Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupBuena Vista cityVirginiaUnited States
American18.7%8.4%5.3%
English12.7%12.0%9.5%
German7.4%10.1%12.5%
Irish6.4%9.1%9.4%
French2.4%1.3%1.6%
Scottish2.3%1.9%1.3%
Scotch-Irish2.1%——
Danish1.8%——
Samoan0.3%——
African American†2.0%15.6%9.9%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Buena Vista city
Virginia
United States
Median age
35.9
39.3
39.1
Age 18–24
16.2%
9.2%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
18.7%
16.7%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Buena Vista city
Virginia
United States
Median household income
$57,833
$93,170
$84,427
Poverty rate
18.8%
10.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
23.3%
42.3%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Buena Vista city
Virginia
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
1.1%
17.5%
22.3%
Religious landscape
Measure
Buena Vista city
Virginia
United States
Catholic
—
10.2%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
22.1%
19.9%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
17.9%
54.3%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
10.0%
8.4%
5.2%
Latter-day Saints
50.0%
1.1%
2.0%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Buena Vista city, Virginia
Precinct data
Results by precinct
4 precincts · 2,867 votes
Precinct boundaries and identifiers are cycle-specific. This table does not join rows across years without a validated crosswalk.
Buena Vista city precinct-level presidential election results for 2024
Precinct -001 - FIRST WARD001 - FIRST WARD
384
1,214
36
1,634
23.5%
74.3%
R+50.8
Precinct -002 - SECOND WARD002 - SECOND WARD
383
821
29
1,233
31.1%
66.6%
R+35.5
First Ward51530000001
0
0
0
0
—
—
Even
Second Ward51530000002
0
0
0
0
—
—
Even
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
+59.7%
1896
+8.6%
1900
+2.6%
1904
+21.9%
1908
+26.0%
1912
+43.6%
1916
+26.2%
1920
+25.9%
1924
+21.9%
1928
−21.6%
1932
+23.7%
1936
+34.4%
1940
+42.3%
1944
+38.3%
1948
+11.2%
1952
−13.4%
1956
−24.4%
1960
−6.5%
1964
+31.2%
1968
−25.7%
1972
−13.3%
1976
+12.0%
1980
+4.3%
1984
−29.5%
1988
−14.7%
1992
+7.9%
1996
+18.3%
2000
−2.0%
2004
−20.1%
2008
−7.2%
2012
−25.5%
2016
−30.6%
2020
−37.4%
2024
−44.2%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
26.8%Harris767
71.0%Trump2,035
1.0%Oliver29 +4
R+44.2
R+6.8
R+42.8
2,867
All 7 candidates in 2024 · 5 minor / independent
Donald J TrumpRepublican71.0%2,035
Kamala D HarrisDemocratic26.8%767
Chase OliverLibertarian1.0%29
OtherAll other candidates0.5%14
Jill SteinIndependent0.3%10
Claudia De La CruzIndependent0.3%8
Cornel R WestIndependent0.1%4
R
29.7%Biden825
67.1%Trump1,863
2.6%Jorgensen72
R+37.4
R+6.8
R+41.8
2,776
R
28.8%Clinton693
59.4%Trump1,430
7.2%McMullin174
R+30.6
R+5.1
R+32.7
2,407
R
36.4%Obama919
61.9%Romney1,564
1.7%
R+25.5
R+18.4
R+29.4
2,526
R
45.7%Obama1,108
52.9%McCain1,282
1.4%
R+7.2
D+13.0
R+14.5
2,423
R
39.2%Kerry936
59.3%Bush1,417
1.5%
R+20.1
R+18.2
R+17.7
2,389
R
47.6%Gore941
49.6%Bush980
1.4%Nader27
R+2.0
R+20.3
R+2.5
1,975
D
53.0%Clinton1,090
34.7%Dole713
10.5%Perot216
D+18.3
D+10.4
D+9.8
2,057
D
46.5%Clinton1,023
38.6%Bush849
13.2%Perot291
D+7.9
D+22.6
D+2.3
2,200
R
41.4%Dukakis828
56.1%Bush1,121
2.5%
R+14.7
D+14.8
R+6.9
1,999
R
34.9%Mondale724
64.4%Reagan1,335
0.7%
R+29.5
R+33.7
R+11.3
2,073
D
49.4%Carter1,031
45.1%Reagan942
5.6%
D+4.3
R+7.7
D+14.0
2,089
D
53.6%Carter993
41.6%Ford771
4.8%
D+12.0
D+25.3
D+9.9
1,853
R
42.6%McGovern15,409
55.9%Nixon20,235
1.5%
R+13.3
D+12.4
D+9.8
36,169
R
23.3%Humphrey387
49.0%Nixon814
27.7%
R+25.7
R+56.9
R+25.0
1,660
D
65.5%Johnson16,828
34.4%Goldwater8,825
0.1%
D+31.2
D+37.7
D+8.6
25,683
R
46.5%Kennedy427
53.1%Nixon487
0.4%
R+6.5
D+17.9
R+6.7
918
R
36.3%Stevenson326
60.8%Eisenhower545
2.9%
R+24.4
R+11.1
R+9.0
897
R
43.3%Stevenson392
56.6%Eisenhower513
0.1%
R+13.4
R+24.5
R+2.6
906
D
52.8%Truman297
41.6%Dewey234
5.7%
D+11.2
R+27.1
D+6.7
563
D
69.1%Roosevelt402
30.8%Dewey179
0.2%
D+38.3
R+4.0
D+30.8
582
D
70.9%Roosevelt280
28.6%Willkie113
0.5%
D+42.3
D+7.8
D+32.3
395
D
67.2%Roosevelt363
32.8%Landon177
0.0%
