Putnam County, West Virginia: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+46%. Republican peak: R+47 in 2016.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+46MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 57,1772024 5-year
- Median household income
- $79,5272024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 94.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+27 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+47 in 2016MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Somerset County, PA · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Putnam CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Putnam 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 | −0.5% |
| 1896 | −4.9% |
| 1900 | +11.6% |
| 1904 | −15.7% |
| 1908 | −9.5% |
| 1912 | +26.6% |
| 1916 | −2.3% |
| 1920 | −10.9% |
| 1924 | +1.4% |
| 1928 | −16.2% |
| 1932 | +9.1% |
| 1936 | +9.4% |
| 1940 | +6.8% |
| 1944 | −1.3% |
| 1948 | +8.6% |
| 1952 | −1.5% |
| 1956 | −7.8% |
| 1960 | −6.9% |
| 1964 | +24.8% |
| 1968 | −2.1% |
| 1972 | −26.8% |
| 1976 | +13.0% |
| 1980 | −7.8% |
| 1984 | −27.8% |
| 1988 | −10.3% |
| 1992 | −4.8% |
| 1996 | −4.1% |
| 2000 | −21.0% |
| 2004 | −25.5% |
| 2008 | −23.5% |
| 2012 | −36.9% |
| 2016 | −47.2% |
| 2020 | −42.7% |
| 2024 | −46.3% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 7,124 | 19,868 | 27,507 | ||
| R | 7,878 | 20,034 | 28,501 | ||
| R | 5,884 | 17,788 | 25,211 | ||
| R | 7,256 | 16,032 | 23,760 | ||
| R | 9,334 | 15,162 | 24,778 | ||
| R | 9,301 | 15,716 | 25,151 | ||
| R | 7,891 | 12,173 | 20,426 | ||
| R | 8,029 | 8,803 | 18,809 | ||
| R | 6,817 | 7,653 | 17,428 | ||
| R | 6,640 | 8,163 | 14,841 | ||
| R | 5,208 | 9,238 | 14,492 | ||
| R | 6,409 | 7,561 | 14,686 | ||
| D | 8,226 | 6,334 | 14,560 | ||
| R | 4,771 | 8,265 | 13,036 | ||
| R | 5,009 | 5,252 | 11,601 | ||
| D | 6,910 | 4,165 | 11,075 | ||
| R | 4,968 | 5,702 | 10,670 | ||
| R | 4,754 | 5,560 | 10,314 | ||
| R | 4,802 | 4,944 | 9,746 | ||
| D | 4,426 | 3,722 | 8,164 | ||
| R | 3,918 | 4,025 | 7,943 | ||
| D | 4,888 | 4,268 | 9,156 | ||
| D | 4,756 | 3,938 | 8,720 | ||
| D | 4,098 | 3,411 | 7,590 | ||
| R | 2,406 | 3,346 | 5,793 | ||
| D | 2,946 | 2,862 | 6,123 | ||
| R | 2,578 | 3,223 | 5,915 | ||
| R | 1,837 | 1,925 | 3,893 | ||
| O | 1,540 | 531 | 3,798 | ||
| R | 1,726 | 2,098 | 3,912 | ||
| R | 1,566 | 2,161 | 3,788 | ||
| D | 2,118 | 1,676 | 3,808 | ||
| R | 1,702 | 1,876 | 3,585 | ||
| R | 1,597 | 1,612 | 3,300 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
16.8%
English
14.7%
German
13.1%
Irish
11.2%
Italian
2.8%
Scottish
2.1%
French
1.3%
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: 42.6 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
$79,527
Putnam County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
Putnam County$79,527
West Virginia$59,608
United States$80,734
Putnam County ranks in the top 25% 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
10.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.4%
Working age (18–64)9.1%
Seniors (65+)8.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.5%
speak English only
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other Indo-European0.5%
Spanish0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Putnam County sits between Charleston and Huntington along the I-64 corridor, and its steady suburbanization has coincided with a sharp rightward shift — the 2024 presidential margin of R+46 points is roughly double what it was two decades ago.
The Republican margin here reached forty-seven points in 2016. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-six points.
A population of 57,177, a 94% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $79,527 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Somerset County and Burke 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.
Putnam County, West Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/54079/. 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 Putnam County, West Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Putnam County, West Virginia voted Republican by 46.3 points (R+46), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 27,507 votes cast, 7,124 went Democratic and 19,868 went Republican.
What is Putnam County, West Virginia's political typology?
Akashic places Putnam County, West Virginia in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. 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 8 times, Republican 25 times, and other 1 times.
When did Putnam County, West Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Putnam County, West Virginia voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in Putnam County, West Virginia?
Putnam County, West Virginia has a population of 57,177 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Putnam County, West Virginia?
Median household income in Putnam County, West Virginia is $79,527 — below the national median of $80,734. The West Virginia state median is $59,608.
What is the political history of Putnam County, West Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Putnam County, West Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.