Rutherford County, North Carolina
Precinct data
Results by precinct
17 precincts · 34,670 votes
Precinct boundaries and identifiers are cycle-specific. This table does not join rows across years without a validated crosswalk.
| Precinct -1111 | 728 | 3,461 | 29 | 4,218 | 17.3% | 82.1% | R+64.8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precinct -1313 | 1,125 | 1,728 | 21 | 2,874 | 39.1% | 60.1% | R+21.0 |
| Precinct -2727 | 931 | 1,725 | 31 | 2,687 | 34.6% | 64.2% | R+29.5 |
| Precinct -09A09A | 403 | 2,203 | 22 | 2,628 | 15.3% | 83.8% | R+68.5 |
| Precinct -3030 | 897 | 1,408 | 20 | 2,325 | 38.6% | 60.6% | R+22.0 |
| Precinct -16A16A | 448 | 1,794 | 22 | 2,264 | 19.8% | 79.2% | R+59.5 |
| Precinct -06A06A | 863 | 1,202 | 34 | 2,099 | 41.1% | 57.3% | R+16.2 |
| Precinct -05A05A | 394 | 1,511 | 13 | 1,918 | 20.5% | 78.8% | R+58.2 |
| Precinct -04A04A | 375 | 1,458 | 11 | 1,844 | 20.3% | 79.1% | R+58.7 |
| Precinct -03A03A | 275 | 1,482 | 11 | 1,768 | 15.6% | 83.8% | R+68.3 |
| Precinct -1414 | 582 | 1,154 | 19 | 1,755 | 33.2% | 65.8% | R+32.6 |
| Precinct -1818 | 456 | 1,250 | 28 | 1,734 | 26.3% | 72.1% | R+45.8 |
| Precinct -1919 | 275 | 1,265 | 8 | 1,548 | 17.8% | 81.7% | R+64.0 |
| Precinct -2929 | 397 | 1,060 | 11 | 1,468 | 27.0% | 72.2% | R+45.2 |
| Precinct -3434 | 235 | 965 | 12 | 1,212 | 19.4% | 79.6% | R+60.2 |
| Precinct -2828 | 334 | 866 | 5 | 1,205 | 27.7% | 71.9% | R+44.1 |
| Precinct -10A10A | 196 | 924 | 3 | 1,123 | 17.5% | 82.3% | R+64.8 |
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | +9.7% |
| 1896 | +4.7% |
| 1900 | +2.5% |
| 1904 | +16.9% |
| 1908 | +5.7% |
| 1912 | +54.8% |
| 1916 | +13.3% |
| 1920 | +11.9% |
| 1924 | +13.3% |
| 1928 | −16.3% |
| 1932 | +30.3% |
| 1936 | +34.5% |
| 1940 | +35.7% |
| 1944 | +22.2% |
| 1948 | +14.0% |
| 1952 | −3.9% |
| 1956 | −6.4% |
| 1960 | −2.5% |
| 1964 | +14.6% |
| 1968 | −18.7% |
| 1972 | −38.8% |
| 1976 | +21.3% |
| 1980 | −0.3% |
| 1984 | −24.7% |
| 1988 | −19.7% |
| 1992 | −9.3% |
| 1996 | −14.2% |
| 2000 | −27.9% |
| 2004 | −33.1% |
| 2008 | −31.8% |
| 2012 | −33.4% |
| 2016 | −47.4% |
| 2020 | −45.8% |
| 2024 | −47.7% |
U.S. Senate
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | R | 23.6%5,538 | 73.9%17,330 | 23,435 |
| 2020 | R | 26.8%9,136 | 69.3%23,596 | 34,067 |
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 24 points more Democratic.
| Year | Total registered | Democratic | Republican | Unaffiliated | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 41,341 | 18,674 | 13,974 | 8,684 | 9 |
| 2012 | 43,932 | 17,979 | 14,863 | 10,985 | 105 |
| 2016 | 45,073 | 15,869 | 16,410 | 12,605 | 189 |
| 2020 | 46,022 | 12,188 | 19,088 | 14,466 | 280 |
| 2022 | 46,646 | 10,783 | 19,818 | 15,788 | 257 |
| 2024 | 48,084 | 9,602 | 21,106 | 16,955 | 421 |
Who moves in and out
Net migration over time, and who arrivals are — where they came from and what those places vote
+565 net domestic migration · 2025
Net +4,302 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Arrivals reported $56,436 in average income, against $61,568 for residents who stayed — 8% lower. (IRS SOI, 2022–23)
The places arrivals came from lean R+18.3 on average — 29 points more Democratic-leaning than Rutherford County, NC itself (R+47.7).
Where arrivals came from lean of each source
- Cleveland County, NC171R+34.9
- Buncombe County, NC111D+24.7
- Spartanburg County, SC77R+33.6
- Polk County, NC71R+25.1
- Henderson County, NC58R+14.5
- McDowell County, NC58R+49.1
Where departures went households, 2022–23
- Cleveland County, NC166
- Spartanburg County, SC90
- Polk County, NC53
- Buncombe County, NC48
- Mecklenburg County, NC41
- Burke County, NC35
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 | −217 |
| 2012 | −98 |
| 2013 | −189 |
| 2014 | −85 |
| 2015 | +35 |
| 2016 | +97 |
| 2017 | +428 |
| 2018 | +434 |
| 2019 | +461 |
| 2021 | +598 |
| 2022 | +788 |
| 2023 | +904 |
| 2024 | +581 |
| 2025 | +565 |
Rutherford County sits along the Blue Ridge foothills west of Charlotte, where a predominantly rural, working-class white electorate has delivered Republican presidential margins exceeding 45 points in each of the last three cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 54.8 points in 1912 and a Republican high of 47.7 points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved 1.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 47.7 points.
A population of 64,930, a 81% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $51,410 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Green County and McMinn 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 →
Rutherford County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37161/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.