New Hanover County, North Carolina: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted D+1%. Democratic peak: D+95 in 1900.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+1MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 235,2292024 5-year
- Median household income
- $75,1662024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 76.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 10.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+95 in 1900MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+51 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Nash County, NC · similarity 0.97
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of New Hanover CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for New Hanover 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 | +23.0% |
| 1896 | −19.8% |
| 1900 | +94.8% |
| 1904 | +86.5% |
| 1908 | +56.8% |
| 1912 | +82.9% |
| 1916 | +65.4% |
| 1920 | +70.4% |
| 1924 | +56.0% |
| 1928 | −21.2% |
| 1932 | +60.5% |
| 1936 | +69.9% |
| 1940 | +68.1% |
| 1944 | +54.0% |
| 1948 | +19.7% |
| 1952 | +5.1% |
| 1956 | +3.9% |
| 1960 | +14.8% |
| 1964 | +1.8% |
| 1968 | −8.4% |
| 1972 | −51.4% |
| 1976 | +2.9% |
| 1980 | −11.1% |
| 1984 | −30.7% |
| 1988 | −21.4% |
| 1992 | −7.8% |
| 1996 | −9.2% |
| 2000 | +10.9% |
| 2004 | −12.0% |
| 2008 | −1.4% |
| 2012 | −4.6% |
| 2016 | −3.9% |
| 2020 | +2.1% |
| 2024 | +0.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 68,814 | 67,949 | 138,734 | ||
| D | 66,138 | 63,331 | 131,830 | ||
| R | 50,979 | 55,344 | 111,905 | ||
| R | 48,668 | 53,385 | 103,628 | ||
| R | 49,145 | 50,544 | 100,665 | ||
| R | 35,572 | 45,351 | 81,247 | ||
| D | 36,503 | 29,292 | 66,319 | ||
| R | 22,839 | 27,889 | 54,769 | ||
| R | 20,291 | 24,338 | 52,154 | ||
| R | 15,401 | 23,807 | 39,313 | ||
| R | 12,591 | 23,771 | 36,452 | ||
| R | 13,670 | 17,243 | 32,244 | ||
| D | 14,504 | 13,687 | 28,477 | ||
| R | 5,894 | 19,060 | 25,615 | ||
| R | 7,750 | 10,020 | 27,061 | ||
| D | 12,584 | 12,140 | 24,724 | ||
| D | 13,182 | 9,775 | 22,957 | ||
| D | 10,247 | 9,470 | 19,717 | ||
| D | 10,330 | 9,330 | 19,660 | ||
| D | 5,364 | 3,162 | 11,193 | ||
| D | 9,467 | 2,829 | 12,296 | ||
| D | 8,600 | 1,635 | 10,235 | ||
| D | 7,379 | 1,306 | 8,685 | ||
| D | 6,030 | 1,430 | 7,601 | ||
| R | 2,760 | 4,248 | 7,008 | ||
| D | 4,735 | 1,190 | 6,330 | ||
| D | 4,102 | 712 | 4,814 | ||
| D | 2,355 | 492 | 2,847 | ||
| D | 2,021 | 140 | 2,268 | ||
| D | 1,857 | 511 | 2,368 | ||
| D | 1,254 | 91 | 1,345 | ||
| D | 2,247 | 60 | 2,307 | ||
| R | 2,100 | 3,183 | 5,472 | ||
| D | 2,408 | 1,500 | 3,946 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
15.8%
Irish
13.1%
German
11.7%
Italian
6.0%
American
5.0%
Scottish
2.9%
Polish
2.4%
African American
8.7%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
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: 39.9 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
$75,166
New Hanover County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
New Hanover County$75,166
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
New Hanover 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
12.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.9%
Working age (18–64)12.1%
Seniors (65+)8.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.9%
speak English only
Spanish5.4%
Other Indo-European1.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.0%
Other languages0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Wilmington and UNCW, New Hanover has shifted from reliably Republican to a true battleground, with college-educated in-migration and retiree growth pulling the county's presidential margin to within a single point in 2024.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached ninety-five points in 1900; the Republican margin reached fifty-one points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was one point.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 77% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $75,166, and a 12% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Nash County and Alamance 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.
New Hanover County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37129/. 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 New Hanover County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, New Hanover County, North Carolina voted Democratic by 0.6 points (D+1), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 138,734 votes cast, 68,814 went Democratic and 67,949 went Republican.
What is New Hanover County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places New Hanover County, North Carolina in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. 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 21 times, Republican 13 times, and other 0 times.
When did New Hanover County, North Carolina last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which New Hanover County, North Carolina voted Republican was 2016.
How many people live in New Hanover County, North Carolina?
New Hanover County, North Carolina has a population of 235,229 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in New Hanover County, North Carolina?
Median household income in New Hanover County, North Carolina is $75,166 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of New Hanover County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in New Hanover County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 21 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.