Rutherford County, Tennessee: Diversifying Metro county. In 2024, voted R+22%. Democratic peak: D+75 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+22MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Diversifying MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 360,6462024 5-year
- Median household income
- $85,4702024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 65.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 14.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 12.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+75 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+31 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Knox County, TN · similarity 0.98
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Rutherford CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Rutherford 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 | +24.7% |
| 1896 | +20.4% |
| 1900 | +26.9% |
| 1904 | +29.7% |
| 1908 | +38.5% |
| 1912 | +44.1% |
| 1916 | +45.0% |
| 1920 | +28.8% |
| 1924 | +51.1% |
| 1928 | +19.4% |
| 1932 | +72.9% |
| 1936 | +74.8% |
| 1940 | +68.4% |
| 1944 | +68.3% |
| 1948 | +54.2% |
| 1952 | +35.8% |
| 1956 | +40.6% |
| 1960 | +17.0% |
| 1964 | +40.2% |
| 1968 | +4.5% |
| 1972 | −31.0% |
| 1976 | +30.0% |
| 1980 | +14.6% |
| 1984 | −25.1% |
| 1988 | −24.9% |
| 1992 | +4.7% |
| 1996 | −3.4% |
| 2000 | −9.8% |
| 2004 | −24.3% |
| 2008 | −19.1% |
| 2012 | −24.7% |
| 2016 | −25.9% |
| 2020 | −15.4% |
| 2024 | −21.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 56,656 | 88,811 | 148,201 | ||
| R | 59,341 | 81,480 | 143,878 | ||
| R | 36,706 | 64,515 | 107,436 | ||
| R | 36,414 | 60,846 | 98,848 | ||
| R | 40,460 | 59,892 | 101,737 | ||
| R | 31,647 | 52,200 | 84,409 | ||
| R | 27,360 | 33,445 | 62,182 | ||
| R | 22,815 | 24,565 | 51,594 | ||
| D | 21,084 | 18,877 | 47,140 | ||
| R | 12,245 | 20,397 | 32,801 | ||
| R | 11,618 | 19,503 | 31,469 | ||
| D | 15,213 | 11,208 | 27,350 | ||
| D | 14,854 | 7,921 | 23,082 | ||
| R | 5,811 | 11,256 | 17,554 | ||
| O | 4,921 | 4,168 | 16,862 | ||
| D | 9,580 | 4,088 | 13,668 | ||
| D | 6,410 | 4,526 | 11,052 | ||
| D | 6,494 | 2,713 | 9,306 | ||
| D | 6,793 | 3,196 | 10,061 | ||
| D | 4,151 | 854 | 6,078 | ||
| D | 4,730 | 879 | 5,638 | ||
| D | 4,207 | 782 | 5,009 | ||
| D | 4,101 | 580 | 4,710 | ||
| D | 3,924 | 606 | 4,550 | ||
| D | 2,115 | 1,429 | 3,544 | ||
| D | 2,137 | 680 | 2,849 | ||
| D | 3,406 | 1,881 | 5,287 | ||
| D | 2,941 | 1,116 | 4,057 | ||
| D | 3,406 | 1,217 | 4,967 | ||
| D | 2,764 | 1,226 | 3,990 | ||
| D | 2,504 | 1,348 | 3,889 | ||
| D | 2,517 | 1,429 | 4,041 | ||
| D | 3,352 | 2,203 | 5,637 | ||
| D | 2,211 | 1,210 | 4,056 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.3%
German
8.9%
American
8.4%
Irish
8.2%
Italian
2.5%
Scottish
2.0%
French
1.5%
African American
11.8%
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: 34.2 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
$85,470
Rutherford County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Rutherford County$85,470
Tennessee$69,595
United States$80,734
Rutherford County ranks in the top 25% 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
9.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.7%
Working age (18–64)8.8%
Seniors (65+)7.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
83.9%
speak English only
Spanish9.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.5%
Other languages2.5%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 61.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Rutherford County's population has surged past 180,000 as exurban sprawl extends southeast from Nashville, making it one of Tennessee's most consequential swing-to-solid counties — Republican presidential margins have widened even as the newcomer population diversifies.
The Democratic margin here reached seventy-five points in 1936. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-two points.
A population of 360,646, a 66% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $85,470 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Knox County and Sebastian 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.
Rutherford County, Tennessee. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/47149/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Tennessee
More diversifying metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Rutherford County, Tennessee vote in 2024?
In 2024, Rutherford County, Tennessee voted Republican by 21.7 points (R+22), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 148,201 votes cast, 56,656 went Democratic and 88,811 went Republican.
What is Rutherford County, Tennessee's political typology?
Akashic places Rutherford County, Tennessee in the "Diversifying Metro" typology — Mid-size metropolitan counties growing more diverse and trending Democratic. 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 Rutherford County, Tennessee last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rutherford County, Tennessee voted Democratic was 1992.
How many people live in Rutherford County, Tennessee?
Rutherford County, Tennessee has a population of 360,646 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rutherford County, Tennessee?
Median household income in Rutherford County, Tennessee is $85,470 — above the national median of $80,734. The Tennessee state median is $69,595.
What is the political history of Rutherford County, Tennessee?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Rutherford County, Tennessee from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The county's typology — "Diversifying Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.