Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted D+3%. Democratic peak: D+48 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+3MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 216,1462024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,2232024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 81.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 9.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+48 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+33 in 1924MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Haywood County, TN · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Lackawanna CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Lackawanna 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 | −1.7% |
| 1896 | −21.7% |
| 1900 | −6.3% |
| 1904 | −31.9% |
| 1908 | −9.0% |
| 1912 | +26.2% |
| 1916 | −5.6% |
| 1920 | −23.9% |
| 1924 | −33.4% |
| 1928 | +6.2% |
| 1932 | +8.0% |
| 1936 | +22.0% |
| 1940 | +13.0% |
| 1944 | +11.2% |
| 1948 | +16.3% |
| 1952 | +2.6% |
| 1956 | −7.2% |
| 1960 | +23.5% |
| 1964 | +47.6% |
| 1968 | +19.2% |
| 1972 | −12.8% |
| 1976 | +13.9% |
| 1980 | +1.1% |
| 1984 | −2.4% |
| 1988 | +4.0% |
| 1992 | +12.2% |
| 1996 | +23.5% |
| 2000 | +23.2% |
| 2004 | +14.0% |
| 2008 | +26.0% |
| 2012 | +27.2% |
| 2016 | +3.4% |
| 2020 | +8.4% |
| 2024 | +2.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 59,510 | 56,261 | 116,925 | ||
| D | 61,991 | 52,334 | 115,410 | ||
| D | 51,983 | 48,384 | 104,404 | ||
| D | 61,838 | 35,085 | 98,351 | ||
| D | 67,520 | 39,488 | 107,876 | ||
| D | 59,573 | 44,766 | 105,819 | ||
| D | 57,471 | 35,096 | 96,381 | ||
| D | 46,377 | 26,930 | 82,681 | ||
| D | 45,054 | 33,443 | 94,968 | ||
| D | 45,591 | 42,083 | 88,741 | ||
| R | 45,851 | 48,132 | 95,185 | ||
| D | 45,257 | 44,242 | 95,447 | ||
| D | 57,685 | 43,354 | 102,797 | ||
| R | 45,465 | 58,838 | 104,869 | ||
| D | 66,297 | 44,388 | 114,391 | ||
| D | 88,131 | 31,272 | 119,540 | ||
| D | 80,098 | 49,636 | 129,783 | ||
| R | 55,741 | 64,386 | 120,206 | ||
| D | 64,926 | 61,644 | 126,717 | ||
| D | 64,495 | 46,283 | 111,749 | ||
| D | 59,190 | 47,261 | 106,578 | ||
| D | 71,343 | 54,931 | 126,685 | ||
| D | 80,585 | 51,186 | 133,801 | ||
| D | 40,793 | 34,632 | 76,560 | ||
| D | 52,665 | 46,510 | 99,269 | ||
| R | 16,859 | 37,708 | 62,401 | ||
| R | 24,581 | 40,593 | 67,040 | ||
| R | 15,727 | 17,658 | 34,758 | ||
| O | 12,423 | 3,799 | 32,883 | ||
| R | 15,451 | 18,590 | 34,788 | ||
| R | 10,068 | 19,923 | 30,867 | ||
| R | 14,728 | 16,763 | 32,510 | ||
| R | 11,869 | 18,737 | 31,605 | ||
| R | 10,351 | 10,729 | 22,178 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
21.9%
Italian
19.8%
German
13.4%
Polish
13.3%
English
6.3%
American
5.7%
French
0.9%
African American
2.5%
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: 41.9 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
$66,223
Lackawanna County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Lackawanna County$66,223
Pennsylvania$77,971
United States$80,734
Lackawanna 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
14.4%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.7%
Working age (18–64)12.8%
Seniors (65+)14.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
89.7%
speak English only
Spanish5.8%
Other Indo-European3.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 36.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Lackawanna County, anchored by Scranton in Pennsylvania's northeastern corner, has shifted from reliably Democratic to competitive over the past decade, with its 2024 presidential margin of D+2.8 reflecting the continued realignment of working-class Catholic and union households.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached forty-eight points in 1964; the Republican margin reached thirty-three points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was three points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 81% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $66,223, and a 14% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Haywood County and Rock 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.
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/42069/. 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 Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania vote in 2024?
In 2024, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania voted Democratic by 2.8 points (D+3), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 116,925 votes cast, 59,510 went Democratic and 56,261 went Republican.
What is Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania's political typology?
Akashic places Lackawanna 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 22 times, Republican 11 times, and other 1 times.
When did Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania?
Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania has a population of 216,146 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania?
Median household income in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania is $66,223 — below the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.
What is the political history of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.