Norton city, Virginia: Appalachian Realigners county. In 2024, voted R+44%. Republican peak: R+44 in 2016.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+44MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Appalachian RealignersAkashic typology
- Population
- 3,5772024 5-year
- Median household income
- $41,4952024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+38 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+44 in 2016MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Muhlenberg County, KY · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Norton cityPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Norton city, 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 | No data |
| 1896 | No data |
| 1900 | No data |
| 1904 | No data |
| 1908 | No data |
| 1912 | No data |
| 1916 | No data |
| 1920 | No data |
| 1924 | No data |
| 1928 | No data |
| 1932 | No data |
| 1936 | No data |
| 1940 | No data |
| 1944 | No data |
| 1948 | No data |
| 1952 | No data |
| 1956 | −10.6% |
| 1960 | −2.1% |
| 1964 | +37.8% |
| 1968 | +4.7% |
| 1972 | −27.4% |
| 1976 | +16.4% |
| 1980 | +13.6% |
| 1984 | +2.2% |
| 1988 | +13.1% |
| 1992 | +25.8% |
| 1996 | +27.9% |
| 2000 | +14.9% |
| 2004 | −2.9% |
| 2008 | −0.1% |
| 2012 | −22.1% |
| 2016 | −43.7% |
| 2020 | −40.3% |
| 2024 | −43.6% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 458 | 1,174 | 1,644 | ||
| R | 464 | 1,109 | 1,601 | ||
| R | 383 | 1,021 | 1,460 | ||
| R | 566 | 895 | 1,492 | ||
| R | 743 | 744 | 1,512 | ||
| R | 725 | 768 | 1,504 | ||
| D | 867 | 639 | 1,530 | ||
| D | 802 | 416 | 1,382 | ||
| D | 871 | 472 | 1,548 | ||
| D | 795 | 608 | 1,423 | ||
| D | 842 | 806 | 1,668 | ||
| D | 762 | 572 | 1,400 | ||
| D | 811 | 577 | 1,430 | ||
| R | 463 | 823 | 1,313 | ||
| D | 555 | 495 | 1,267 | ||
| D | 824 | 372 | 1,196 | ||
| R | 526 | 549 | 1,076 | ||
| R | 552 | 684 | 1,241 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
25.4%
English
15.3%
German
11.2%
Irish
9.8%
Scottish
3.0%
Polish
2.3%
Italian
1.9%
African American
1.8%
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: 41.3 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
$41,495
Norton city ranks in the bottom 10% of US counties.
Norton city$41,495
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Norton city ranks in the bottom 10% 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
26.3%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1831.7%
Working age (18–64)26.4%
Seniors (65+)12.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.4%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.7%
Spanish0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 52.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Norton City, an independent city of under 4,000 in the coalfield region of Southwest Virginia, has shifted decisively toward Republican presidential candidates over the past two decades, reflecting broader trends across Appalachian communities with deep ties to the extractive economy.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin peaked at thirty-eight points in 1964 and narrowed across the late twentieth century. The 2004 election carried the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by three points. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-four points.
The economic context is severe: a median household income of $41,495 — among the lowest at this geographic scale — and a 26% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Muhlenberg County and Buchanan 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.
Norton city, Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/51720/. 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 Norton city, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Norton city, Virginia voted Republican by 43.6 points (R+44), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,644 votes cast, 458 went Democratic and 1,174 went Republican.
What is Norton city, Virginia's political typology?
Akashic places Norton city, Virginia in the "Appalachian Realigners" typology — Lower-income counties of Greater Appalachia — a long, deep arc from Democratic to Republican. 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 9 times, Republican 9 times, and other 0 times.
When did Norton city, Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Norton city, Virginia voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Norton city, Virginia?
Norton city, Virginia has a population of 3,577 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Norton city, Virginia?
Median household income in Norton city, Virginia is $41,495 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Norton city, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Norton city, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 9 went Republican. The county's typology — "Appalachian Realigners" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.