Karnes County, Texas: New American county. In 2024, voted R+58%. Democratic peak: D+86 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+58MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- New AmericanAkashic typology
- Population
- 14,9682024 5-year
- Median household income
- $60,2142024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 51.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 9.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 53.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+86 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+58 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Calhoun County, TX · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Karnes CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Karnes 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 | No data |
| 1896 | No data |
| 1900 | No data |
| 1904 | No data |
| 1908 | No data |
| 1912 | +77.6% |
| 1916 | +57.3% |
| 1920 | +10.2% |
| 1924 | +47.9% |
| 1928 | +10.3% |
| 1932 | +85.7% |
| 1936 | +69.3% |
| 1940 | +52.2% |
| 1944 | +43.0% |
| 1948 | +54.1% |
| 1952 | −11.5% |
| 1956 | −3.7% |
| 1960 | +25.2% |
| 1964 | +52.3% |
| 1968 | +21.6% |
| 1972 | −19.4% |
| 1976 | +28.0% |
| 1980 | −8.6% |
| 1984 | −25.9% |
| 1988 | +3.0% |
| 1992 | −2.0% |
| 1996 | +6.6% |
| 2000 | −23.7% |
| 2004 | −33.6% |
| 2008 | −21.6% |
| 2012 | −35.8% |
| 2016 | −43.4% |
| 2020 | −52.0% |
| 2024 | −58.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,051 | 4,001 | 5,075 | ||
| R | 1,234 | 3,968 | 5,253 | ||
| R | 1,145 | 2,965 | 4,198 | ||
| R | 1,325 | 2,825 | 4,185 | ||
| R | 1,760 | 2,736 | 4,527 | ||
| R | 1,543 | 3,114 | 4,673 | ||
| R | 1,617 | 2,638 | 4,308 | ||
| D | 2,154 | 1,869 | 4,334 | ||
| R | 1,897 | 1,990 | 4,700 | ||
| D | 2,529 | 2,383 | 4,933 | ||
| R | 1,802 | 3,068 | 4,882 | ||
| R | 2,284 | 2,719 | 5,074 | ||
| D | 2,996 | 1,675 | 4,718 | ||
| R | 1,780 | 2,639 | 4,428 | ||
| D | 2,271 | 1,342 | 4,299 | ||
| D | 3,178 | 993 | 4,177 | ||
| D | 2,556 | 1,526 | 4,085 | ||
| R | 1,636 | 1,764 | 3,417 | ||
| R | 1,884 | 2,374 | 4,260 | ||
| D | 2,198 | 592 | 2,971 | ||
| D | 1,920 | 692 | 2,856 | ||
| D | 2,010 | 631 | 2,642 | ||
| D | 2,067 | 371 | 2,447 | ||
| D | 2,458 | 186 | 2,650 | ||
| D | 1,052 | 855 | 1,907 | ||
| D | 1,727 | 531 | 2,496 | ||
| D | 642 | 484 | 1,548 | ||
| D | 889 | 238 | 1,136 | ||
| D | 710 | 66 | 830 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
10.3%
Polish
6.9%
Irish
5.3%
American
3.3%
English
2.8%
Italian
1.4%
Scottish
0.6%
African American
7.6%
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: 38.1 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
$60,214
Karnes County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Karnes County$60,214
Texas$78,476
United States$80,734
Karnes 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
19.1%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1823.6%
Working age (18–64)17.7%
Seniors (65+)17.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
75.2%
speak English only
Spanish23.1%
Other Indo-European1.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 36.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Karnes County sits atop one of the most productive Eagle Ford Shale formations, drawing energy workers to a historically agricultural landscape. Its population swings with drilling cycles, and it has delivered Republican margins above 55 points in each of the last three presidential cycles.
Karnes County has leaned Republican in recent presidential elections, reaching a Democratic margin of eighty-six points in 1932. Between 2020 and 2024 it moved six points toward the Republican candidate — part of the sharpest rightward shift recorded among any group of places in the country.
Its demographics describe the shift: a 51% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $60,214, and a population of 14,968. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Calhoun County and Refugio 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.
Karnes County, Texas. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/48255/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Karnes County, Texas vote in 2024?
In 2024, Karnes County, Texas voted Republican by 58.1 points (R+58), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 5,075 votes cast, 1,051 went Democratic and 4,001 went Republican.
What is Karnes County, Texas's political typology?
Akashic places Karnes County, Texas in the "New American" typology — Communities where a large share of households speak a language other than English — multilingual, Democratic-leaning overall, yet the hardest-swinging bloc toward the Republican Party in 2024. 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 13 times, and other 0 times.
When did Karnes County, Texas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Karnes County, Texas voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Karnes County, Texas?
Karnes County, Texas has a population of 14,968 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Karnes County, Texas?
Median household income in Karnes County, Texas is $60,214 — below the national median of $80,734. The Texas state median is $78,476.
What is the political history of Karnes County, Texas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Karnes County, Texas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The county's typology — "New American" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.