Wilson County, North Carolina: Sunbelt Conservative county. In 2024, voted a near-tie. Democratic peak: D+86 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- TiedMIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Sunbelt ConservativeAkashic typology
- Population
- 79,2902024 5-year
- Median household income
- $56,4232024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 45.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 38.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 12.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+86 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+48 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Pitt County, NC · similarity 0.89
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Wilson CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Wilson 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 | +41.7% |
| 1896 | +30.8% |
| 1900 | +40.4% |
| 1904 | +37.3% |
| 1908 | +26.1% |
| 1912 | +69.6% |
| 1916 | +47.5% |
| 1920 | +43.6% |
| 1924 | +62.5% |
| 1928 | +29.3% |
| 1932 | +83.9% |
| 1936 | +86.4% |
| 1940 | +86.3% |
| 1944 | +78.8% |
| 1948 | +76.7% |
| 1952 | +54.3% |
| 1956 | +49.3% |
| 1960 | +44.1% |
| 1964 | +18.3% |
| 1968 | +0.7% |
| 1972 | −47.8% |
| 1976 | +9.4% |
| 1980 | −1.7% |
| 1984 | −18.9% |
| 1988 | −14.5% |
| 1992 | −0.3% |
| 1996 | −3.4% |
| 2000 | +8.9% |
| 2004 | −6.7% |
| 2008 | +6.1% |
| 2012 | +7.5% |
| 2016 | +5.6% |
| 2020 | +2.9% |
| 2024 | +0.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 19,909 | 19,750 | 40,045 | ||
| D | 20,754 | 19,581 | 40,735 | ||
| D | 19,663 | 17,531 | 38,135 | ||
| D | 20,875 | 17,954 | 39,109 | ||
| D | 19,652 | 17,375 | 37,191 | ||
| R | 14,206 | 16,264 | 30,535 | ||
| D | 13,466 | 11,266 | 24,826 | ||
| R | 9,779 | 10,518 | 21,451 | ||
| R | 10,105 | 10,176 | 22,937 | ||
| R | 8,214 | 10,997 | 19,257 | ||
| R | 8,343 | 12,243 | 20,643 | ||
| R | 8,042 | 8,329 | 16,704 | ||
| D | 8,209 | 6,795 | 15,084 | ||
| R | 4,166 | 12,060 | 16,512 | ||
| O | 4,173 | 4,053 | 16,129 | ||
| D | 7,238 | 5,002 | 12,240 | ||
| D | 8,021 | 3,114 | 11,135 | ||
| D | 8,328 | 2,830 | 11,158 | ||
| D | 8,684 | 2,569 | 11,253 | ||
| D | 6,008 | 665 | 6,966 | ||
| D | 6,480 | 769 | 7,249 | ||
| D | 7,912 | 584 | 8,496 | ||
| D | 7,522 | 549 | 8,071 | ||
| D | 6,153 | 517 | 6,721 | ||
| D | 3,535 | 1,933 | 5,468 | ||
| D | 2,619 | 574 | 3,274 | ||
| D | 3,496 | 1,374 | 4,870 | ||
| D | 2,052 | 730 | 2,782 | ||
| D | 1,741 | 82 | 2,384 | ||
| D | 1,732 | 1,014 | 2,746 | ||
| D | 1,363 | 623 | 1,986 | ||
| D | 2,816 | 1,194 | 4,012 | ||
| D | 2,715 | 1,436 | 4,153 | ||
| D | 2,100 | 497 | 3,846 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
11.2%
American
8.3%
Irish
5.0%
German
4.1%
Italian
1.0%
Scottish
0.9%
French
0.7%
African American
31.0%
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: 40.6 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
$56,423
Wilson County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Wilson County$56,423
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Wilson 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
19.8%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1831.4%
Working age (18–64)16.3%
Seniors (65+)16.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.0%
speak English only
Spanish10.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other languages0.4%
Other Indo-European0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Wilson County sits in the coastal plain east of Raleigh, where a majority-minority population and a shrinking agricultural economy have pushed a once reliably Democratic stronghold to near-perfect equilibrium, with the 2024 presidential contest decided by fewer than 300 votes.
The Republican margin here reached forty-eight points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was zero points.
A median household income of $56,423, a 46% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 79,290 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Pitt County and Forsyth 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.
Wilson County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37195/. 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 Wilson County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Wilson County, North Carolina voted a near-tie (Tied), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 40,045 votes cast, 19,909 went Democratic and 19,750 went Republican.
What is Wilson County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Wilson 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 26 times, Republican 7 times, and other 1 times.
When did Wilson County, North Carolina last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Wilson County, North Carolina voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in Wilson County, North Carolina?
Wilson County, North Carolina has a population of 79,290 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Wilson County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Wilson County, North Carolina is $56,423 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Wilson County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Wilson County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 26 went Democratic and 7 went Republican. The county's typology — "Sunbelt Conservative" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.