Athens County, Ohio: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted D+11%. Republican peak: R+57 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+11MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 61,7372024 5-year
- Median household income
- $56,0012024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Lucas County, OH · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Athens CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Athens 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 | −24.5% |
| 1896 | −24.0% |
| 1900 | −40.5% |
| 1904 | −56.8% |
| 1908 | −26.7% |
| 1912 | −7.3% |
| 1916 | −14.4% |
| 1920 | −25.1% |
| 1924 | −40.3% |
| 1928 | −41.3% |
| 1932 | −5.1% |
| 1936 | +16.1% |
| 1940 | +1.0% |
| 1944 | −16.3% |
| 1948 | −9.2% |
| 1952 | −20.7% |
| 1956 | −28.9% |
| 1960 | −17.5% |
| 1964 | +26.3% |
| 1968 | −3.0% |
| 1972 | +1.2% |
| 1976 | +7.9% |
| 1980 | +6.8% |
| 1984 | −6.1% |
| 1988 | +7.3% |
| 1992 | +24.2% |
| 1996 | +26.2% |
| 2000 | +13.6% |
| 2004 | +27.1% |
| 2008 | +35.1% |
| 2012 | +34.9% |
| 2016 | +16.7% |
| 2020 | +15.0% |
| 2024 | +10.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 14,134 | 11,369 | 26,014 | ||
| D | 14,772 | 10,862 | 26,059 | ||
| D | 16,370 | 11,354 | 30,042 | ||
| D | 18,307 | 8,543 | 28,008 | ||
| D | 20,722 | 9,742 | 31,259 | ||
| D | 18,998 | 10,847 | 30,045 | ||
| D | 13,158 | 9,703 | 25,447 | ||
| D | 13,418 | 7,154 | 23,954 | ||
| D | 13,423 | 7,184 | 25,793 | ||
| D | 10,795 | 9,314 | 20,281 | ||
| R | 10,201 | 11,548 | 21,958 | ||
| D | 9,514 | 8,170 | 19,801 | ||
| D | 9,896 | 8,387 | 19,016 | ||
| D | 9,977 | 9,735 | 19,915 | ||
| R | 7,351 | 7,837 | 16,400 | ||
| D | 10,633 | 6,211 | 16,844 | ||
| R | 7,542 | 10,747 | 18,289 | ||
| R | 5,959 | 10,794 | 16,753 | ||
| R | 7,108 | 10,829 | 17,937 | ||
| R | 7,398 | 8,902 | 16,354 | ||
| R | 7,438 | 10,326 | 17,764 | ||
| D | 11,449 | 11,213 | 22,662 | ||
| D | 13,205 | 9,509 | 22,922 | ||
| R | 8,915 | 9,897 | 19,343 | ||
| R | 4,546 | 11,101 | 15,855 | ||
| R | 2,669 | 8,695 | 14,943 | ||
| R | 6,523 | 11,016 | 17,900 | ||
| R | 4,101 | 5,554 | 10,066 | ||
| O | 2,393 | 3,090 | 9,483 | ||
| R | 3,654 | 6,449 | 10,475 | ||
| R | 1,594 | 6,352 | 8,376 | ||
| R | 2,529 | 6,126 | 8,891 | ||
| R | 3,293 | 5,429 | 8,897 | ||
| R | 2,599 | 4,458 | 7,597 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
22.6%
English
17.5%
Irish
15.4%
American
5.1%
Italian
3.6%
Polish
2.4%
Scottish
2.0%
African American
1.8%
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: 33.2 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
$56,001
Athens County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Athens County$56,001
Ohio$71,389
United States$80,734
Athens 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
21.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.0%
Working age (18–64)24.5%
Seniors (65+)7.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.8%
Other languages0.9%
Spanish0.8%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 80.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Ohio University, Athens County votes reliably Democratic in a region that has swung sharply Republican over the past two decades, with the 2024 presidential margin holding at D+10.7 despite statewide trends.
The Democratic margin here peaked at thirty-five points in 2008. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was eleven points.
A population of 61,737, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $56,001 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Lucas County and Brunswick 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.
Athens County, Ohio. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/39009/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Athens County, Ohio vote in 2024?
In 2024, Athens County, Ohio voted Democratic by 10.6 points (D+11), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 26,014 votes cast, 14,134 went Democratic and 11,369 went Republican.
What is Athens County, Ohio's political typology?
Akashic places Athens County, Ohio in the "Heartland Swing" typology — Industrial Midwest swing counties drifting steadily toward the Republican Party. 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 16 times, Republican 17 times, and other 1 times.
When did Athens County, Ohio last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Athens County, Ohio voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Athens County, Ohio?
Athens County, Ohio has a population of 61,737 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Athens County, Ohio?
Median household income in Athens County, Ohio is $56,001 — below the national median of $80,734. The Ohio state median is $71,389.
What is the political history of Athens County, Ohio?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Athens County, Ohio from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.