 1940 | +75.0% |
| 1944 | +62.0% |
| 1948 | +54.3% |
| 1952 | +38.0% |
| 1956 | +36.2% |
| 1960 | +29.2% |
| 1964 | +26.4% |
| 1968 | −0.7% |
| 1972 | −47.5% |
| 1976 | +16.0% |
| 1980 | +5.5% |
| 1984 | −35.2% |
| 1988 | −25.3% |
| 1992 | −5.5% |
| 1996 | −7.0% |
| 2000 | +16.1% |
| 2004 | −21.4% |
| 2008 | −8.4% |
| 2012 | −9.7% |
| 2016 | −12.9% |
| 2020 | −14.9% |
| 2024 | −17.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 12,245 | 17,489 | 30,081 | ||
| R | 12,143 | 16,469 | 29,008 | ||
| R | 10,469 | 13,712 | 25,084 | ||
| R | 10,801 | 13,158 | 24,239 | ||
| R | 10,784 | 12,775 | 23,788 | ||
| R | 7,657 | 11,834 | 19,543 | ||
| D | 9,406 | 6,785 | 16,283 | ||
| R | 6,290 | 7,321 | 14,630 | ||
| R | 5,852 | 6,658 | 14,659 | ||
| R | 4,231 | 7,104 | 11,371 | ||
| R | 3,925 | 8,198 | 12,151 | ||
| D | 5,426 | 4,847 | 10,574 | ||
| D | 5,104 | 3,691 | 8,831 | ||
| R | 2,024 | 5,836 | 8,026 | ||
| O | 2,524 | 2,586 | 8,821 | ||
| D | 4,730 | 2,753 | 7,483 | ||
| D | 4,673 | 2,563 | 7,236 | ||
| D | 4,163 | 1,948 | 6,111 | ||
| D | 4,688 | 2,105 | 6,793 | ||
| D | 3,234 | 871 | 4,348 | ||
| D | 3,448 | 808 | 4,256 | ||
| D | 3,682 | 527 | 4,209 | ||
| D | 3,723 | 670 | 4,393 | ||
| D | 3,058 | 681 | 3,752 | ||
| D | 1,715 | 1,416 | 3,131 | ||
| D | 1,834 | 710 | 2,554 | ||
| D | 2,327 | 1,143 | 3,470 | ||
| D | 1,054 | 573 | 1,627 | ||
| D | 862 | 451 | 1,373 | ||
| D | 832 | 562 | 1,394 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
11.2%
German
7.5%
Irish
7.0%
American
4.5%
Italian
2.6%
Scottish
2.6%
Polish
1.4%
African American
14.2%
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: 39.5 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
$65,387
Lee County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Lee County$65,387
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Lee 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
16.5%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1826.1%
Working age (18–64)13.7%
Seniors (65+)11.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
79.4%
speak English only
Spanish18.7%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
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 51.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Lee County's economy has long centered on industrial and textile employment, and its modest urban core of Sanford anchors a county that has moved steadily toward Republican margins over the past decade despite a sizable Hispanic population.
The Republican margin here reached forty-seven points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was seventeen points.
A population of 65,816, a 64% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $65,387 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Craven County and Dare County. A non-English-speaking share of 21% reflects a meaningful Latino presence that votes, here, with the Republican grain.
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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.
Lee County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37105/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Lee County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Lee County, North Carolina voted Republican by 17.4 points (R+17), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 30,081 votes cast, 12,245 went Democratic and 17,489 went Republican.
What is Lee County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Lee County, North Carolina in the "Texan Right" typology — East Texas and the Piney Woods — solidly Republican, with a meaningful Latino presence. 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 11 times, and other 1 times.
When did Lee County, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Lee County, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Lee County, North Carolina?
Lee County, North Carolina has a population of 65,816 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lee County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Lee County, North Carolina is $65,387 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Lee County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Lee County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The county's typology — "Texan Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.