Bedford County, Virginia: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+50%. Democratic peak: D+69 in 1916.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+50MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 80,8942024 5-year
- Median household income
- $78,9372024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 85.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 6.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+69 in 1916MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+50 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Eureka County, NV · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Bedford CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Bedford 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 | +31.2% |
| 1896 | +15.5% |
| 1900 | +12.0% |
| 1904 | +38.1% |
| 1908 | +45.3% |
| 1912 | +62.1% |
| 1916 | +68.7% |
| 1920 | +50.0% |
| 1924 | +60.6% |
| 1928 | +12.5% |
| 1932 | +65.4% |
| 1936 | +57.0% |
| 1940 | +52.2% |
| 1944 | +40.6% |
| 1948 | +13.1% |
| 1952 | −9.2% |
| 1956 | −8.3% |
| 1960 | +3.9% |
| 1964 | +3.4% |
| 1968 | −16.7% |
| 1972 | −50.3% |
| 1976 | +5.7% |
| 1980 | −13.2% |
| 1984 | −34.7% |
| 1988 | −30.2% |
| 1992 | −17.8% |
| 1996 | −18.9% |
| 2000 | −34.7% |
| 2004 | −39.0% |
| 2008 | −37.4% |
| 2012 | −44.0% |
| 2016 | −49.1% |
| 2020 | −48.1% |
| 2024 | −50.1% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 12,414 | 38,017 | 51,081 | ||
| R | 12,176 | 35,600 | 48,669 | ||
| R | 9,768 | 30,659 | 42,525 | ||
| R | 10,209 | 26,679 | 37,425 | ||
| R | 11,017 | 24,420 | 35,830 | ||
| R | 10,144 | 23,397 | 33,946 | ||
| R | 8,160 | 17,224 | 26,149 | ||
| R | 7,786 | 11,955 | 22,109 | ||
| R | 6,792 | 10,496 | 20,756 | ||
| R | 6,366 | 12,024 | 18,710 | ||
| R | 5,751 | 11,924 | 17,790 | ||
| R | 5,870 | 7,753 | 14,263 | ||
| D | 5,888 | 5,232 | 11,540 | ||
| R | 2,030 | 6,693 | 9,262 | ||
| O | 2,143 | 3,854 | 10,220 | ||
| D | 4,076 | 3,806 | 7,914 | ||
| D | 3,150 | 2,911 | 6,081 | ||
| R | 2,649 | 3,148 | 6,046 | ||
| R | 2,426 | 2,916 | 5,353 | ||
| D | 1,556 | 1,084 | 3,609 | ||
| D | 2,534 | 1,068 | 3,608 | ||
| D | 2,535 | 791 | 3,340 | ||
| D | 2,276 | 619 | 2,906 | ||
| D | 2,321 | 469 | 2,831 | ||
| D | 1,436 | 1,118 | 2,554 | ||
| D | 1,811 | 432 | 2,274 | ||
| D | 1,774 | 583 | 2,381 | ||
| D | 1,628 | 298 | 1,937 | ||
| D | 1,219 | 142 | 1,733 | ||
| D | 1,275 | 463 | 1,793 | ||
| D | 1,301 | 560 | 1,947 | ||
| D | 2,535 | 1,982 | 4,602 | ||
| D | 3,085 | 2,248 | 5,400 | ||
| D | 3,216 | 1,590 | 5,217 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
17.6%
American
13.0%
Irish
11.5%
German
11.3%
Italian
3.3%
Scottish
2.4%
Polish
1.7%
African American
5.0%
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: 47.2 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
$78,937
Bedford County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Bedford County$78,937
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Bedford 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
8.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.4%
Working age (18–64)7.6%
Seniors (65+)6.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.6%
speak English only
Spanish1.9%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 59.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Bedford County's R+50.4 presidential margin in 2024 places it among Virginia's most one-sided jurisdictions, reflecting a rural Blue Ridge foothills electorate where Democratic candidates routinely struggle to reach 30 percent.
The Republican margin here reached fifty points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty points.
A population of 80,894, a 86% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $78,937 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Eureka County and Stone 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.
Bedford County, Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/51019/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Virginia
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Frequently asked questions
How did Bedford County, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Bedford County, Virginia voted Republican by 50.1 points (R+50), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 51,081 votes cast, 12,414 went Democratic and 38,017 went Republican.
What is Bedford County, Virginia's political typology?
Akashic places Bedford County, Virginia in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. 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 18 times, Republican 15 times, and other 1 times.
When did Bedford County, Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Bedford County, Virginia voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in Bedford County, Virginia?
Bedford County, Virginia has a population of 80,894 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Bedford County, Virginia?
Median household income in Bedford County, Virginia is $78,937 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Bedford County, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Bedford County, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 15 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.