Nelson County, North Dakota: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+32%. Republican peak: R+71 in 1920.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+32MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 3,0162024 5-year
- Median household income
- $67,1932024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+54 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+71 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Polk County, MN · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Nelson CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Nelson 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 | −46.1% |
| 1896 | −1.1% |
| 1900 | −25.8% |
| 1904 | −54.9% |
| 1908 | −31.7% |
| 1912 | +4.6% |
| 1916 | −7.6% |
| 1920 | −71.0% |
| 1924 | −44.1% |
| 1928 | −20.9% |
| 1932 | +53.7% |
| 1936 | +43.5% |
| 1940 | +13.3% |
| 1944 | +12.2% |
| 1948 | −1.2% |
| 1952 | −26.4% |
| 1956 | −0.7% |
| 1960 | −4.1% |
| 1964 | +33.0% |
| 1968 | −1.5% |
| 1972 | −8.8% |
| 1976 | +9.1% |
| 1980 | −34.1% |
| 1984 | −16.7% |
| 1988 | +3.3% |
| 1992 | −1.0% |
| 1996 | +4.6% |
| 2000 | −18.7% |
| 2004 | −17.1% |
| 2008 | +6.1% |
| 2012 | −5.8% |
| 2016 | −28.5% |
| 2020 | −31.2% |
| 2024 | −31.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 580 | 1,141 | 1,761 | ||
| R | 586 | 1,141 | 1,777 | ||
| R | 536 | 1,025 | 1,717 | ||
| R | 767 | 865 | 1,678 | ||
| D | 907 | 800 | 1,752 | ||
| R | 778 | 1,107 | 1,922 | ||
| R | 687 | 1,031 | 1,840 | ||
| D | 827 | 745 | 1,799 | ||
| R | 841 | 864 | 2,206 | ||
| D | 1,151 | 1,078 | 2,243 | ||
| R | 1,026 | 1,445 | 2,513 | ||
| R | 726 | 1,611 | 2,595 | ||
| D | 1,610 | 1,336 | 3,015 | ||
| R | 1,358 | 1,625 | 3,028 | ||
| R | 1,477 | 1,526 | 3,162 | ||
| D | 2,186 | 1,101 | 3,287 | ||
| R | 1,783 | 1,934 | 3,719 | ||
| R | 1,794 | 1,821 | 3,617 | ||
| R | 1,418 | 2,443 | 3,880 | ||
| R | 1,629 | 1,672 | 3,538 | ||
| D | 1,925 | 1,506 | 3,441 | ||
| D | 2,435 | 1,859 | 4,316 | ||
| D | 2,954 | 1,002 | 4,491 | ||
| D | 3,176 | 956 | 4,132 | ||
| R | 1,542 | 2,364 | 3,928 | ||
| R | 175 | 1,697 | 3,449 | ||
| R | 501 | 3,127 | 3,701 | ||
| R | 861 | 1,013 | 1,987 | ||
| O | 526 | 448 | 1,701 | ||
| R | 616 | 1,225 | 1,920 | ||
| R | 340 | 1,284 | 1,721 | ||
| R | 576 | 994 | 1,623 | ||
| R | 603 | 616 | 1,221 | ||
| O | 0 | 460 | 998 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
29.3%
Irish
5.2%
English
4.4%
French
2.8%
Scottish
1.9%
Polish
1.1%
American
1.1%
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: 50.1 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
$67,193
Nelson County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Nelson County$67,193
North Dakota$76,657
United States$80,734
Nelson 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
7.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.2%
Working age (18–64)5.6%
Seniors (65+)5.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European3.1%
Spanish0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
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 5.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Nelson County's population has declined steadily for decades, leaving fewer than four residents per square mile across its rolling farmland. That rural depopulation pattern tracks closely with its consistent, wide Republican presidential margins.
The Republican margin here reached seventy-one points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-two points.
A population of 3,016, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $67,193 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Polk County and Washington 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.
Nelson County, North Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/38063/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in North Dakota
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Nelson County, North Dakota vote in 2024?
In 2024, Nelson County, North Dakota voted Republican by 31.9 points (R+32), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,761 votes cast, 580 went Democratic and 1,141 went Republican.
What is Nelson County, North Dakota's political typology?
Akashic places Nelson County, North Dakota 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 9 times, Republican 23 times, and other 2 times.
When did Nelson County, North Dakota last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Nelson County, North Dakota voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Nelson County, North Dakota?
Nelson County, North Dakota has a population of 3,016 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Nelson County, North Dakota?
Median household income in Nelson County, North Dakota is $67,193 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Dakota state median is $76,657.
What is the political history of Nelson County, North Dakota?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Nelson County, North Dakota from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 23 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.