Kay County, Oklahoma: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+49%. Republican peak: R+59 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+49MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 43,6252024 5-year
- Median household income
- $58,4232024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 74.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 9.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+37 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+59 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Rusk County, TX · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Kay CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Kay 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 | −4.5% |
| 1912 | −2.4% |
| 1916 | −2.7% |
| 1920 | −13.2% |
| 1924 | −9.3% |
| 1928 | −53.0% |
| 1932 | +37.2% |
| 1936 | +27.7% |
| 1940 | +3.5% |
| 1944 | −4.6% |
| 1948 | +6.0% |
| 1952 | −32.5% |
| 1956 | −29.5% |
| 1960 | −29.5% |
| 1964 | −3.2% |
| 1968 | −31.1% |
| 1972 | −59.1% |
| 1976 | −13.9% |
| 1980 | −38.3% |
| 1984 | −46.6% |
| 1988 | −23.8% |
| 1992 | −10.8% |
| 1996 | −14.7% |
| 2000 | −31.1% |
| 2004 | −40.7% |
| 2008 | −41.6% |
| 2012 | −42.6% |
| 2016 | −50.2% |
| 2020 | −51.0% |
| 2024 | −49.4% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 4,136 | 12,483 | 16,913 | ||
| R | 4,040 | 12,834 | 17,249 | ||
| R | 3,738 | 12,172 | 16,803 | ||
| R | 4,627 | 11,499 | 16,126 | ||
| R | 5,463 | 13,230 | 18,693 | ||
| R | 5,957 | 14,121 | 20,078 | ||
| R | 6,122 | 11,768 | 18,162 | ||
| R | 6,882 | 9,741 | 19,514 | ||
| R | 6,643 | 9,115 | 22,828 | ||
| R | 7,751 | 12,646 | 20,564 | ||
| R | 6,044 | 16,731 | 22,911 | ||
| R | 6,449 | 15,004 | 22,337 | ||
| R | 9,371 | 12,441 | 22,086 | ||
| R | 4,246 | 17,244 | 21,984 | ||
| R | 6,031 | 12,751 | 21,591 | ||
| R | 11,296 | 12,033 | 23,329 | ||
| R | 8,249 | 15,156 | 23,405 | ||
| R | 8,071 | 14,837 | 22,908 | ||
| R | 8,382 | 16,460 | 24,842 | ||
| D | 10,119 | 8,982 | 19,101 | ||
| R | 8,656 | 9,498 | 18,242 | ||
| D | 10,725 | 10,003 | 20,884 | ||
| D | 11,846 | 6,671 | 18,649 | ||
| D | 12,841 | 5,884 | 18,725 | ||
| R | 4,196 | 13,829 | 18,161 | ||
| R | 6,049 | 7,392 | 14,448 | ||
| R | 4,546 | 5,959 | 10,736 | ||
| R | 2,340 | 2,482 | 5,318 | ||
| R | 2,380 | 2,508 | 5,267 | ||
| R | 2,511 | 2,754 | 5,410 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
17.1%
English
10.3%
Irish
9.6%
American
5.6%
Scottish
2.1%
French
1.4%
Italian
1.2%
African American
1.6%
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: 38.5 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
$58,423
Kay County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Kay County$58,423
Oklahoma$65,039
United States$80,734
Kay 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
16.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.5%
Working age (18–64)14.2%
Seniors (65+)13.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.0%
speak English only
Spanish4.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other Indo-European0.5%
Other languages0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 29.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Kay County, anchored by Ponca City and its oil-industry roots, has delivered Republican presidential margins above 40 points in recent cycles, reflecting a rural, energy-sector workforce that tilts heavily toward the GOP.
The Republican margin here reached fifty-nine points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-nine points.
A population of 43,625, a 74% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $58,423 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Rusk County and Geneva 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.
Kay County, Oklahoma. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/40071/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More stable rural right counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Kay County, Oklahoma vote in 2024?
In 2024, Kay County, Oklahoma voted Republican by 49.4 points (R+49), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 16,913 votes cast, 4,136 went Democratic and 12,483 went Republican.
What is Kay County, Oklahoma's political typology?
Akashic places Kay County, Oklahoma in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. 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 4 times, Republican 26 times, and other 0 times.
When did Kay County, Oklahoma last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Kay County, Oklahoma voted Democratic was 1948.
How many people live in Kay County, Oklahoma?
Kay County, Oklahoma has a population of 43,625 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Kay County, Oklahoma?
Median household income in Kay County, Oklahoma is $58,423 — below the national median of $80,734. The Oklahoma state median is $65,039.
What is the political history of Kay County, Oklahoma?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Kay County, Oklahoma from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 26 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.