Mitchell County, North Carolina: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+56%. Republican peak: R+68 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+56MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 14,9922024 5-year
- Median household income
- $57,6022024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+52 in 2000MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+68 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Avery County, NC · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Mitchell CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Mitchell 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 | −28.7% |
| 1896 | −49.4% |
| 1900 | −59.9% |
| 1904 | −54.5% |
| 1908 | −53.4% |
| 1912 | +14.0% |
| 1916 | −47.5% |
| 1920 | −51.1% |
| 1924 | −38.0% |
| 1928 | −61.2% |
| 1932 | −36.3% |
| 1936 | −33.4% |
| 1940 | −38.8% |
| 1944 | −51.4% |
| 1948 | −54.9% |
| 1952 | −52.9% |
| 1956 | −59.9% |
| 1960 | −60.9% |
| 1964 | −30.5% |
| 1968 | −56.9% |
| 1972 | −67.7% |
| 1976 | −29.4% |
| 1980 | −40.8% |
| 1984 | −57.2% |
| 1988 | −53.9% |
| 1992 | −38.2% |
| 1996 | −40.0% |
| 2000 | +52.3% |
| 2004 | −46.2% |
| 2008 | −41.6% |
| 2012 | −51.1% |
| 2016 | −57.9% |
| 2020 | −57.8% |
| 2024 | −55.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,918 | 6,844 | 8,846 | ||
| R | 1,867 | 7,090 | 9,041 | ||
| R | 1,596 | 6,282 | 8,096 | ||
| R | 1,838 | 5,806 | 7,765 | ||
| R | 2,238 | 5,499 | 7,846 | ||
| R | 2,080 | 5,686 | 7,798 | ||
| D | 4,984 | 1,535 | 6,600 | ||
| R | 1,496 | 3,874 | 5,946 | ||
| R | 1,727 | 4,405 | 7,015 | ||
| R | 1,377 | 4,620 | 6,014 | ||
| R | 1,286 | 4,737 | 6,034 | ||
| R | 1,765 | 4,322 | 6,270 | ||
| R | 2,031 | 3,728 | 5,780 | ||
| R | 800 | 4,240 | 5,081 | ||
| R | 819 | 3,778 | 5,200 | ||
| R | 1,736 | 3,263 | 4,999 | ||
| R | 1,174 | 4,831 | 6,005 | ||
| R | 1,069 | 4,269 | 5,338 | ||
| R | 1,236 | 4,009 | 5,245 | ||
| R | 818 | 2,908 | 3,809 | ||
| R | 1,024 | 3,192 | 4,216 | ||
| R | 1,450 | 3,290 | 4,740 | ||
| R | 1,687 | 3,380 | 5,067 | ||
| R | 1,773 | 3,798 | 5,580 | ||
| R | 827 | 3,436 | 4,263 | ||
| R | 689 | 1,540 | 2,237 | ||
| R | 697 | 2,153 | 2,850 | ||
| R | 462 | 1,298 | 1,760 | ||
| O | 385 | 203 | 1,304 | ||
| R | 550 | 1,808 | 2,358 | ||
| R | 408 | 1,384 | 1,792 | ||
| R | 491 | 1,958 | 2,449 | ||
| R | 630 | 1,861 | 2,491 | ||
| R | 724 | 1,327 | 2,099 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
22.0%
Irish
11.5%
German
10.6%
American
7.8%
Scottish
4.2%
French
2.7%
Italian
2.0%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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: 48.0 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
$57,602
Mitchell County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Mitchell County$57,602
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Mitchell 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
12.9%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.3%
Working age (18–64)12.6%
Seniors (65+)15.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.6%
speak English only
Spanish3.1%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 24.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Tucked into the Blue Ridge highlands near the Tennessee border, Mitchell delivers some of the state's widest Republican margins, with the 2024 presidential result landing at R+55.7 in a county of fewer than 16,000 residents.
The Republican margin here reached sixty-eight points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-six points.
A population of 14,992, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $57,602 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Avery County and Catawba 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.
Mitchell County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37121/. 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 Mitchell County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Mitchell County, North Carolina voted Republican by 55.7 points (R+56), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 8,846 votes cast, 1,918 went Democratic and 6,844 went Republican.
What is Mitchell County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Mitchell 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 1 times, Republican 32 times, and other 1 times.
When did Mitchell County, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Mitchell County, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Mitchell County, North Carolina?
Mitchell County, North Carolina has a population of 14,992 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Mitchell County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Mitchell County, North Carolina is $57,602 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Mitchell County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Mitchell County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 1 went Democratic and 32 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.