Clarke County, Virginia: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+17%. Democratic peak: D+85 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+17MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 15,2162024 5-year
- Median household income
- $117,1112024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 83.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 6.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+85 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+42 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Livingston County, MI · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Clarke CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Clarke 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 | +47.6% |
| 1896 | +38.3% |
| 1900 | +41.6% |
| 1904 | +70.5% |
| 1908 | +73.6% |
| 1912 | +85.2% |
| 1916 | +84.5% |
| 1920 | +63.5% |
| 1924 | +78.4% |
| 1928 | +49.8% |
| 1932 | +73.7% |
| 1936 | +65.0% |
| 1940 | +51.4% |
| 1944 | +32.4% |
| 1948 | +8.5% |
| 1952 | −6.1% |
| 1956 | −3.7% |
| 1960 | +6.9% |
| 1964 | +3.1% |
| 1968 | −13.6% |
| 1972 | −41.9% |
| 1976 | −5.9% |
| 1980 | −22.0% |
| 1984 | −34.9% |
| 1988 | −25.5% |
| 1992 | −3.9% |
| 1996 | −6.5% |
| 2000 | −13.6% |
| 2004 | −16.0% |
| 2008 | −5.2% |
| 2012 | −13.6% |
| 2016 | −19.6% |
| 2020 | −13.6% |
| 2024 | −16.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,993 | 5,641 | 9,839 | ||
| R | 3,920 | 5,192 | 9,337 | ||
| R | 3,051 | 4,661 | 8,213 | ||
| R | 3,239 | 4,296 | 7,762 | ||
| R | 3,457 | 3,840 | 7,431 | ||
| R | 2,699 | 3,741 | 6,505 | ||
| R | 2,166 | 2,883 | 5,284 | ||
| R | 1,906 | 2,201 | 4,569 | ||
| R | 1,811 | 1,994 | 4,648 | ||
| R | 1,478 | 2,502 | 4,020 | ||
| R | 1,215 | 2,529 | 3,763 | ||
| R | 1,156 | 1,876 | 3,266 | ||
| R | 1,276 | 1,440 | 2,794 | ||
| R | 715 | 1,816 | 2,627 | ||
| R | 768 | 1,127 | 2,644 | ||
| D | 1,136 | 1,068 | 2,206 | ||
| D | 923 | 804 | 1,736 | ||
| R | 725 | 785 | 1,605 | ||
| R | 716 | 809 | 1,530 | ||
| D | 482 | 384 | 1,158 | ||
| D | 816 | 415 | 1,236 | ||
| D | 1,043 | 333 | 1,380 | ||
| D | 940 | 198 | 1,141 | ||
| D | 841 | 124 | 973 | ||
| D | 740 | 248 | 988 | ||
| D | 687 | 76 | 779 | ||
| D | 774 | 154 | 976 | ||
| D | 590 | 49 | 640 | ||
| D | 576 | 39 | 630 | ||
| D | 517 | 74 | 602 | ||
| D | 444 | 67 | 535 | ||
| D | 1,055 | 426 | 1,513 | ||
| D | 1,114 | 490 | 1,629 | ||
| D | 1,208 | 409 | 1,678 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
18.2%
English
15.1%
Irish
14.5%
American
13.4%
Italian
4.6%
Scottish
2.5%
Polish
1.6%
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: 48.4 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
$117,111
Clarke County ranks in the top 0.5% of US counties.
Clarke County$117,111
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Clarke County ranks in the top 0.5% 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
7.0%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 186.0%
Working age (18–64)7.0%
Seniors (65+)8.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.1%
speak English only
Spanish6.0%
Other Indo-European2.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
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 61.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Clarke County's 12,600 residents occupy the lower Shenandoah Valley, where low population density and agricultural land use correlate with presidential margins that have run consistently Republican by double digits across recent cycles.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached eighty-five points in 1912; the Republican margin reached forty-two points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was seventeen points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 84% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $117,111, and a 7% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Livingston County and Lake 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.
Clarke County, Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/51043/. 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 Clarke County, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Clarke County, Virginia voted Republican by 16.7 points (R+17), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 9,839 votes cast, 3,993 went Democratic and 5,641 went Republican.
What is Clarke County, Virginia's political typology?
Akashic places Clarke County, Virginia 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 17 times, Republican 17 times, and other 0 times.
When did Clarke County, Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Clarke County, Virginia voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Clarke County, Virginia?
Clarke County, Virginia has a population of 15,216 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Clarke County, Virginia?
Median household income in Clarke County, Virginia is $117,111 — above the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Clarke County, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Clarke County, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 17 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.