Madison County, North Carolina: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+23%. Republican peak: R+63 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+23MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 21,8672024 5-year
- Median household income
- $58,5312024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+18 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+63 in 1928MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Kingsbury County, SD · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Madison CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Madison 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 | −20.3% |
| 1896 | −25.2% |
| 1900 | −30.4% |
| 1904 | −32.7% |
| 1908 | −40.3% |
| 1912 | +17.6% |
| 1916 | −33.8% |
| 1920 | −45.9% |
| 1924 | −37.1% |
| 1928 | −62.8% |
| 1932 | −24.2% |
| 1936 | −23.9% |
| 1940 | −18.6% |
| 1944 | −31.4% |
| 1948 | −13.1% |
| 1952 | −12.9% |
| 1956 | −7.2% |
| 1960 | +1.4% |
| 1964 | +6.9% |
| 1968 | −14.6% |
| 1972 | −23.1% |
| 1976 | +16.7% |
| 1980 | +9.6% |
| 1984 | −10.1% |
| 1988 | −6.5% |
| 1992 | +10.8% |
| 1996 | +3.2% |
| 2000 | +14.1% |
| 2004 | −9.9% |
| 2008 | −1.6% |
| 2012 | −9.1% |
| 2016 | −25.4% |
| 2020 | −23.5% |
| 2024 | −23.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 5,090 | 8,275 | 13,621 | ||
| R | 4,901 | 7,979 | 13,076 | ||
| R | 3,926 | 6,783 | 11,269 | ||
| R | 4,484 | 5,404 | 10,113 | ||
| R | 5,026 | 5,192 | 10,379 | ||
| R | 4,234 | 5,175 | 9,463 | ||
| D | 4,676 | 3,505 | 8,325 | ||
| D | 3,333 | 3,110 | 7,030 | ||
| D | 3,980 | 3,121 | 7,989 | ||
| R | 3,033 | 3,453 | 6,506 | ||
| R | 2,988 | 3,666 | 6,689 | ||
| D | 3,202 | 2,629 | 5,972 | ||
| D | 3,433 | 2,446 | 5,895 | ||
| R | 2,039 | 3,273 | 5,350 | ||
| R | 2,201 | 3,130 | 6,365 | ||
| D | 3,829 | 3,336 | 7,165 | ||
| D | 4,546 | 4,422 | 8,968 | ||
| R | 3,693 | 4,263 | 7,956 | ||
| R | 3,666 | 4,751 | 8,417 | ||
| R | 2,558 | 3,341 | 5,995 | ||
| R | 2,291 | 4,388 | 6,679 | ||
| R | 3,171 | 4,617 | 7,788 | ||
| R | 3,133 | 5,099 | 8,232 | ||
| R | 2,769 | 4,552 | 7,370 | ||
| R | 1,093 | 4,776 | 5,869 | ||
| R | 1,471 | 3,252 | 4,797 | ||
| R | 1,340 | 3,616 | 4,956 | ||
| R | 972 | 1,965 | 2,937 | ||
| O | 897 | 430 | 2,647 | ||
| R | 862 | 2,027 | 2,889 | ||
| R | 994 | 1,959 | 2,953 | ||
| R | 1,268 | 2,377 | 3,645 | ||
| R | 1,357 | 2,270 | 3,629 | ||
| R | 1,118 | 1,718 | 2,959 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
19.3%
Irish
13.1%
American
12.6%
German
9.0%
Scottish
4.6%
Italian
2.9%
French
2.0%
African American
0.9%
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: 44.5 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
$58,531
Madison County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Madison County$58,531
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Madison 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
12.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.6%
Working age (18–64)10.9%
Seniors (65+)22.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.2%
speak English only
Spanish1.3%
Other Indo-European0.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 50.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Madison County's rugged Appalachian terrain and small-town economy have consistently produced lopsided Republican margins, with the 2024 presidential result landing at R+23.4 in a county of fewer than 20,000 residents.
The Republican margin here reached sixty-three points in 1928. The 2024 margin was twenty-three points.
A population of 21,867, a 92% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $58,531 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Kingsbury County and Haywood 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.
Madison County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37115/. 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 Madison County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Madison County, North Carolina voted Republican by 23.4 points (R+23), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 13,621 votes cast, 5,090 went Democratic and 8,275 went Republican.
What is Madison County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Madison County, North Carolina in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. 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 7 times, Republican 26 times, and other 1 times.
When did Madison County, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Madison County, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Madison County, North Carolina?
Madison County, North Carolina has a population of 21,867 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Madison County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Madison County, North Carolina is $58,531 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Madison County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Madison County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.