Luzerne County, Pennsylvania: Florida Surge county. In 2024, voted R+19%. Democratic peak: D+41 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+19MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Florida SurgeAkashic typology
- Population
- 327,6752024 5-year
- Median household income
- $63,6912024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 75.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 17.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+41 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+34 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Mercer County, IL · similarity 0.97
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Luzerne CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Luzerne 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 | +5.2% |
| 1896 | −13.1% |
| 1900 | −13.4% |
| 1904 | −33.3% |
| 1908 | −16.5% |
| 1912 | +20.5% |
| 1916 | −11.3% |
| 1920 | −34.3% |
| 1924 | −29.8% |
| 1928 | +3.9% |
| 1932 | +7.2% |
| 1936 | +12.4% |
| 1940 | +12.0% |
| 1944 | +4.0% |
| 1948 | −7.2% |
| 1952 | −10.1% |
| 1956 | −17.2% |
| 1960 | +18.5% |
| 1964 | +41.1% |
| 1968 | +15.3% |
| 1972 | −22.6% |
| 1976 | +10.7% |
| 1980 | −5.8% |
| 1984 | −8.3% |
| 1988 | −0.4% |
| 1992 | +5.8% |
| 1996 | +14.2% |
| 2000 | +8.3% |
| 2004 | +3.4% |
| 2008 | +8.4% |
| 2012 | +4.8% |
| 2016 | −19.3% |
| 2020 | −14.4% |
| 2024 | −19.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 62,504 | 92,444 | 156,432 | ||
| R | 64,873 | 86,929 | 153,321 | ||
| R | 52,451 | 78,688 | 135,901 | ||
| D | 64,307 | 58,325 | 124,845 | ||
| D | 72,492 | 61,127 | 135,175 | ||
| D | 69,573 | 64,953 | 136,028 | ||
| D | 62,199 | 52,328 | 119,586 | ||
| D | 60,174 | 43,577 | 116,817 | ||
| D | 56,623 | 49,285 | 127,146 | ||
| R | 58,553 | 59,059 | 118,092 | ||
| R | 58,482 | 69,169 | 129,291 | ||
| R | 59,976 | 67,822 | 135,080 | ||
| D | 74,655 | 60,058 | 136,009 | ||
| R | 51,128 | 81,358 | 133,606 | ||
| D | 79,040 | 57,044 | 143,380 | ||
| D | 106,397 | 43,895 | 152,071 | ||
| D | 102,998 | 70,711 | 174,271 | ||
| R | 65,155 | 92,458 | 158,820 | ||
| R | 72,579 | 88,967 | 162,261 | ||
| R | 61,869 | 71,674 | 135,611 | ||
| D | 73,674 | 67,984 | 142,199 | ||
| D | 101,577 | 79,685 | 181,884 | ||
| D | 105,008 | 81,572 | 188,577 | ||
| D | 60,975 | 52,672 | 115,928 | ||
| D | 73,319 | 67,872 | 141,411 | ||
| R | 20,472 | 46,475 | 87,396 | ||
| R | 23,473 | 49,419 | 75,575 | ||
| R | 19,999 | 25,348 | 47,179 | ||
| O | 13,461 | 4,970 | 41,338 | ||
| R | 17,379 | 24,594 | 43,733 | ||
| R | 13,518 | 27,809 | 42,895 | ||
| R | 16,470 | 21,793 | 39,717 | ||
| R | 17,305 | 22,718 | 41,248 | ||
| D | 15,734 | 14,118 | 31,229 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
16.0%
Polish
15.8%
Italian
14.0%
German
13.7%
English
5.7%
American
2.9%
French
0.8%
African American
4.0%
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: 42.0 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
$63,691
Luzerne County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Luzerne County$63,691
Pennsylvania$77,971
United States$80,734
Luzerne 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
15.3%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1824.7%
Working age (18–64)13.0%
Seniors (65+)12.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
84.1%
speak English only
Spanish12.9%
Other Indo-European2.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
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 49.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Luzerne County, anchored by Wilkes-Barre, was reliably Democratic through the early 2000s but has swung sharply rightward as its working-class, non-college white electorate realigned — making it one of Pennsylvania's most dramatic political reversals.
The Democratic margin here once reached forty-one points in 1964. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was nineteen points.
A population of 327,675, a 76% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $63,691 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Mercer County and Adams 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.
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/42079/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Pennsylvania
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Frequently asked questions
How did Luzerne County, Pennsylvania vote in 2024?
In 2024, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania voted Republican by 19.1 points (R+19), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 156,432 votes cast, 62,504 went Democratic and 92,444 went Republican.
What is Luzerne County, Pennsylvania's political typology?
Akashic places Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the "Florida Surge" typology — Florida coastal and retiree counties that moved sharply Republican across the Trump era. 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 16 times, Republican 17 times, and other 1 times.
When did Luzerne County, Pennsylvania last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Luzerne County, Pennsylvania voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania?
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania has a population of 327,675 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania?
Median household income in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania is $63,691 — below the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.
What is the political history of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The county's typology — "Florida Surge" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.