Highland County, Ohio: Appalachian Realigners county. In 2024, voted R+63%. Republican peak: R+63 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+63MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Appalachian RealignersAkashic typology
- Population
- 43,5172024 5-year
- Median household income
- $65,7852024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+10 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+63 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Morrow County, OH · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Highland CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Highland 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 | −4.8% |
| 1896 | −2.4% |
| 1900 | −1.7% |
| 1904 | −11.4% |
| 1908 | −4.0% |
| 1912 | +7.5% |
| 1916 | +3.0% |
| 1920 | −14.4% |
| 1924 | −18.9% |
| 1928 | −36.7% |
| 1932 | +1.1% |
| 1936 | +4.0% |
| 1940 | −10.4% |
| 1944 | −19.8% |
| 1948 | −9.4% |
| 1952 | −24.3% |
| 1956 | −27.0% |
| 1960 | −24.5% |
| 1964 | +9.8% |
| 1968 | −21.2% |
| 1972 | −41.4% |
| 1976 | −3.9% |
| 1980 | −24.2% |
| 1984 | −40.5% |
| 1988 | −34.1% |
| 1992 | −14.1% |
| 1996 | −8.6% |
| 2000 | −28.5% |
| 2004 | −32.6% |
| 2008 | −26.3% |
| 2012 | −29.7% |
| 2016 | −54.6% |
| 2020 | −60.4% |
| 2024 | −63.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,609 | 16,269 | 20,005 | ||
| R | 3,799 | 15,678 | 19,676 | ||
| R | 3,773 | 14,020 | 18,769 | ||
| R | 6,054 | 11,413 | 18,040 | ||
| R | 6,856 | 11,907 | 19,231 | ||
| R | 6,194 | 12,211 | 18,481 | ||
| R | 5,328 | 9,728 | 15,447 | ||
| R | 5,837 | 7,102 | 14,674 | ||
| R | 4,866 | 7,020 | 15,242 | ||
| R | 4,278 | 8,776 | 13,178 | ||
| R | 3,784 | 9,000 | 12,875 | ||
| R | 4,363 | 7,359 | 12,400 | ||
| R | 6,327 | 6,853 | 13,331 | ||
| R | 3,464 | 8,524 | 12,226 | ||
| R | 3,828 | 6,489 | 12,525 | ||
| D | 7,281 | 5,985 | 13,266 | ||
| R | 5,423 | 8,948 | 14,371 | ||
| R | 4,826 | 8,397 | 13,223 | ||
| R | 5,219 | 8,568 | 13,787 | ||
| R | 5,675 | 6,849 | 12,540 | ||
| R | 5,336 | 7,963 | 13,299 | ||
| R | 6,921 | 8,530 | 15,451 | ||
| D | 8,011 | 7,392 | 15,451 | ||
| D | 7,079 | 6,924 | 14,137 | ||
| R | 3,836 | 8,325 | 12,221 | ||
| R | 4,583 | 6,845 | 11,976 | ||
| R | 5,654 | 7,570 | 13,267 | ||
| D | 3,964 | 3,727 | 7,796 | ||
| D | 3,314 | 2,757 | 7,459 | ||
| R | 3,823 | 4,149 | 8,098 | ||
| R | 3,321 | 4,205 | 7,787 | ||
| R | 3,938 | 4,078 | 8,234 | ||
| R | 3,909 | 4,106 | 8,159 | ||
| R | 3,153 | 3,496 | 7,114 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
19.4%
English
12.7%
Irish
12.2%
American
11.1%
Scottish
2.3%
Italian
1.7%
French
1.1%
African American
1.0%
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: 41.0 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
$65,785
Highland County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Highland County$65,785
Ohio$71,389
United States$80,734
Highland 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
14.1%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.8%
Working age (18–64)12.6%
Seniors (65+)19.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.5%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.8%
Spanish0.7%
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 67.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Highland County's R+63.3 margin in 2024 places it among Ohio's most lopsided presidential counties, driven by a rural, majority-white population with deep roots in small-scale agriculture and limited urban influence.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin peaked at ten points in 1964 and narrowed across the late twentieth century. The 1968 election carried the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by twenty-one points. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was sixty-three points.
The economic context is severe: a median household income of $65,785 — among the lowest at this geographic scale — and a 14% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Morrow County and Hardin 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.
Highland County, Ohio. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/39071/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Highland County, Ohio vote in 2024?
In 2024, Highland County, Ohio voted Republican by 63.3 points (R+63), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 20,005 votes cast, 3,609 went Democratic and 16,269 went Republican.
What is Highland County, Ohio's political typology?
Akashic places Highland County, Ohio in the "Appalachian Realigners" typology — Lower-income counties of Greater Appalachia — a long, deep arc from Democratic to 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 5 times, Republican 29 times, and other 0 times.
When did Highland County, Ohio last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Highland County, Ohio voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Highland County, Ohio?
Highland County, Ohio has a population of 43,517 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Highland County, Ohio?
Median household income in Highland County, Ohio is $65,785 — below the national median of $80,734. The Ohio state median is $71,389.
What is the political history of Highland County, Ohio?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Highland County, Ohio from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 5 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The county's typology — "Appalachian Realigners" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.