Rowan County, North Carolina: Sunbelt Conservative county. In 2024, voted R+36%. Democratic peak: D+53 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+36MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Sunbelt ConservativeAkashic typology
- Population
- 149,8752024 5-year
- Median household income
- $65,7252024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 70.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 15.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 11.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+53 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+49 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Catawba County, NC · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Rowan CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Rowan 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 | +35.6% |
| 1896 | +35.4% |
| 1900 | +21.1% |
| 1904 | +33.0% |
| 1908 | +8.6% |
| 1912 | +53.4% |
| 1916 | +13.6% |
| 1920 | +13.6% |
| 1924 | +13.8% |
| 1928 | −24.9% |
| 1932 | +36.9% |
| 1936 | +49.7% |
| 1940 | +52.5% |
| 1944 | +24.8% |
| 1948 | +6.9% |
| 1952 | −21.6% |
| 1956 | −28.6% |
| 1960 | −15.7% |
| 1964 | +0.4% |
| 1968 | −21.9% |
| 1972 | −49.2% |
| 1976 | +2.4% |
| 1980 | −22.2% |
| 1984 | −40.6% |
| 1988 | −31.2% |
| 1992 | −16.4% |
| 1996 | −23.7% |
| 2000 | +31.8% |
| 2004 | −35.1% |
| 2008 | −22.8% |
| 2012 | −25.9% |
| 2016 | −36.4% |
| 2020 | −35.7% |
| 2024 | −35.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 23,788 | 50,807 | 75,394 | ||
| R | 23,114 | 49,297 | 73,408 | ||
| R | 19,400 | 42,810 | 64,369 | ||
| R | 22,650 | 38,775 | 62,312 | ||
| R | 23,391 | 37,451 | 61,560 | ||
| R | 16,735 | 34,915 | 51,867 | ||
| D | 28,922 | 14,891 | 44,133 | ||
| R | 13,461 | 22,754 | 39,273 | ||
| R | 14,308 | 21,297 | 42,732 | ||
| R | 12,127 | 23,192 | 35,416 | ||
| R | 10,643 | 25,207 | 35,907 | ||
| R | 11,671 | 18,566 | 31,109 | ||
| D | 15,363 | 14,644 | 30,229 | ||
| R | 6,834 | 20,735 | 28,274 | ||
| R | 8,074 | 15,207 | 32,501 | ||
| D | 14,934 | 14,804 | 29,738 | ||
| R | 12,919 | 17,726 | 30,645 | ||
| R | 9,761 | 17,562 | 27,323 | ||
| R | 11,296 | 17,535 | 28,831 | ||
| D | 6,799 | 5,722 | 15,702 | ||
| D | 9,721 | 5,862 | 15,583 | ||
| D | 13,023 | 4,059 | 17,082 | ||
| D | 12,808 | 4,306 | 17,114 | ||
| D | 9,782 | 4,464 | 14,426 | ||
| R | 4,783 | 7,957 | 12,740 | ||
| D | 4,816 | 3,560 | 9,114 | ||
| D | 6,421 | 4,888 | 11,309 | ||
| D | 3,053 | 2,320 | 5,373 | ||
| D | 2,748 | 280 | 4,624 | ||
| D | 2,392 | 2,009 | 4,462 | ||
| D | 2,424 | 1,215 | 3,659 | ||
| D | 2,460 | 1,555 | 4,290 | ||
| D | 3,095 | 1,468 | 4,600 | ||
| D | 2,303 | 876 | 4,011 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
14.3%
English
11.1%
American
10.6%
Irish
7.9%
Italian
2.5%
Scottish
2.0%
Polish
1.1%
African American
12.6%
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: 40.4 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
$65,725
Rowan County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Rowan County$65,725
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Rowan 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
16.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1823.3%
Working age (18–64)14.4%
Seniors (65+)8.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
89.1%
speak English only
Spanish9.1%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 52.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Rowan County's economy traces its roots to textile and industrial production, and its electorate has shifted steadily rightward over the past decade, delivering a 35-point Republican presidential margin in 2024 despite a moderately sized urban center in Salisbury.
The Republican margin here reached forty-nine points in 1972. The 2024 margin was thirty-six points.
A median household income of $65,725, a 70% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 149,875 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Catawba County and Iredell 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.
Rowan County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37159/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in North Carolina
More sunbelt conservative counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Rowan County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Rowan County, North Carolina voted Republican by 35.8 points (R+36), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 75,394 votes cast, 23,788 went Democratic and 50,807 went Republican.
What is Rowan County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Rowan County, North Carolina in the "Sunbelt Conservative" typology — Affluent, predominantly white Sunbelt counties — reliably Republican. 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 17 times, Republican 17 times, and other 0 times.
When did Rowan County, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rowan County, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Rowan County, North Carolina?
Rowan County, North Carolina has a population of 149,875 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rowan County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Rowan County, North Carolina is $65,725 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Rowan County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Rowan County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 17 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The county's typology — "Sunbelt Conservative" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.