Yancey County, North Carolina: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+34%. Democratic peak: D+48 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+34MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 18,7972024 5-year
- Median household income
- $58,7092024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+48 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+34 in 2020MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Bon Homme County, SD · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Yancey CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Yancey 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 | +16.0% |
| 1896 | +3.6% |
| 1900 | −6.3% |
| 1904 | +7.9% |
| 1908 | +1.5% |
| 1912 | +47.6% |
| 1916 | +8.1% |
| 1920 | −6.5% |
| 1924 | +9.1% |
| 1928 | −4.5% |
| 1932 | +17.5% |
| 1936 | +14.5% |
| 1940 | +16.2% |
| 1944 | +15.8% |
| 1948 | +20.6% |
| 1952 | +11.1% |
| 1956 | +2.7% |
| 1960 | +0.4% |
| 1964 | +29.9% |
| 1968 | −4.3% |
| 1972 | −15.2% |
| 1976 | +18.7% |
| 1980 | +8.6% |
| 1984 | −8.1% |
| 1988 | −4.5% |
| 1992 | +3.2% |
| 1996 | −0.2% |
| 2000 | +14.3% |
| 2004 | −5.4% |
| 2008 | −5.8% |
| 2012 | −13.7% |
| 2016 | −32.0% |
| 2020 | −33.7% |
| 2024 | −34.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,635 | 7,511 | 11,285 | ||
| R | 3,688 | 7,516 | 11,352 | ||
| R | 3,196 | 6,385 | 9,960 | ||
| R | 3,981 | 5,278 | 9,451 | ||
| R | 4,486 | 5,045 | 9,717 | ||
| R | 4,434 | 4,940 | 9,431 | ||
| D | 4,970 | 3,714 | 8,764 | ||
| R | 3,956 | 3,973 | 8,684 | ||
| D | 4,285 | 3,994 | 9,208 | ||
| R | 3,803 | 4,160 | 8,000 | ||
| R | 3,651 | 4,296 | 7,961 | ||
| D | 4,010 | 3,363 | 7,546 | ||
| D | 3,932 | 2,688 | 6,649 | ||
| R | 2,278 | 3,106 | 5,440 | ||
| R | 2,215 | 2,448 | 5,415 | ||
| D | 3,714 | 2,004 | 5,718 | ||
| D | 3,310 | 3,284 | 6,594 | ||
| D | 2,964 | 2,808 | 5,772 | ||
| D | 3,693 | 2,953 | 6,646 | ||
| D | 3,481 | 2,282 | 5,832 | ||
| D | 3,301 | 2,402 | 5,703 | ||
| D | 3,489 | 2,516 | 6,005 | ||
| D | 3,603 | 2,691 | 6,294 | ||
| D | 3,412 | 2,396 | 5,817 | ||
| R | 2,476 | 2,712 | 5,188 | ||
| D | 2,592 | 2,156 | 4,769 | ||
| R | 2,280 | 2,596 | 4,876 | ||
| D | 1,273 | 1,082 | 2,355 | ||
| D | 1,112 | 60 | 2,208 | ||
| D | 978 | 950 | 1,928 | ||
| D | 1,013 | 864 | 1,877 | ||
| R | 954 | 1,082 | 2,036 | ||
| D | 1,056 | 982 | 2,038 | ||
| D | 927 | 651 | 1,721 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
15.3%
Irish
14.7%
American
13.8%
German
9.3%
Scottish
3.1%
French
1.1%
Italian
0.9%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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: 49.2 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
$58,709
Yancey County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Yancey County$58,709
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Yancey 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
15.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.5%
Working age (18–64)14.4%
Seniors (65+)16.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.2%
speak English only
Spanish4.5%
Other Indo-European1.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Tucked into the Black Mountains of western North Carolina, Yancey County delivers lopsided Republican presidential margins — R+34.3 in 2024 — in a rugged, rural community where fewer than 18,000 residents live well above 2,000 feet elevation.
The Republican margin here reached thirty-four points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-four points.
A population of 18,797, a 92% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $58,709 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Bon Homme County and McCook 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.
Yancey County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37199/. 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 Yancey County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Yancey County, North Carolina voted Republican by 34.3 points (R+34), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 11,285 votes cast, 3,635 went Democratic and 7,511 went Republican.
What is Yancey County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Yancey County, North Carolina in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. 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 20 times, Republican 14 times, and other 0 times.
When did Yancey County, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Yancey County, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Yancey County, North Carolina?
Yancey County, North Carolina has a population of 18,797 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Yancey County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Yancey County, North Carolina is $58,709 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Yancey County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Yancey County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 20 went Democratic and 14 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.