Kent County, Rhode Island: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted D+2%. Republican peak: R+60 in 1896.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+2MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 171,4562024 5-year
- Median household income
- $94,3452024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 85.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+57 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+60 in 1896MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Broome County, NY · similarity 0.97
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Kent CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Kent County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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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 | −20.3% |
| 1896 | −59.7% |
| 1900 | −37.7% |
| 1904 | −22.7% |
| 1908 | −34.7% |
| 1912 | −2.5% |
| 1916 | −20.7% |
| 1920 | −41.9% |
| 1924 | −33.6% |
| 1928 | −21.2% |
| 1932 | −3.2% |
| 1936 | −1.1% |
| 1940 | −1.6% |
| 1944 | +1.3% |
| 1948 | −3.2% |
| 1952 | −21.8% |
| 1956 | −31.9% |
| 1960 | +11.5% |
| 1964 | +56.7% |
| 1968 | +21.6% |
| 1972 | −16.6% |
| 1976 | +2.5% |
| 1980 | +4.3% |
| 1984 | −12.6% |
| 1988 | +4.0% |
| 1992 | +13.0% |
| 1996 | +29.4% |
| 2000 | +24.5% |
| 2004 | +11.7% |
| 2008 | +17.5% |
| 2012 | +17.7% |
| 2016 | −0.7% |
| 2020 | +7.6% |
| 2024 | +1.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 46,261 | 44,525 | 93,139 | ||
| D | 49,113 | 42,001 | 93,093 | ||
| R | 37,788 | 38,336 | 82,053 | ||
| D | 45,564 | 31,567 | 78,923 | ||
| D | 48,406 | 33,780 | 83,678 | ||
| D | 42,830 | 33,699 | 78,018 | ||
| D | 43,265 | 25,291 | 73,470 | ||
| D | 41,018 | 19,992 | 71,526 | ||
| D | 35,934 | 25,217 | 82,425 | ||
| D | 37,221 | 34,314 | 71,801 | ||
| R | 31,352 | 40,427 | 71,993 | ||
| D | 31,350 | 28,331 | 71,005 | ||
| D | 35,855 | 34,131 | 70,213 | ||
| R | 29,004 | 40,534 | 69,653 | ||
| D | 35,609 | 22,493 | 60,678 | ||
| D | 44,476 | 12,297 | 56,773 | ||
| D | 30,662 | 24,344 | 55,006 | ||
| R | 16,298 | 31,548 | 47,846 | ||
| R | 17,824 | 27,745 | 45,593 | ||
| R | 15,287 | 16,299 | 31,785 | ||
| D | 14,059 | 13,710 | 27,826 | ||
| R | 14,333 | 14,790 | 29,151 | ||
| R | 13,238 | 13,550 | 28,019 | ||
| R | 10,398 | 11,096 | 21,780 | ||
| R | 7,460 | 11,487 | 19,005 | ||
| R | 5,429 | 11,100 | 16,860 | ||
| R | 3,394 | 8,474 | 12,110 | ||
| R | 2,632 | 4,038 | 6,799 | ||
| R | 2,030 | 2,170 | 5,579 | ||
| R | 1,700 | 3,617 | 5,529 | ||
| R | 1,859 | 2,981 | 4,944 | ||
| R | 1,126 | 2,613 | 3,948 | ||
| R | 645 | 2,817 | 3,641 | ||
| R | 1,469 | 2,244 | 3,816 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
20.6%
Italian
18.9%
English
14.9%
French
9.8%
German
6.0%
Polish
4.1%
American
4.0%
African American
1.7%
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: 43.8 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
$94,345
Kent County ranks in the top 5% of US counties.
Kent County$94,345
Rhode Island$87,796
United States$80,734
Kent County ranks in the top 5% 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
7.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 186.6%
Working age (18–64)7.5%
Seniors (65+)9.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.7%
speak English only
Spanish3.8%
Other Indo-European3.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.9%
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 54.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Kent swung to a D+1.9 margin in 2024, making it the state's most competitive county and a reliable bellwether for statewide shifts in suburban voter sentiment.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached fifty-seven points in 1964; the Republican margin reached sixty points in 1896. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was two points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 85% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $94,345, and a 8% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Broome County and Bristol 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.
Kent County, Rhode Island. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/44003/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Rhode Island
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Kent County, Rhode Island vote in 2024?
In 2024, Kent County, Rhode Island voted Democratic by 1.9 points (D+2), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 93,139 votes cast, 46,261 went Democratic and 44,525 went Republican.
What is Kent County, Rhode Island's political typology?
Akashic places Kent County, Rhode Island 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 19 times, and other 0 times.
When did Kent County, Rhode Island last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Kent County, Rhode Island voted Republican was 2016.
How many people live in Kent County, Rhode Island?
Kent County, Rhode Island has a population of 171,456 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Kent County, Rhode Island?
Median household income in Kent County, Rhode Island is $94,345 — above the national median of $80,734. The Rhode Island state median is $87,796.
What is the political history of Kent County, Rhode Island?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Kent County, Rhode Island from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.