Mercer County, Pennsylvania: Heartland Swing county. In 2024, voted R+30%. Republican peak: R+49 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+30MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Heartland SwingAkashic typology
- Population
- 109,2572024 5-year
- Median household income
- $59,9762024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 88.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+28 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+49 in 1924MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Pope County, MN · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Mercer CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Mercer 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 | −8.2% |
| 1896 | −13.5% |
| 1900 | −16.4% |
| 1904 | −33.5% |
| 1908 | −7.5% |
| 1912 | +17.0% |
| 1916 | +3.8% |
| 1920 | −35.2% |
| 1924 | −48.8% |
| 1928 | −46.3% |
| 1932 | −11.8% |
| 1936 | +5.9% |
| 1940 | −10.7% |
| 1944 | −8.3% |
| 1948 | −7.8% |
| 1952 | −11.9% |
| 1956 | −18.5% |
| 1960 | −9.1% |
| 1964 | +27.8% |
| 1968 | −0.6% |
| 1972 | −21.0% |
| 1976 | +5.3% |
| 1980 | −5.8% |
| 1984 | +0.9% |
| 1988 | +6.5% |
| 1992 | +14.4% |
| 1996 | +12.6% |
| 2000 | +1.4% |
| 2004 | −2.9% |
| 2008 | −0.3% |
| 2012 | −3.3% |
| 2016 | −24.2% |
| 2020 | −26.0% |
| 2024 | −30.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 20,145 | 37,761 | 58,591 | ||
| R | 21,067 | 36,143 | 57,954 | ||
| R | 18,733 | 31,544 | 52,839 | ||
| R | 24,232 | 25,925 | 51,039 | ||
| R | 26,411 | 26,565 | 53,821 | ||
| R | 24,831 | 26,311 | 51,564 | ||
| D | 23,817 | 23,132 | 48,732 | ||
| D | 23,003 | 17,213 | 45,779 | ||
| D | 23,264 | 16,081 | 49,836 | ||
| D | 24,278 | 21,301 | 45,880 | ||
| D | 24,658 | 24,211 | 49,303 | ||
| R | 19,716 | 22,372 | 46,090 | ||
| D | 25,041 | 22,469 | 48,235 | ||
| R | 18,087 | 27,961 | 47,100 | ||
| R | 22,814 | 23,131 | 49,105 | ||
| D | 32,199 | 18,153 | 50,563 | ||
| R | 24,243 | 29,109 | 53,480 | ||
| R | 19,769 | 28,785 | 48,674 | ||
| R | 20,770 | 26,424 | 47,537 | ||
| R | 16,108 | 18,916 | 35,886 | ||
| R | 16,589 | 19,606 | 36,407 | ||
| R | 16,968 | 21,058 | 38,215 | ||
| D | 20,879 | 18,493 | 40,311 | ||
| R | 10,961 | 14,057 | 26,258 | ||
| R | 8,204 | 22,599 | 31,083 | ||
| R | 3,688 | 14,639 | 22,420 | ||
| R | 4,823 | 11,575 | 19,199 | ||
| D | 6,390 | 5,866 | 13,751 | ||
| O | 4,039 | 1,873 | 12,718 | ||
| R | 5,473 | 6,497 | 13,744 | ||
| R | 3,845 | 8,574 | 14,133 | ||
| R | 4,916 | 6,950 | 12,425 | ||
| R | 5,500 | 7,262 | 13,077 | ||
| R | 4,931 | 5,874 | 11,562 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
22.2%
Irish
14.5%
Italian
10.8%
English
10.3%
American
6.9%
Polish
4.5%
Scottish
2.0%
African American
4.6%
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: 45.1 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
$59,976
Mercer County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Mercer County$59,976
Pennsylvania$77,971
United States$80,734
Mercer 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
13.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.6%
Working age (18–64)11.7%
Seniors (65+)8.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.9%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.8%
Spanish0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Mercer County's working-class, post-industrial economy tracked closely with statewide results through the 1990s, but the county has shifted decisively rightward over the past two decades, posting a 30-point Republican margin in 2024.
The Democratic margin here peaked at twenty-eight points in 1964. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty points.
A population of 109,257, a 88% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $59,976 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Pope County and Iron 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.
Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/42085/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Pennsylvania
More heartland swing counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Mercer County, Pennsylvania vote in 2024?
In 2024, Mercer County, Pennsylvania voted Republican by 30.1 points (R+30), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 58,591 votes cast, 20,145 went Democratic and 37,761 went Republican.
What is Mercer County, Pennsylvania's political typology?
Akashic places Mercer County, Pennsylvania in the "Heartland Swing" typology — Industrial Midwest swing counties drifting steadily toward the Republican Party. 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 9 times, Republican 24 times, and other 1 times.
When did Mercer County, Pennsylvania last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Mercer County, Pennsylvania voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Mercer County, Pennsylvania?
Mercer County, Pennsylvania has a population of 109,257 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Mercer County, Pennsylvania?
Median household income in Mercer County, Pennsylvania is $59,976 — below the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.
What is the political history of Mercer County, Pennsylvania?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Mercer County, Pennsylvania from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 24 went Republican. The county's typology — "Heartland Swing" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.