Nelson County, Virginia: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+7%. Democratic peak: D+72 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+7MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 14,7322024 5-year
- Median household income
- $72,5892024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 81.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 11.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+72 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+40 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Penobscot County, ME · similarity 0.94
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Nelson CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Nelson 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 | +15.2% |
| 1896 | +11.4% |
| 1900 | +13.6% |
| 1904 | +51.3% |
| 1908 | +41.1% |
| 1912 | +55.9% |
| 1916 | +62.0% |
| 1920 | +42.5% |
| 1924 | +48.4% |
| 1928 | +32.6% |
| 1932 | +71.6% |
| 1936 | +52.9% |
| 1940 | +59.1% |
| 1944 | +52.9% |
| 1948 | +47.8% |
| 1952 | +24.5% |
| 1956 | +22.0% |
| 1960 | +31.1% |
| 1964 | −8.6% |
| 1968 | −0.3% |
| 1972 | −39.7% |
| 1976 | +22.6% |
| 1980 | +12.1% |
| 1984 | −15.6% |
| 1988 | −4.7% |
| 1992 | +7.7% |
| 1996 | +15.1% |
| 2000 | −0.1% |
| 2004 | +0.1% |
| 2008 | +9.1% |
| 2012 | +2.7% |
| 2016 | −5.6% |
| 2020 | −5.2% |
| 2024 | −7.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 4,298 | 5,004 | 9,431 | ||
| R | 4,327 | 4,812 | 9,316 | ||
| R | 3,689 | 4,154 | 8,311 | ||
| D | 4,171 | 3,947 | 8,250 | ||
| D | 4,391 | 3,647 | 8,133 | ||
| D | 3,543 | 3,539 | 7,139 | ||
| R | 2,907 | 2,913 | 6,145 | ||
| D | 2,782 | 1,988 | 5,264 | ||
| D | 2,586 | 2,159 | 5,538 | ||
| R | 2,272 | 2,502 | 4,849 | ||
| R | 2,021 | 2,777 | 4,853 | ||
| D | 2,410 | 1,866 | 4,496 | ||
| D | 2,426 | 1,516 | 4,027 | ||
| R | 724 | 1,697 | 2,449 | ||
| O | 1,120 | 1,130 | 3,426 | ||
| R | 3,872 | 4,604 | 8,489 | ||
| D | 1,480 | 775 | 2,268 | ||
| D | 1,215 | 764 | 2,054 | ||
| D | 1,222 | 740 | 1,970 | ||
| D | 1,204 | 371 | 1,741 | ||
| D | 1,390 | 427 | 1,819 | ||
| D | 1,291 | 330 | 1,626 | ||
| D | 1,204 | 370 | 1,577 | ||
| D | 1,457 | 238 | 1,702 | ||
| D | 1,216 | 618 | 1,834 | ||
| D | 1,042 | 350 | 1,431 | ||
| D | 973 | 392 | 1,367 | ||
| D | 1,063 | 249 | 1,312 | ||
| D | 706 | 163 | 971 | ||
| D | 742 | 308 | 1,056 | ||
| D | 847 | 269 | 1,127 | ||
| D | 1,530 | 1,163 | 2,707 | ||
| D | 1,492 | 1,183 | 2,718 | ||
| D | 1,409 | 1,020 | 2,551 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
14.9%
Irish
13.9%
German
11.4%
American
7.5%
Scottish
4.0%
Italian
2.3%
French
1.8%
African American
8.8%
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: 51.3 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
$72,589
Nelson County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Nelson County$72,589
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Nelson 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
12.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 188.5%
Working age (18–64)13.6%
Seniors (65+)11.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.8%
speak English only
Spanish2.8%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Other languages1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 45.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Nelson County's small, rural population clusters along the Rockfish Valley corridor, and its modest R+7.5 presidential margin in 2024 reflects a gradual rightward drift from the competitive results it posted a decade ago.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached seventy-two points in 1932; the Republican margin reached forty points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was seven points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 81% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $72,589, and a 13% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Penobscot County and Oxford 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.
Nelson County, Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/51125/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Virginia
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Nelson County, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Nelson County, Virginia voted Republican by 7.5 points (R+7), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 9,431 votes cast, 4,298 went Democratic and 5,004 went Republican.
What is Nelson County, Virginia's political typology?
Akashic places Nelson 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 25 times, Republican 8 times, and other 1 times.
When did Nelson County, Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Nelson County, Virginia voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Nelson County, Virginia?
Nelson County, Virginia has a population of 14,732 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Nelson County, Virginia?
Median household income in Nelson County, Virginia is $72,589 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Nelson County, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Nelson County, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 25 went Democratic and 8 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.