Erie County, Pennsylvania: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+1%. Republican peak: R+50 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+1MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 269,0522024 5-year
- Median household income
- $63,3542024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 7.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+40 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+50 in 1924MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Saginaw County, MI · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Erie CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Erie 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 | −7.4% |
| 1896 | −12.1% |
| 1900 | −22.4% |
| 1904 | −35.9% |
| 1908 | −24.0% |
| 1912 | +3.7% |
| 1916 | +3.4% |
| 1920 | −43.0% |
| 1924 | −50.3% |
| 1928 | −22.5% |
| 1932 | +3.0% |
| 1936 | +11.4% |
| 1940 | −7.1% |
| 1944 | −3.4% |
| 1948 | −8.9% |
| 1952 | −14.2% |
| 1956 | −23.3% |
| 1960 | +2.1% |
| 1964 | +39.6% |
| 1968 | +8.5% |
| 1972 | −18.5% |
| 1976 | +5.3% |
| 1980 | −2.9% |
| 1984 | −3.1% |
| 1988 | +5.4% |
| 1992 | +14.5% |
| 1996 | +16.2% |
| 2000 | +9.2% |
| 2004 | +8.4% |
| 2008 | +19.9% |
| 2012 | +16.0% |
| 2016 | −1.6% |
| 2020 | +1.0% |
| 2024 | −1.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 67,456 | 68,866 | 137,979 | ||
| D | 68,286 | 66,869 | 137,083 | ||
| R | 58,112 | 60,069 | 125,129 | ||
| D | 68,036 | 49,025 | 119,114 | ||
| D | 75,775 | 50,351 | 127,691 | ||
| D | 67,921 | 57,372 | 125,898 | ||
| D | 59,399 | 49,027 | 112,335 | ||
| D | 57,508 | 39,884 | 108,791 | ||
| D | 56,381 | 39,283 | 117,804 | ||
| D | 53,913 | 48,306 | 103,300 | ||
| R | 52,471 | 55,860 | 109,266 | ||
| R | 45,946 | 48,918 | 103,162 | ||
| D | 55,385 | 49,641 | 107,439 | ||
| R | 42,022 | 61,542 | 105,713 | ||
| D | 51,604 | 43,134 | 99,847 | ||
| D | 72,944 | 31,393 | 104,886 | ||
| D | 53,723 | 51,525 | 105,543 | ||
| R | 33,802 | 54,430 | 88,555 | ||
| R | 36,619 | 48,836 | 85,846 | ||
| R | 28,159 | 33,806 | 63,245 | ||
| R | 32,912 | 35,247 | 68,578 | ||
| R | 31,735 | 36,608 | 68,714 | ||
| D | 33,042 | 25,607 | 65,355 | ||
| D | 19,592 | 18,371 | 40,442 | ||
| R | 19,278 | 30,542 | 50,097 | ||
| R | 3,502 | 19,480 | 31,784 | ||
| R | 6,311 | 19,465 | 30,569 | ||
| D | 9,641 | 8,933 | 20,630 | ||
| O | 5,633 | 4,958 | 18,408 | ||
| R | 6,173 | 10,828 | 19,419 | ||
| R | 5,119 | 11,951 | 19,018 | ||
| R | 7,281 | 11,816 | 20,207 | ||
| R | 9,210 | 11,819 | 21,592 | ||
| R | 7,589 | 8,918 | 17,923 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
22.4%
Irish
13.2%
Italian
10.6%
Polish
10.1%
English
8.5%
American
3.9%
Scottish
1.6%
African American
5.8%
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: 40.2 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
$63,354
Erie County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Erie County$63,354
Pennsylvania$77,971
United States$80,734
Erie 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
15.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.0%
Working age (18–64)13.5%
Seniors (65+)12.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.1%
speak English only
Other Indo-European3.1%
Spanish2.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.9%
Other languages0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 61.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Erie County tracked the national mood almost exactly in 2024, landing within a point of even after swinging from Obama to Trump to Biden and back. Its blend of post-industrial Rust Belt workers and mid-sized city voters makes it one of Pennsylvania's closest-watched counties.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached forty points in 1964; the Republican margin reached fifty points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was one point.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 83% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $63,354, and a 15% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Saginaw County and Lake 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.
Erie County, Pennsylvania. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/42049/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Pennsylvania
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Erie County, Pennsylvania vote in 2024?
In 2024, Erie County, Pennsylvania voted Republican by 1.0 points (R+1), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 137,979 votes cast, 67,456 went Democratic and 68,866 went Republican.
What is Erie County, Pennsylvania's political typology?
Akashic places Erie County, Pennsylvania 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 15 times, Republican 18 times, and other 1 times.
When did Erie County, Pennsylvania last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Erie County, Pennsylvania voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Erie County, Pennsylvania?
Erie County, Pennsylvania has a population of 269,052 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Erie County, Pennsylvania?
Median household income in Erie County, Pennsylvania is $63,354 — below the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.
What is the political history of Erie County, Pennsylvania?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Erie County, Pennsylvania from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.