† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
3 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupWatertownNew YorkUnited States
Irish15.2%10.5%9.4%
English13.3%5.6%9.5%
German12.7%8.6%12.5%
French7.2%1.3%1.6%
Italian6.7%10.9%4.8%
American6.2%4.2%5.3%
French Canadian2.5%——
Scottish2.3%—1.3%
Puerto Rican1.4%5.1%1.8%
Mexican1.3%2.5%11.3%
Dominican0.4%4.6%0.7%
Ecuadorian0.2%1.6%—
African American†1.7%8.0%9.9%
African0.5%0.6%0.5%
Jamaican0.2%1.6%0.4%
Chinese0.3%3.6%1.3%
Asian Indian0.2%1.9%1.4%
Korean0.2%0.6%0.4%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Watertown
New York
United States
Median age
37
39.9
39.1
Age 18–24
12.1%
9.0%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
17.4%
18.0%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Watertown
New York
United States
Median household income
$65,015
$85,974
$84,427
Poverty rate
14.9%
14.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
25.1%
40.0%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Watertown
New York
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
6.8%
30.9%
22.3%
Spanish
2.5%
14.8%
13.6%
German or other West Germanic
1.8%
1.5%
0.5%
Religious landscape
Measure
Watertown
New York
United States
Catholic
20.4%
30.8%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
7.0%
5.1%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
64.5%
48.7%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
5.4%
3.8%
5.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Watertown, New York
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−22.2%
1896
−32.8%
1900
−33.5%
1904
−33.2%
1908
−30.1%
1912
−8.1%
1916
−26.5%
1920
−48.0%
1924
−41.0%
1928
−33.0%
1932
−25.9%
1936
−32.1%
1940
−26.5%
1944
−20.3%
1948
−21.9%
1952
−38.9%
1956
−48.9%
1960
−18.2%
1964
+40.1%
1968
−15.9%
1972
−30.2%
1976
−16.4%
1980
−6.8%
1984
−31.1%
1988
−9.7%
1992
+3.3%
1996
+19.1%
2000
+2.0%
2004
−1.8%
2008
+4.1%
2012
+5.1%
2016
−17.7%
2020
−18.3%
2024
−23.8%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
38.0%Harris37,936
61.8%Trump61,689
0.2%
R+23.8
R+5.4
R+22.3
99,835
R
39.9%Biden40,491
58.2%Trump59,127
1.9%
R+18.3
R+0.7
R+22.8
101,594
R
37.7%Clinton33,443
55.3%Trump49,105
7.0%
R+17.7
R+22.8
R+19.7
88,719
D
51.8%Obama43,176
46.6%Romney38,911
1.6%
D+5.1
D+1.0
D+1.3
83,421
D
51.3%Obama46,858
47.2%McCain43,145
1.5%
D+4.1
D+5.8
R+3.2
91,350
R
48.1%Kerry44,263
49.9%Bush45,884
2.0%
R+1.8
R+3.8
D+0.7
91,958
D
48.8%Gore42,518
46.8%Bush40,744
4.5%
D+2.0
R+17.1
D+1.5
87,141
D
51.9%Clinton42,983
32.8%Dole27,154
15.3%
D+19.1
D+15.8
D+10.6
82,789
D
38.8%Clinton35,253
35.5%Bush32,229
25.7%
D+3.3
D+13.0
R+2.2
90,775
R
44.8%Dukakis37,310
54.5%Bush45,381
0.7%
R+9.7
D+21.4
R+2.0
83,241
R
34.3%Mondale29,680
65.4%Reagan56,576
0.3%
R+31.1
R+24.3
R+12.9
86,505
R
41.5%Carter34,250
48.2%Reagan39,829
10.3%
R+6.8
D+9.7
D+3.0
82,574
R
41.6%Carter34,770
58.0%Ford48,490
0.4%
R+16.4
D+13.8
R+18.5
83,595
R
34.8%McGovern29,902
65.0%Nixon55,859
0.2%
R+30.2
R+14.3
R+7.1
85,928
R
40.3%Humphrey32,305
56.2%Nixon45,058
3.6%
R+15.9
R+56.0
R+15.2
80,222
D
70.0%Johnson60,932
29.9%Goldwater26,005
0.1%
D+40.1
D+58.3
D+17.6
87,000
R
40.9%Kennedy39,286
59.1%Nixon56,770
0.1%
R+18.2
D+30.7
R+18.4
96,114
R
25.6%Stevenson23,387
74.4%Eisenhower68,090
0.0%
R+48.9
R+10.0
R+33.5
91,477
R
30.5%Stevenson27,953
69.4%Eisenhower63,590
0.1%
R+38.9
R+17.0
R+28.1
91,646
R
38.2%Truman29,587
60.1%Dewey46,513
1.6%
R+21.9
R+1.6
