Defiance County, Ohio: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+40%. Republican peak: R+40 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+40MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 38,3432024 5-year
- Median household income
- $73,0642024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 86.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.7%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 11.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+40 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Wyandot County, OH · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Defiance CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Defiance 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 | +21.3% |
| 1896 | +27.2% |
| 1900 | +16.4% |
| 1904 | +2.9% |
| 1908 | +18.9% |
| 1912 | +34.7% |
| 1916 | +13.1% |
| 1920 | −22.9% |
| 1924 | −17.5% |
| 1928 | −28.7% |
| 1932 | +25.1% |
| 1936 | +5.2% |
| 1940 | −30.0% |
| 1944 | −34.4% |
| 1948 | −14.2% |
| 1952 | −36.0% |
| 1956 | −38.1% |
| 1960 | −26.2% |
| 1964 | +26.6% |
| 1968 | −11.9% |
| 1972 | −33.3% |
| 1976 | −12.3% |
| 1980 | −27.3% |
| 1984 | −36.9% |
| 1988 | −27.2% |
| 1992 | −8.5% |
| 1996 | −7.1% |
| 2000 | −20.7% |
| 2004 | −23.9% |
| 2008 | −10.4% |
| 2012 | −13.2% |
| 2016 | −34.0% |
| 2020 | −36.4% |
| 2024 | −39.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 5,667 | 13,302 | 19,260 | ||
| R | 5,981 | 13,038 | 19,381 | ||
| R | 5,368 | 11,688 | 18,603 | ||
| R | 7,732 | 10,176 | 18,461 | ||
| R | 8,399 | 10,407 | 19,232 | ||
| R | 6,975 | 11,397 | 18,516 | ||
| R | 6,175 | 9,540 | 16,242 | ||
| R | 6,343 | 7,469 | 15,893 | ||
| R | 5,735 | 7,195 | 17,211 | ||
| R | 5,448 | 9,566 | 15,153 | ||
| R | 5,004 | 10,951 | 16,130 | ||
| R | 5,096 | 9,358 | 15,639 | ||
| R | 5,850 | 7,526 | 13,679 | ||
| R | 4,377 | 8,914 | 13,630 | ||
| R | 5,686 | 7,348 | 13,959 | ||
| D | 8,707 | 5,048 | 13,755 | ||
| R | 5,207 | 8,912 | 14,119 | ||
| R | 3,941 | 8,786 | 12,727 | ||
| R | 4,161 | 8,834 | 12,995 | ||
| R | 4,454 | 5,927 | 10,409 | ||
| R | 3,634 | 7,450 | 11,084 | ||
| R | 4,313 | 8,010 | 12,323 | ||
| D | 5,608 | 5,000 | 11,670 | ||
| D | 6,532 | 3,871 | 10,595 | ||
| R | 3,487 | 6,289 | 9,776 | ||
| R | 3,227 | 4,841 | 9,213 | ||
| R | 3,723 | 5,987 | 9,890 | ||
| D | 3,359 | 2,565 | 6,055 | ||
| D | 2,784 | 872 | 5,504 | ||
| D | 3,754 | 2,531 | 6,482 | ||
| D | 3,216 | 3,032 | 6,392 | ||
| D | 3,766 | 2,684 | 6,578 | ||
| D | 4,239 | 2,414 | 6,703 | ||
| D | 3,311 | 2,062 | 5,876 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
34.9%
Irish
9.1%
English
8.9%
American
6.1%
Italian
2.5%
French
2.3%
Polish
1.7%
African American
1.4%
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: 41.1 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
$73,064
Defiance County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Defiance County$73,064
Ohio$71,389
United States$80,734
Defiance 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
10.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1811.4%
Working age (18–64)10.7%
Seniors (65+)6.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.8%
speak English only
Spanish3.4%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 17.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Defiance County, anchored by its small manufacturing city on the Maumee River, has shifted steadily rightward over two decades — its 2024 presidential margin of R+39.9 reflects a broader rural northwest Ohio realignment away from its once-competitive past.
The Democratic margin here peaked at thirty-five points in 1912. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty points.
A population of 38,343, a 87% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $73,064 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Wyandot County and Orange 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.
Defiance County, Ohio. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/39039/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Defiance County, Ohio vote in 2024?
In 2024, Defiance County, Ohio voted Republican by 39.6 points (R+40), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 19,260 votes cast, 5,667 went Democratic and 13,302 went Republican.
What is Defiance County, Ohio's political typology?
Akashic places Defiance 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 10 times, Republican 24 times, and other 0 times.
When did Defiance County, Ohio last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Defiance County, Ohio voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Defiance County, Ohio?
Defiance County, Ohio has a population of 38,343 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Defiance County, Ohio?
Median household income in Defiance County, Ohio is $73,064 — below the national median of $80,734. The Ohio state median is $71,389.
What is the political history of Defiance County, Ohio?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Defiance County, Ohio from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 10 went Democratic and 24 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.