Cherokee County, Oklahoma: Sunbelt Conservative county. In 2024, voted R+33%. Republican peak: R+41 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+33MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Sunbelt ConservativeAkashic typology
- Population
- 47,9422024 5-year
- Median household income
- $53,2182024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 46.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+34 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+41 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Wayne County, WV · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Cherokee CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Cherokee 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 | No data |
| 1896 | No data |
| 1900 | No data |
| 1904 | No data |
| 1908 | −6.3% |
| 1912 | +6.0% |
| 1916 | +6.6% |
| 1920 | −14.9% |
| 1924 | −3.2% |
| 1928 | −9.5% |
| 1932 | +34.1% |
| 1936 | +15.2% |
| 1940 | −2.2% |
| 1944 | +1.2% |
| 1948 | +20.8% |
| 1952 | −1.4% |
| 1956 | −4.6% |
| 1960 | −14.1% |
| 1964 | +12.4% |
| 1968 | −16.9% |
| 1972 | −41.0% |
| 1976 | +14.8% |
| 1980 | −3.4% |
| 1984 | −17.7% |
| 1988 | +5.2% |
| 1992 | +12.0% |
| 1996 | +12.9% |
| 2000 | +2.3% |
| 2004 | −5.2% |
| 2008 | −12.2% |
| 2012 | −14.1% |
| 2016 | −27.5% |
| 2020 | −29.3% |
| 2024 | −32.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 5,826 | 11,637 | 17,823 | ||
| R | 6,027 | 11,223 | 17,714 | ||
| R | 5,456 | 9,994 | 16,490 | ||
| R | 6,144 | 8,162 | 14,306 | ||
| R | 7,194 | 9,186 | 16,380 | ||
| R | 8,623 | 9,569 | 18,192 | ||
| D | 7,256 | 6,918 | 14,468 | ||
| D | 6,817 | 5,046 | 13,696 | ||
| D | 6,794 | 4,977 | 15,111 | ||
| D | 6,483 | 5,838 | 12,424 | ||
| R | 5,307 | 7,614 | 13,015 | ||
| R | 5,215 | 5,594 | 11,308 | ||
| D | 6,006 | 4,443 | 10,564 | ||
| R | 2,899 | 7,080 | 10,206 | ||
| R | 2,554 | 3,971 | 8,391 | ||
| D | 4,449 | 3,467 | 7,916 | ||
| R | 2,687 | 3,571 | 6,258 | ||
| R | 2,991 | 3,277 | 6,268 | ||
| R | 3,234 | 3,326 | 6,560 | ||
| D | 4,249 | 2,785 | 7,034 | ||
| D | 3,415 | 3,336 | 6,763 | ||
| R | 3,952 | 4,128 | 8,098 | ||
| D | 3,966 | 2,917 | 6,904 | ||
| D | 4,633 | 2,275 | 6,908 | ||
| R | 2,446 | 2,963 | 5,438 | ||
| R | 2,454 | 2,622 | 5,261 | ||
| R | 1,859 | 2,524 | 4,469 | ||
| D | 1,594 | 1,379 | 3,255 | ||
| D | 1,094 | 962 | 2,203 | ||
| R | 913 | 1,039 | 2,000 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
9.3%
English
9.0%
German
8.6%
American
3.3%
Scottish
1.9%
Italian
1.2%
French
1.2%
African American
1.0%
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: 37.3 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
$53,218
Cherokee County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Cherokee County$53,218
Oklahoma$65,039
United States$80,734
Cherokee County ranks in the bottom 25% 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
18.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.0%
Working age (18–64)18.2%
Seniors (65+)12.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.1%
speak English only
Spanish4.5%
Other languages2.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Other Indo-European0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 61.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Cherokee County seats the Cherokee Nation government in Tahlequah, giving it one of Oklahoma's largest Native American populations — yet its presidential margins have shifted decisively rightward over the past three election cycles, reaching R+32.6 in 2024.
The Republican margin here reached forty-one points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-three points.
A median household income of $53,218, a 46% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 47,942 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Wayne County and Muskogee 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.
Cherokee County, Oklahoma. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/40021/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Cherokee County, Oklahoma vote in 2024?
In 2024, Cherokee County, Oklahoma voted Republican by 32.6 points (R+33), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 17,823 votes cast, 5,826 went Democratic and 11,637 went Republican.
What is Cherokee County, Oklahoma's political typology?
Akashic places Cherokee County, Oklahoma in the "Sunbelt Conservative" typology — Affluent, predominantly white Sunbelt counties — reliably 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 12 times, Republican 18 times, and other 0 times.
When did Cherokee County, Oklahoma last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Cherokee County, Oklahoma voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Cherokee County, Oklahoma?
Cherokee County, Oklahoma has a population of 47,942 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Cherokee County, Oklahoma?
Median household income in Cherokee County, Oklahoma is $53,218 — below the national median of $80,734. The Oklahoma state median is $65,039.
What is the political history of Cherokee County, Oklahoma?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Cherokee County, Oklahoma from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The county's typology — "Sunbelt Conservative" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.