Upshur County, West Virginia: Farm Belt county. In 2024, voted R+57%. Republican peak: R+57 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+57MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Farm BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 23,7122024 5-year
- Median household income
- $54,3382024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+47 in 1900MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 2024MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Mineral County, WV · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Upshur CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Upshur 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 | −31.5% |
| 1896 | −40.6% |
| 1900 | +46.9% |
| 1904 | −47.3% |
| 1908 | −47.9% |
| 1912 | +1.7% |
| 1916 | −42.1% |
| 1920 | −55.0% |
| 1924 | −42.4% |
| 1928 | −51.2% |
| 1932 | −23.3% |
| 1936 | −28.9% |
| 1940 | −36.0% |
| 1944 | −44.9% |
| 1948 | −37.0% |
| 1952 | −45.3% |
| 1956 | −46.6% |
| 1960 | −32.8% |
| 1964 | +2.3% |
| 1968 | −30.7% |
| 1972 | −56.5% |
| 1976 | −15.4% |
| 1980 | −23.3% |
| 1984 | −41.1% |
| 1988 | −22.1% |
| 1992 | −4.2% |
| 1996 | −3.7% |
| 2000 | −29.5% |
| 2004 | −34.0% |
| 2008 | −33.3% |
| 2012 | −45.6% |
| 2016 | −56.3% |
| 2020 | −53.9% |
| 2024 | −56.8% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 2,033 | 7,633 | 9,859 | ||
| R | 2,256 | 7,771 | 10,223 | ||
| R | 1,766 | 7,005 | 9,298 | ||
| R | 2,158 | 5,939 | 8,298 | ||
| R | 2,925 | 5,911 | 8,970 | ||
| R | 3,034 | 6,191 | 9,293 | ||
| R | 2,770 | 5,165 | 8,123 | ||
| R | 3,052 | 3,325 | 7,447 | ||
| R | 3,161 | 3,505 | 8,253 | ||
| R | 3,065 | 4,813 | 7,894 | ||
| R | 2,468 | 5,951 | 8,466 | ||
| R | 2,867 | 4,751 | 8,099 | ||
| R | 3,513 | 4,789 | 8,302 | ||
| R | 1,795 | 6,449 | 8,244 | ||
| R | 2,319 | 4,565 | 7,311 | ||
| D | 3,774 | 3,606 | 7,380 | ||
| R | 2,590 | 5,123 | 7,713 | ||
| R | 2,081 | 5,707 | 7,788 | ||
| R | 2,234 | 5,938 | 8,172 | ||
| R | 2,323 | 5,068 | 7,419 | ||
| R | 2,026 | 5,332 | 7,358 | ||
| R | 2,862 | 6,086 | 8,948 | ||
| R | 3,163 | 5,745 | 8,934 | ||
| R | 3,147 | 5,077 | 8,292 | ||
| R | 1,683 | 5,277 | 7,017 | ||
| R | 1,952 | 4,930 | 7,019 | ||
| R | 1,418 | 4,936 | 6,396 | ||
| R | 1,019 | 2,553 | 3,640 | ||
| O | 895 | 835 | 3,497 | ||
| R | 846 | 2,571 | 3,600 | ||
| R | 826 | 2,405 | 3,338 | ||
| D | 2,400 | 865 | 3,275 | ||
| R | 949 | 2,281 | 3,284 | ||
| R | 938 | 1,849 | 2,888 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
15.1%
Irish
15.0%
English
10.9%
American
6.3%
Italian
3.3%
Scottish
2.9%
French
1.8%
African American
1.0%
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: 42.3 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
$54,338
Upshur County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Upshur County$54,338
West Virginia$59,608
United States$80,734
Upshur County ranks in the bottom 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
19.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1823.9%
Working age (18–64)19.0%
Seniors (65+)10.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
98.5%
speak English only
Spanish0.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Other Indo-European0.3%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 67.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Upshur County, anchored by Buckhannon in the Appalachian highlands, recorded an R+56.8 margin in 2024 — a figure consistent with the broad realignment of rural, working-class communities across the Mountain State over the past two decades.
The Republican margin here reached fifty-seven points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-seven points.
A population of 23,712, a 92% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $54,338 describe an agricultural county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Mineral County and Boone 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.
Upshur County, West Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/54097/. 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 Upshur County, West Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Upshur County, West Virginia voted Republican by 56.8 points (R+57), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 9,859 votes cast, 2,033 went Democratic and 7,633 went Republican.
What is Upshur County, West Virginia's political typology?
Akashic places Upshur 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 2 times, Republican 31 times, and other 1 times.
When did Upshur County, West Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Upshur County, West Virginia voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Upshur County, West Virginia?
Upshur County, West Virginia has a population of 23,712 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Upshur County, West Virginia?
Median household income in Upshur County, West Virginia is $54,338 — below the national median of $80,734. The West Virginia state median is $59,608.
What is the political history of Upshur County, West Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Upshur County, West Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 2 went Democratic and 31 went Republican. The county's typology — "Farm Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.