Rockbridge County, Virginia: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+34%. Republican peak: R+56 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+34MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 22,5312024 5-year
- Median household income
- $65,4692024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 90.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+36 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+56 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- McKean County, PA · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Rockbridge CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Rockbridge 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 | +16.4% |
| 1896 | −16.2% |
| 1900 | −14.5% |
| 1904 | +4.4% |
| 1908 | +10.4% |
| 1912 | +32.0% |
| 1916 | +27.0% |
| 1920 | +12.8% |
| 1924 | +33.5% |
| 1928 | +4.2% |
| 1932 | +36.4% |
| 1936 | +30.5% |
| 1940 | +28.2% |
| 1944 | +26.0% |
| 1948 | −3.0% |
| 1952 | −32.2% |
| 1956 | −36.1% |
| 1960 | −21.3% |
| 1964 | −17.2% |
| 1968 | −35.7% |
| 1972 | −56.0% |
| 1976 | +7.4% |
| 1980 | −5.4% |
| 1984 | −31.8% |
| 1988 | −18.6% |
| 1992 | −4.3% |
| 1996 | −2.2% |
| 2000 | −20.0% |
| 2004 | −19.4% |
| 2008 | −13.6% |
| 2012 | −17.8% |
| 2016 | −29.4% |
| 2020 | −32.3% |
| 2024 | −33.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 4,160 | 8,468 | 12,828 | ||
| R | 4,086 | 8,088 | 12,373 | ||
| R | 3,508 | 6,680 | 10,795 | ||
| R | 4,088 | 5,898 | 10,177 | ||
| R | 4,347 | 5,732 | 10,195 | ||
| R | 3,627 | 5,412 | 9,181 | ||
| R | 2,953 | 4,522 | 7,827 | ||
| R | 3,116 | 3,274 | 7,279 | ||
| R | 2,908 | 3,228 | 7,503 | ||
| R | 2,412 | 3,541 | 6,062 | ||
| R | 2,098 | 4,067 | 6,194 | ||
| R | 2,475 | 2,784 | 5,677 | ||
| D | 2,525 | 2,157 | 4,940 | ||
| R | 435 | 1,565 | 2,018 | ||
| R | 845 | 2,280 | 4,014 | ||
| R | 636 | 901 | 1,540 | ||
| R | 1,405 | 2,170 | 3,585 | ||
| R | 1,039 | 2,273 | 3,418 | ||
| R | 1,059 | 2,068 | 3,138 | ||
| R | 994 | 1,062 | 2,284 | ||
| D | 1,638 | 961 | 2,608 | ||
| D | 1,618 | 902 | 2,535 | ||
| D | 1,635 | 868 | 2,516 | ||
| D | 1,764 | 811 | 2,619 | ||
| D | 1,311 | 1,206 | 2,517 | ||
| D | 1,394 | 680 | 2,132 | ||
| D | 1,365 | 1,054 | 2,432 | ||
| D | 1,049 | 601 | 1,661 | ||
| D | 949 | 433 | 1,615 | ||
| D | 1,000 | 810 | 1,824 | ||
| D | 996 | 911 | 1,931 | ||
| R | 1,658 | 2,223 | 3,905 | ||
| R | 1,634 | 2,290 | 4,044 | ||
| D | 2,210 | 1,576 | 3,864 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
16.9%
English
15.4%
German
14.2%
Irish
7.7%
Scottish
3.1%
French
2.0%
Italian
1.5%
African American
2.5%
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: 49.8 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
$65,469
Rockbridge County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Rockbridge County$65,469
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Rockbridge 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
7.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 187.1%
Working age (18–64)7.2%
Seniors (65+)9.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.6%
speak English only
Spanish1.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other Indo-European0.2%
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 66.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Rockbridge delivers some of Virginia's most lopsided presidential margins, with a largely rural, low-density population anchored by small towns like Lexington that house Washington and Lee University and VMI.
The Republican margin here reached fifty-six points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-four points.
A population of 22,531, a 90% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $65,469 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of McKean County and Highland 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.
Rockbridge County, Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/51163/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Virginia
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Rockbridge County, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Rockbridge County, Virginia voted Republican by 33.6 points (R+34), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 12,828 votes cast, 4,160 went Democratic and 8,468 went Republican.
What is Rockbridge County, Virginia's political typology?
Akashic places Rockbridge County, Virginia in the "Farm Belt" typology — Rural Plains and Midwest farm counties — Republican, with modest recent movement. 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 13 times, Republican 21 times, and other 0 times.
When did Rockbridge County, Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Rockbridge County, Virginia voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in Rockbridge County, Virginia?
Rockbridge County, Virginia has a population of 22,531 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Rockbridge County, Virginia?
Median household income in Rockbridge County, Virginia is $65,469 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Rockbridge County, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Rockbridge County, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.