Payne County, Oklahoma: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+25%. Republican peak: R+49 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+25MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 82,9722024 5-year
- Median household income
- $49,8092024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 75.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.7%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+34 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+49 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Effingham County, GA · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Payne CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Payne 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 | −5.7% |
| 1912 | −3.4% |
| 1916 | +7.8% |
| 1920 | −16.1% |
| 1924 | −4.8% |
| 1928 | −45.5% |
| 1932 | +33.7% |
| 1936 | +25.5% |
| 1940 | +6.4% |
| 1944 | −3.6% |
| 1948 | +12.1% |
| 1952 | −24.1% |
| 1956 | −19.5% |
| 1960 | −27.2% |
| 1964 | +5.8% |
| 1968 | −21.3% |
| 1972 | −49.3% |
| 1976 | −14.6% |
| 1980 | −33.0% |
| 1984 | −45.9% |
| 1988 | −20.3% |
| 1992 | −10.2% |
| 1996 | −7.0% |
| 2000 | −23.8% |
| 2004 | −31.9% |
| 2008 | −27.0% |
| 2012 | −28.4% |
| 2016 | −28.3% |
| 2020 | −23.3% |
| 2024 | −25.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 10,560 | 17,962 | 29,279 | ||
| R | 10,904 | 17,813 | 29,643 | ||
| R | 8,788 | 16,651 | 27,760 | ||
| R | 9,198 | 16,481 | 25,679 | ||
| R | 10,601 | 18,435 | 29,036 | ||
| R | 10,101 | 19,560 | 29,661 | ||
| R | 9,319 | 15,256 | 24,947 | ||
| R | 9,985 | 11,686 | 24,308 | ||
| R | 9,886 | 13,032 | 30,880 | ||
| R | 10,568 | 16,027 | 26,905 | ||
| R | 7,653 | 20,811 | 28,648 | ||
| R | 7,466 | 15,955 | 25,691 | ||
| R | 9,987 | 13,481 | 23,888 | ||
| R | 5,644 | 17,019 | 23,070 | ||
| R | 5,772 | 9,577 | 17,824 | ||
| D | 8,906 | 7,936 | 16,842 | ||
| R | 5,694 | 9,943 | 15,637 | ||
| R | 6,320 | 9,381 | 15,701 | ||
| R | 6,490 | 10,605 | 17,095 | ||
| D | 7,390 | 5,799 | 13,189 | ||
| R | 5,624 | 6,048 | 11,702 | ||
| D | 7,704 | 6,772 | 14,539 | ||
| D | 8,081 | 4,783 | 12,921 | ||
| D | 7,819 | 3,874 | 11,693 | ||
| R | 2,904 | 7,864 | 10,893 | ||
| R | 4,342 | 4,817 | 9,933 | ||
| R | 3,238 | 4,583 | 8,370 | ||
| D | 2,140 | 1,767 | 4,809 | ||
| R | 1,534 | 1,669 | 4,007 | ||
| R | 1,980 | 2,244 | 4,625 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
16.1%
English
12.8%
Irish
10.3%
American
4.9%
Scottish
2.7%
Italian
1.8%
French
1.3%
African American
3.0%
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: 27.7 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
$49,809
Payne County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Payne County$49,809
Oklahoma$65,039
United States$80,734
Payne 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
22.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1822.7%
Working age (18–64)23.6%
Seniors (65+)9.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.3%
speak English only
Spanish3.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.2%
Other Indo-European2.0%
Other languages1.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 56.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Despite anchoring one of Oklahoma's largest university communities, Payne County has voted Republican by double-digit margins in every recent presidential cycle, suggesting campus enrollment has not meaningfully shifted its partisan baseline.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached thirty-four points in 1932; the Republican margin reached forty-nine points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-five points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 75% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $49,809, and a 23% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Effingham County and Bryan 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.
Payne County, Oklahoma. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/40119/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Payne County, Oklahoma vote in 2024?
In 2024, Payne County, Oklahoma voted Republican by 25.3 points (R+25), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 29,279 votes cast, 10,560 went Democratic and 17,962 went Republican.
What is Payne County, Oklahoma's political typology?
Akashic places Payne County, Oklahoma in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. 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 6 times, Republican 24 times, and other 0 times.
When did Payne County, Oklahoma last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Payne County, Oklahoma voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Payne County, Oklahoma?
Payne County, Oklahoma has a population of 82,972 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Payne County, Oklahoma?
Median household income in Payne County, Oklahoma is $49,809 — below the national median of $80,734. The Oklahoma state median is $65,039.
What is the political history of Payne County, Oklahoma?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Payne County, Oklahoma from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 24 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.