Transylvania County, North Carolina: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+12%. Republican peak: R+42 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+12MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 33,6912024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,1842024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 88.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+41 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+42 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Johnston County, NC · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Transylvania CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Transylvania 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 | +1.1% |
| 1896 | −3.4% |
| 1900 | −8.1% |
| 1904 | +2.8% |
| 1908 | −3.5% |
| 1912 | +41.1% |
| 1916 | −1.2% |
| 1920 | −4.3% |
| 1924 | −1.1% |
| 1928 | −11.4% |
| 1932 | +20.2% |
| 1936 | +17.4% |
| 1940 | +24.3% |
| 1944 | +14.6% |
| 1948 | +1.8% |
| 1952 | −5.3% |
| 1956 | −6.4% |
| 1960 | −10.9% |
| 1964 | +11.7% |
| 1968 | −21.2% |
| 1972 | −42.1% |
| 1976 | +6.2% |
| 1980 | −8.9% |
| 1984 | −30.1% |
| 1988 | −24.1% |
| 1992 | −6.6% |
| 1996 | −14.7% |
| 2000 | +27.9% |
| 2004 | −21.1% |
| 2008 | −12.6% |
| 2012 | −16.8% |
| 2016 | −22.2% |
| 2020 | −15.6% |
| 2024 | −12.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 8,972 | 11,492 | 20,780 | ||
| R | 8,444 | 11,636 | 20,404 | ||
| R | 6,558 | 10,520 | 17,869 | ||
| R | 6,826 | 9,634 | 16,763 | ||
| R | 7,275 | 9,401 | 16,909 | ||
| R | 6,097 | 9,386 | 15,588 | ||
| D | 9,011 | 5,044 | 14,225 | ||
| R | 4,842 | 6,734 | 12,877 | ||
| R | 5,120 | 5,984 | 13,137 | ||
| R | 4,280 | 7,009 | 11,330 | ||
| R | 3,733 | 6,956 | 10,717 | ||
| R | 4,008 | 4,826 | 9,175 | ||
| D | 4,636 | 4,089 | 8,791 | ||
| R | 2,321 | 5,860 | 8,404 | ||
| R | 2,210 | 4,033 | 8,608 | ||
| D | 4,483 | 3,547 | 8,030 | ||
| R | 3,388 | 4,221 | 7,609 | ||
| R | 3,435 | 3,901 | 7,336 | ||
| R | 3,641 | 4,047 | 7,688 | ||
| D | 2,975 | 2,861 | 6,163 | ||
| D | 3,019 | 2,251 | 5,270 | ||
| D | 3,312 | 2,019 | 5,331 | ||
| D | 2,845 | 2,001 | 4,846 | ||
| D | 2,523 | 1,671 | 4,216 | ||
| R | 1,722 | 2,165 | 3,887 | ||
| R | 1,776 | 1,814 | 3,612 | ||
| R | 1,542 | 1,680 | 3,222 | ||
| R | 821 | 841 | 1,662 | ||
| D | 631 | 107 | 1,276 | ||
| R | 570 | 611 | 1,181 | ||
| D | 556 | 526 | 1,082 | ||
| R | 529 | 622 | 1,154 | ||
| R | 595 | 637 | 1,236 | ||
| D | 513 | 502 | 1,035 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
19.1%
Irish
15.7%
German
14.3%
American
7.1%
Scottish
4.6%
Italian
3.0%
French
2.8%
African American
2.9%
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: 51.6 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
$66,184
Transylvania County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Transylvania County$66,184
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Transylvania 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
13.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.5%
Working age (18–64)13.1%
Seniors (65+)7.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.1%
speak English only
Spanish1.8%
Other Indo-European0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
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 46.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Transylvania County sits in the southwestern Blue Ridge, where a small but growing influx of retirees and remote workers has gradually narrowed its Republican presidential margins over the past decade, even as the 2024 result landed at R+12.1.
The Republican margin here reached forty-two points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was twelve points.
A population of 33,691, a 88% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $66,184 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Johnston County and Henderson 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.
Transylvania County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37175/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in North Carolina
More stable rural right counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Transylvania County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Transylvania County, North Carolina voted Republican by 12.1 points (R+12), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 20,780 votes cast, 8,972 went Democratic and 11,492 went Republican.
What is Transylvania County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Transylvania 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 11 times, Republican 23 times, and other 0 times.
When did Transylvania County, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Transylvania County, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Transylvania County, North Carolina?
Transylvania County, North Carolina has a population of 33,691 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Transylvania County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Transylvania County, North Carolina is $66,184 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Transylvania County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Transylvania County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 23 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.