Jackson County, West Virginia: Appalachian Realigners county. In 2024, voted R+56%. Republican peak: R+56 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+56MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Appalachian RealignersAkashic typology
- Population
- 27,7052024 5-year
- Median household income
- $58,8452024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+16 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+56 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Crawford County, MO · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Jackson CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Jackson County, 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 | −5.8% |
| 1896 | −5.0% |
| 1900 | +12.7% |
| 1904 | −10.0% |
| 1908 | −14.4% |
| 1912 | +16.2% |
| 1916 | −9.7% |
| 1920 | −20.9% |
| 1924 | −11.9% |
| 1928 | −25.7% |
| 1932 | +0.6% |
| 1936 | −15.4% |
| 1940 | −21.5% |
| 1944 | −30.3% |
| 1948 | −23.7% |
| 1952 | −30.2% |
| 1956 | −31.5% |
| 1960 | −21.0% |
| 1964 | +7.1% |
| 1968 | −17.9% |
| 1972 | −41.2% |
| 1976 | −0.2% |
| 1980 | −18.2% |
| 1984 | −26.3% |
| 1988 | −10.9% |
| 1992 | +8.1% |
| 1996 | +6.2% |
| 2000 | −12.2% |
| 2004 | −17.5% |
| 2008 | −18.7% |
| 2012 | −30.7% |
| 2016 | −51.7% |
| 2020 | −51.0% |
| 2024 | −56.2% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,699 | 9,907 | 12,822 | ||
| R | 3,207 | 10,093 | 13,509 | ||
| R | 2,663 | 9,020 | 12,304 | ||
| R | 3,854 | 7,408 | 11,594 | ||
| R | 4,861 | 7,148 | 12,225 | ||
| R | 5,384 | 7,686 | 13,158 | ||
| R | 4,937 | 6,341 | 11,518 | ||
| D | 4,882 | 4,235 | 10,447 | ||
| D | 5,102 | 4,192 | 11,229 | ||
| R | 4,573 | 5,696 | 10,291 | ||
| R | 4,147 | 7,117 | 11,310 | ||
| R | 4,120 | 6,041 | 10,581 | ||
| R | 5,334 | 5,360 | 10,694 | ||
| R | 3,007 | 7,226 | 10,233 | ||
| R | 3,462 | 5,173 | 9,582 | ||
| D | 5,022 | 4,359 | 9,381 | ||
| R | 3,615 | 5,535 | 9,150 | ||
| R | 2,596 | 4,984 | 7,580 | ||
| R | 2,597 | 4,845 | 7,442 | ||
| R | 2,639 | 4,277 | 6,923 | ||
| R | 2,401 | 4,486 | 6,887 | ||
| R | 3,299 | 5,104 | 8,403 | ||
| R | 3,453 | 4,711 | 8,172 | ||
| D | 4,131 | 4,084 | 8,215 | ||
| R | 2,452 | 4,150 | 6,602 | ||
| R | 2,936 | 3,739 | 6,734 | ||
| R | 2,831 | 4,330 | 7,181 | ||
| R | 2,032 | 2,474 | 4,535 | ||
| D | 1,935 | 1,199 | 4,537 | ||
| R | 1,950 | 2,615 | 4,621 | ||
| R | 2,122 | 2,596 | 4,763 | ||
| D | 2,840 | 2,194 | 5,069 | ||
| R | 2,286 | 2,527 | 4,845 | ||
| R | 1,883 | 2,131 | 4,291 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.8%
German
12.1%
American
11.3%
Irish
8.8%
Italian
3.0%
French
1.7%
Scottish
1.7%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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: 43.4 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
$58,845
Jackson County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Jackson County$58,845
West Virginia$59,608
United States$80,734
Jackson 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
18.5%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1825.2%
Working age (18–64)16.2%
Seniors (65+)19.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.8%
speak English only
Spanish0.9%
Other Indo-European0.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
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.
Jackson County, with roughly 28,000 residents along the mid-Ohio River valley, delivered an R+56 presidential margin in 2024, reflecting the broader realignment of rural Appalachian communities that has accelerated steadily over the past two decades.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin peaked at sixteen points in 1912 and narrowed across the late twentieth century. The 2000 election carried the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by twelve points. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-six points.
The economic context is severe: a median household income of $58,845 — among the lowest at this geographic scale — and a 19% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Crawford County and Lafayette 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.
Jackson County, West Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/54035/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in West Virginia
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Frequently asked questions
How did Jackson County, West Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Jackson County, West Virginia voted Republican by 56.2 points (R+56), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 12,822 votes cast, 2,699 went Democratic and 9,907 went Republican.
What is Jackson County, West Virginia's political typology?
Akashic places Jackson County, West 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 6 times, Republican 28 times, and other 0 times.
When did Jackson County, West Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Jackson County, West Virginia voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Jackson County, West Virginia?
Jackson County, West Virginia has a population of 27,705 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Jackson County, West Virginia?
Median household income in Jackson County, West Virginia is $58,845 — below the national median of $80,734. The West Virginia state median is $59,608.
What is the political history of Jackson County, West Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Jackson County, West Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 28 went Republican. The county's typology — "Appalachian Realigners" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.