Hancock County, West Virginia: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+47%. Republican peak: R+49 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+47MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 28,4312024 5-year
- Median household income
- $61,4662024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+47 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+49 in 1924MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Lyon County, KY · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Hancock CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Hancock 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 | −7.0% |
| 1896 | −17.7% |
| 1900 | +20.2% |
| 1904 | −31.5% |
| 1908 | −23.5% |
| 1912 | −1.5% |
| 1916 | −22.2% |
| 1920 | −30.5% |
| 1924 | −48.7% |
| 1928 | −48.5% |
| 1932 | +3.0% |
| 1936 | +32.3% |
| 1940 | +26.0% |
| 1944 | +26.2% |
| 1948 | +28.4% |
| 1952 | +20.0% |
| 1956 | +4.2% |
| 1960 | +16.4% |
| 1964 | +47.3% |
| 1968 | +21.2% |
| 1972 | −22.5% |
| 1976 | +22.2% |
| 1980 | +13.2% |
| 1984 | +8.6% |
| 1988 | +17.2% |
| 1992 | +26.2% |
| 1996 | +23.2% |
| 2000 | −1.6% |
| 2004 | −2.7% |
| 2008 | −15.2% |
| 2012 | −21.4% |
| 2016 | −44.1% |
| 2020 | −43.6% |
| 2024 | −46.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,360 | 9,462 | 13,030 | ||
| R | 3,790 | 9,806 | 13,802 | ||
| R | 3,262 | 8,909 | 12,802 | ||
| R | 4,627 | 7,226 | 12,150 | ||
| R | 5,504 | 7,518 | 13,220 | ||
| R | 6,906 | 7,298 | 14,321 | ||
| R | 6,249 | 6,458 | 13,472 | ||
| D | 7,521 | 4,268 | 14,020 | ||
| D | 7,830 | 3,897 | 15,038 | ||
| D | 8,338 | 5,882 | 14,280 | ||
| D | 8,708 | 7,326 | 16,124 | ||
| D | 8,784 | 6,610 | 16,475 | ||
| D | 10,627 | 6,771 | 17,398 | ||
| R | 6,727 | 10,634 | 17,361 | ||
| D | 10,174 | 6,181 | 18,831 | ||
| D | 14,001 | 5,009 | 19,010 | ||
| D | 11,176 | 8,031 | 19,207 | ||
| D | 9,524 | 8,750 | 18,274 | ||
| D | 9,772 | 6,520 | 16,292 | ||
| D | 8,242 | 4,561 | 12,973 | ||
| D | 7,334 | 4,285 | 11,619 | ||
| D | 8,515 | 4,997 | 13,512 | ||
| D | 7,756 | 3,957 | 11,771 | ||
| D | 4,603 | 4,328 | 9,220 | ||
| R | 1,884 | 5,461 | 7,374 | ||
| R | 1,187 | 3,775 | 5,311 | ||
| R | 1,435 | 2,768 | 4,364 | ||
| R | 891 | 1,434 | 2,442 | ||
| O | 634 | 664 | 1,980 | ||
| R | 719 | 1,185 | 1,984 | ||
| R | 508 | 1,010 | 1,595 | ||
| D | 863 | 564 | 1,478 | ||
| R | 584 | 843 | 1,465 | ||
| R | 593 | 693 | 1,430 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
20.1%
Irish
16.9%
Italian
12.3%
English
11.2%
American
7.5%
Polish
4.8%
Scottish
1.5%
African American
1.4%
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: 47.0 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
$61,466
Hancock County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Hancock County$61,466
West Virginia$59,608
United States$80,734
Hancock 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
14.5%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.0%
Working age (18–64)13.7%
Seniors (65+)12.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.6%
speak English only
Other Indo-European0.6%
Spanish0.5%
Other languages0.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Hancock County sits in a narrow panhandle where West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania converge, and its electorate has shifted decisively toward Republican margins over the past decade, reflecting broader deindustrialization trends across the tri-state region.
The Republican margin here reached forty-nine points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-seven points.
A population of 28,431, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $61,466 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Lyon County and Summers 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.
Hancock County, West Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/54029/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in West Virginia
More farm belt counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Hancock County, West Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Hancock County, West Virginia voted Republican by 46.8 points (R+47), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 13,030 votes cast, 3,360 went Democratic and 9,462 went Republican.
What is Hancock County, West Virginia's political typology?
Akashic places Hancock County, West 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 17 times, Republican 16 times, and other 1 times.
When did Hancock County, West Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Hancock County, West Virginia voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Hancock County, West Virginia?
Hancock County, West Virginia has a population of 28,431 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Hancock County, West Virginia?
Median household income in Hancock County, West Virginia is $61,466 — below the national median of $80,734. The West Virginia state median is $59,608.
What is the political history of Hancock County, West Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Hancock County, West Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 17 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.