Lincoln County, North Carolina
Precinct data
Results by precinct
23 precincts · 55,582 votes
Precinct boundaries and identifiers are cycle-specific. This table does not join rows across years without a validated crosswalk.
| Precinct -WP32WP32 | 1,870 | 3,745 | 94 | 5,709 | 32.8% | 65.6% | R+32.8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precinct -LW31LW31 | 1,611 | 2,689 | 55 | 4,355 | 37.0% | 61.7% | R+24.8 |
| Precinct -TA37TA37 | 1,381 | 2,829 | 37 | 4,247 | 32.5% | 66.6% | R+34.1 |
| Precinct -NB35NB35 | 480 | 2,748 | 10 | 3,238 | 14.8% | 84.9% | R+70.0 |
| Precinct -DN29DN29 | 816 | 2,280 | 18 | 3,114 | 26.2% | 73.2% | R+47.0 |
| Precinct -HC33HC33 | 561 | 2,427 | 38 | 3,026 | 18.5% | 80.2% | R+61.7 |
| Precinct -ST36ST36 | 658 | 2,092 | 15 | 2,765 | 23.8% | 75.7% | R+51.9 |
| Precinct -DW28DW28 | 703 | 1,965 | 28 | 2,696 | 26.1% | 72.9% | R+46.8 |
| Precinct -DV08DV08 | 443 | 2,051 | 15 | 2,509 | 17.7% | 81.7% | R+64.1 |
| Precinct -PC22PC22 | 532 | 1,797 | 21 | 2,350 | 22.6% | 76.5% | R+53.8 |
| Precinct -IS23IS23 | 555 | 1,694 | 27 | 2,276 | 24.4% | 74.4% | R+50.0 |
| Precinct -LB34LB34 | 415 | 1,787 | 16 | 2,218 | 18.7% | 80.6% | R+61.9 |
| Precinct -AS25AS25 | 468 | 1,572 | 19 | 2,059 | 22.7% | 76.3% | R+53.6 |
| Precinct -OB21OB21 | 375 | 1,609 | 13 | 1,997 | 18.8% | 80.6% | R+61.8 |
| Precinct -BS26BS26 | 530 | 1,342 | 18 | 1,890 | 28.0% | 71.0% | R+43.0 |
| Precinct -LW18LW18 | 530 | 1,053 | 19 | 1,602 | 33.1% | 65.7% | R+32.6 |
| Precinct -CF19CF19 | 480 | 1,086 | 30 | 1,596 | 30.1% | 68.0% | R+38.0 |
| Precinct -SL24SL24 | 333 | 1,128 | 14 | 1,475 | 22.6% | 76.5% | R+53.9 |
| Precinct -IS20IS20 | 264 | 1,190 | 17 | 1,471 | 17.9% | 80.9% | R+63.0 |
| Precinct -LS12LS12 | 528 | 741 | 18 | 1,287 | 41.0% | 57.6% | R+16.6 |
| Precinct -LN11LN11 | 550 | 714 | 11 | 1,275 | 43.1% | 56.0% | R+12.9 |
| Precinct -LI14LI14 | 346 | 862 | 10 | 1,218 | 28.4% | 70.8% | R+42.4 |
| Precinct -BC13BC13 | 413 | 782 | 14 | 1,209 | 34.2% | 64.7% | R+30.5 |
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +17.5% |
| 1896 | +14.2% |
| 1900 | −11.8% |
| 1904 | +13.9% |
| 1908 | +0.2% |
| 1912 | +51.1% |
| 1916 | +5.2% |
| 1920 | +3.0% |
| 1924 | +4.5% |
| 1928 | −14.9% |
| 1932 | +10.5% |
| 1936 | +22.3% |
| 1940 | +22.5% |
| 1944 | +6.2% |
| 1948 | −0.8% |
| 1952 | −7.2% |
| 1956 | −6.4% |
| 1960 | −0.6% |
| 1964 | +10.9% |
| 1968 | −16.0% |
| 1972 | −25.2% |
| 1976 | +17.1% |
| 1980 | −7.1% |
| 1984 | −35.5% |
| 1988 | −28.7% |
| 1992 | −12.8% |
| 1996 | −17.8% |
| 2000 | −30.7% |
| 2004 | −35.9% |
| 2008 | −33.3% |
| 2012 | −38.7% |
| 2016 | −47.2% |
| 2020 | −45.9% |
| 2024 | −45.6% |
U.S. Senate
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | R | 26.0%9,418 | 72.0%26,130 | 36,270 |
| 2020 | R | 25.8%12,858 | 69.7%34,673 | 49,776 |
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 14 points more Democratic.
| Year | Total registered | Democratic | Republican | Unaffiliated | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 48,235 | 16,872 | 20,574 | 10,769 | 20 |
| 2012 | 53,245 | 16,353 | 22,504 | 14,298 | 90 |
| 2016 | 55,853 | 14,558 | 24,225 | 16,850 | 220 |
| 2020 | 62,727 | 12,454 | 29,433 | 20,400 | 440 |
| 2022 | 66,513 | 12,237 | 31,196 | 22,634 | 446 |
| 2024 | 70,666 | 11,797 | 33,808 | 24,447 | 614 |
Who moves in and out
Net migration over time, and who arrivals are — where they came from and what those places vote
+997 net domestic migration · 2025
Net +18,575 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Arrivals reported $87,534 in average income, against $96,983 for residents who stayed — 10% lower. (IRS SOI, 2022–23)
The places arrivals came from lean R+9.0 on average — 37 points more Democratic-leaning than Lincoln County, NC itself (R+45.6).
Where arrivals came from lean of each source
- Mecklenburg County, NC692D+32.7
- Gaston County, NC535R+25.0
- Catawba County, NC385R+37.9
- Iredell County, NC154R+32.5
- Cleveland County, NC111R+34.9
- Cabarrus County, NC80R+7.7
Where departures went households, 2022–23
- Catawba County, NC509
- Gaston County, NC388
- Mecklenburg County, NC338
- Cleveland County, NC100
- Iredell County, NC99
- Cabarrus County, NC57
Migration is one input to a place’s political change, not its cause — a shift can also come from residents changing their minds, generational turnover, or turnout. These figures describe the places people moved between; they do not measure how any mover voted.
| Year | Net domestic migration |
|---|---|
| 2011 | +86 |
| 2012 | +339 |
| 2013 | +370 |
| 2014 | +293 |
| 2015 | +1,073 |
| 2016 | +618 |
| 2017 | +1,285 |
| 2018 | +1,487 |
| 2019 | +2,031 |
| 2021 | +2,989 |
| 2022 | +3,037 |
| 2023 | +2,426 |
| 2024 | +1,544 |
| 2025 | +997 |
Lincoln County, anchored by Lincolnton in the western Piedmont, has delivered lopsided Republican margins for over a decade, with its largely rural and small-town electorate showing little competitive movement in recent cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 51.1 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 47.2 points in 2016. The 2024 margin was 45.6 points.
A population of 92,716, a 82% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $80,016 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Bedford County and Loudon County.
The counties whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Browse places by community — income, education, race & ethnicity, language — all community cuts →
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 →
Lincoln County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37109/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.