D+34.4
D+10.7
D+10.2
540
D
58.9%Roosevelt258
35.2%Hoover154
5.9%
D+23.7
D+45.4
D+6.0
438
R
39.2%Smith172
60.8%Hoover267
0.0%
R+21.6
R+43.6
R+4.2
439
D
59.9%Davis235
38.0%Coolidge149
2.0%La Follette8
D+21.9
R+4.0
D+47.1
392
D
62.8%Cox262
36.9%Harding154
0.2%
D+25.9
R+0.3
D+52.1
417
D
62.7%Wilson158
36.5%Hughes92
0.8%
D+26.2
R+17.4
D+23.0
252
D
60.3%Wilson155
16.7%Taft43
23.0%
D+43.6
D+17.6
D+24.0
257
D
62.6%Bryan137
36.5%Taft80
0.9%
D+26.0
D+4.1
D+35.6
219
D
59.5%Parker125
37.6%Roosevelt79
2.9%
D+21.9
D+19.3
D+41.6
210
D
50.5%Bryan215
47.9%McKinley204
1.6%
D+2.6
R+6.0
D+10.1
426
D
53.8%Bryan219
45.2%McKinley184
1.0%
D+8.6
R+51.1
D+14.7
407
D
79.9%Cleveland341
20.1%Harrison86
0.0%
D+59.7
—
D+58.1
427
—
—
—
—
No data
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
No data
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
No data
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
No data
—
—
—
Congressional elections · 3 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2024
R
33.2%935
66.8%1,881
2,816
2020
R
37.2%1,020
62.8%1,724
2,744
2018
R
38.1%666
59.8%1,047
1,750
voter registration
Registered voters
Total registered voters, over time
Registered voters
Voter registration in Buena Vista city, VA
Year
Total registered
2016
4,164
2018
3,902
2020
4,262
2022
4,419
2024
4,626
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net migration over time, and who arrivals are — where they came from and what those places vote
+65 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net −79 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Arrivals reported $34,853 in average income, against $52,573 for residents who stayed — 34% lower. (IRS SOI, 2022–23)
The places arrivals came from lean R+33.6 on average — 11 points more Democratic-leaning than Buena Vista city, VA itself (R+44.2).
Where arrivals came from lean of each source
Rockbridge County, VA93R+33.6
Where departures went households, 2022–23
Rockbridge County, VA84
Migration is one input to a place’s political change, not its cause — a shift can also come from residents changing their minds, generational turnover, or turnout. These figures describe the places people moved between; they do not measure how any mover voted.
Domestic migration in Buena Vista city, VA in Buena Vista city, VA: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+92
2012
+27
2013
−105
2014
−103
2015
0
2016
−90
2017
+17
2018
−4
2019
−27
2021
−1
2022
−9
2023
+28
2024
+31
2025
+65
Buena Vista, a small independent city in the Shenandoah Valley foothills, has delivered lopsided Republican margins for over a decade, reflecting the region's working-class, rural-leaning electorate despite its technical classification as an urban jurisdiction.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 59.7 points in 1892 and a Republican high of 44.2 points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved 6.8 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 44.2 points.
A population of 6,593, a 85% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $57,833 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Henderson County and Labette County.
Akashic
Political twins — counties
The counties whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
In 2024, Buena Vista city, Virginia voted Republican by 44.2 points (R+44.2), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 2,867 votes cast, 767 went Democratic and 2,035 went Republican.
When did Buena Vista city, Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Buena Vista city, Virginia voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Buena Vista city, Virginia?
Buena Vista city, Virginia has a population of 6,593 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Buena Vista city, Virginia?
Median household income in Buena Vista city, Virginia is $57,833 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Buena Vista city, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Buena Vista city, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 19 went Democratic and 15 went Republican.
