Radford city, Virginia: Black Belt county. In 2024, voted D+1%. Democratic peak: D+51 in 1892.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+1MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Black BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 16,7262024 5-year
- Median household income
- $57,3482024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 9.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+51 in 1892MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+39 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Will County, IL · similarity 0.96
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Radford cityPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Radford city, 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 | +51.2% |
| 1896 | +8.9% |
| 1900 | +13.1% |
| 1904 | +28.8% |
| 1908 | +17.8% |
| 1912 | +45.4% |
| 1916 | +27.8% |
| 1920 | +23.8% |
| 1924 | +9.9% |
| 1928 | −16.8% |
| 1932 | +22.1% |
| 1936 | +21.2% |
| 1940 | +30.9% |
| 1944 | +16.0% |
| 1948 | −1.4% |
| 1952 | −15.7% |
| 1956 | −25.9% |
| 1960 | −14.5% |
| 1964 | +10.3% |
| 1968 | −23.2% |
| 1972 | −38.8% |
| 1976 | +9.6% |
| 1980 | +5.8% |
| 1984 | −23.0% |
| 1988 | −14.3% |
| 1992 | +3.9% |
| 1996 | +8.7% |
| 2000 | −2.9% |
| 2004 | −6.6% |
| 2008 | +9.4% |
| 2012 | +3.9% |
| 2016 | +4.7% |
| 2020 | +9.1% |
| 2024 | +0.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 3,231 | 3,197 | 6,583 | ||
| D | 3,358 | 2,786 | 6,320 | ||
| D | 2,925 | 2,638 | 6,082 | ||
| D | 2,732 | 2,520 | 5,399 | ||
| D | 2,930 | 2,418 | 5,429 | ||
| R | 2,244 | 2,564 | 4,845 | ||
| R | 2,063 | 2,190 | 4,448 | ||
| D | 2,113 | 1,742 | 4,283 | ||
| D | 2,183 | 1,996 | 4,785 | ||
| R | 1,855 | 2,481 | 4,365 | ||
| R | 1,781 | 2,855 | 4,669 | ||
| D | 2,225 | 1,964 | 4,463 | ||
| D | 2,240 | 1,844 | 4,122 | ||
| R | 1,121 | 2,577 | 3,752 | ||
| R | 1,206 | 2,077 | 3,749 | ||
| D | 1,850 | 1,505 | 3,358 | ||
| R | 1,240 | 1,663 | 2,912 | ||
| R | 1,118 | 1,910 | 3,058 | ||
| R | 1,108 | 1,523 | 2,638 | ||
| R | 826 | 850 | 1,765 | ||
| D | 824 | 597 | 1,423 | ||
| D | 793 | 417 | 1,216 | ||
| D | 650 | 421 | 1,078 | ||
| D | 542 | 341 | 909 | ||
| R | 373 | 524 | 897 | ||
| D | 394 | 314 | 807 | ||
| D | 402 | 245 | 660 | ||
| D | 206 | 115 | 327 | ||
| D | 185 | 36 | 328 | ||
| D | 204 | 141 | 353 | ||
| D | 184 | 100 | 292 | ||
| D | 257 | 197 | 459 | ||
| D | 372 | 309 | 709 | ||
| D | 591 | 185 | 793 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
22.0%
English
13.7%
Irish
9.2%
German
8.8%
Italian
3.2%
Scottish
2.9%
Polish
1.5%
African American
7.5%
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: 23.3 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
$57,348
Radford city ranks near the middle of US counties.
Radford city$57,348
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Radford city 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
28.7%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.6%
Working age (18–64)31.5%
Seniors (65+)14.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.3%
speak English only
Asian & Pacific Islander1.5%
Spanish1.0%
Other Indo-European0.7%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Radford University, this small independent city along the New River has swung between parties in recent cycles, with its 2024 presidential vote splitting nearly evenly across a student-influenced electorate.
The Democratic margin here reached fifty-one points in 1892. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved nine points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was one point. The recent movement, modest against a deep Democratic baseline, mirrors a broader rightward drift across the Black Belt.
The economic context is part of the story: a median household income of $57,348 and a 29% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Will County and DeKalb 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.
Radford city, Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/51750/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in Virginia
More black belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Radford city, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Radford city, Virginia voted Democratic by 0.5 points (D+1), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 6,583 votes cast, 3,231 went Democratic and 3,197 went Republican.
What is Radford city, Virginia's political typology?
Akashic places Radford city, Virginia in the "Black Belt" typology — Black-majority counties of the rural South — long the most Democratic ground in the region, now trending Republican at the margins. 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 23 times, Republican 11 times, and other 0 times.
When did Radford city, Virginia last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Radford city, Virginia voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in Radford city, Virginia?
Radford city, Virginia has a population of 16,726 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Radford city, Virginia?
Median household income in Radford city, Virginia is $57,348 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Radford city, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Radford city, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 23 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The county's typology — "Black Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.