R+26.4
77,354
R
39.8%Roosevelt33,113
60.1%Dewey50,009
0.2%
R+20.3
D+6.2
R+27.8
83,263
R
36.6%Roosevelt33,616
63.2%Willkie57,972
0.2%
R+26.5
D+5.5
R+36.5
91,784
R
33.2%Roosevelt30,001
65.2%Landon59,004
1.6%
R+32.1
R+6.2
R+56.3
90,448
R
36.5%Roosevelt30,251
62.4%Hoover51,668
1.1%
R+25.9
D+7.1
R+43.6
82,828
R
32.9%Smith29,636
65.9%Hoover59,340
1.1%
R+33.0
D+8.0
R+15.5
89,999
R
26.2%Davis17,492
67.2%Coolidge44,907
6.7%
R+41.0
D+7.0
R+15.8
66,855
R
24.6%Cox17,811
72.6%Harding52,629
2.8%
R+48.0
R+21.5
R+21.8
72,499
R
35.2%Wilson15,820
61.7%Hughes27,757
3.1%
R+26.5
R+18.4
R+29.7
44,990
R
32.3%Wilson13,722
40.4%Taft17,160
27.2%
R+8.1
D+22.0
R+27.6
42,438
R
32.2%Bryan15,402
62.3%Taft29,787
5.5%
R+30.1
D+3.2
R+20.5
47,817
R
31.4%Parker15,336
64.6%Roosevelt31,566
3.9%
R+33.2
D+0.2
R+13.6
48,827
R
31.8%Bryan15,332
65.2%McKinley31,474
3.0%
R+33.5
R+0.6
R+25.9
48,252
R
32.2%Bryan15,435
65.0%McKinley31,159
2.8%
R+32.8
R+10.6
R+26.7
47,932
R
36.0%Cleveland16,706
58.3%Harrison26,998
5.7%
R+22.2
—
R+23.9
46,342
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2026R+15.5
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+23.8
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 8.3 points more Democratic.
Domestic migration in Watertown in Watertown: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−227
2012
−211
2013
−4,776
2014
−3,203
2015
−5,318
2016
−6,344
2017
−2,104
2018
−2,757
2019
−3,822
2021
−302
2022
−3,020
2023
−3,411
2024
−1,890
2025
−2,704
The Watertown media market spans Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties along New York's northern border. It backed the Democratic ticket as recently as 2012 (D+5.1) before shifting to R+17.7 in 2016 and R+23.7 in 2024. Median household income was $65,015 in the 2024 ACS 5-year, below the national figure of $80,734.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 40.1 points in 1964 and a Republican high of 48.9 points in 1956. Between 2020 and 2024 the market moved 5.4 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 23.8 points.
A population of 248,873, a 86% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $65,015 describe the market. The market's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Presque Isle and Youngstown.
Akashic
Political twins — media markets
The media markets whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
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 →
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Watertown, New York. Akashic. https://akashic.app/dma/549/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Watertown, New York voted Republican by 23.8 points (R+23.8), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 99,835 votes cast, 37,936 went Democratic and 61,689 went Republican.
When did Watertown, New York last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Watertown, New York voted Democratic was 2012.
How many people live in Watertown, New York?
Watertown, New York has a population of 248,873 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Watertown, New York?
Median household income in Watertown, New York is $65,015 — below the national median of $80,734. The New York state median is $85,974.
What is the political history of Watertown, New York?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Watertown, New York from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 28 went Republican.
