akashic
1876–2024
Asheville, NC·North Carolina

Asheville, NC delivered D+11 in 2024.

Blue enclave in a mountain swing corridor

1876 — 2024·38 elections
NC
Latest
D+11
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
414,711
2024 ACS

Asheville, NC, North Carolina: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+11%. Republican peak: R+46 in 1972.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
D+11MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
BellwetherAkashic typology
Population
414,7112024 5-year
Median household income
$71,8122024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
82.4%2024 5-year
Black
4.1%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
9.6%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+35 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+46 in 1972MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
3 counties · 1 D · 2 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
D
+10.8%
133,113106,788244,105
D
+7.5%
128,627110,423243,016
D
+0.4%
99,20598,308208,392
D
+0.3%
93,75193,099190,201
D
+3.3%
94,82488,616185,788
R
−9.2%
71,10585,691157,710
D
+16.5%
76,46554,612132,408
R
−6.6%
45,61752,810108,773
R
−2.9%
47,68251,023116,553
R
−20.7%
39,33559,99299,623
R
−28.7%
33,54760,73394,569
R
−8.2%
35,61742,32681,683
D
+3.3%
38,22135,73774,421
R
−45.6%
17,36647,49866,079
R
−19.4%
19,87833,49570,157
D
+13.7%
41,51831,48873,006
R
−14.3%
32,46043,29775,757
R
−15.0%
26,74036,16162,901
R
−11.9%
29,89437,96367,857
D
+6.8%
22,94119,77246,478
D
+22.1%
28,84818,39947,247
D
+33.7%
34,38517,05251,437
D
+24.6%
32,52619,66852,194
D
+19.9%
26,26517,46944,213
R
−23.0%
16,64726,57643,223
D
+5.3%
14,57613,08528,250
R
−3.3%
14,00314,97028,973
R
−8.8%
6,3677,59013,957
D
+35.4%
5,7051,65711,450
R
−15.3%
5,2857,20112,548
R
−7.6%
5,0625,89110,977
R
−14.5%
5,9657,99913,999
R
−12.5%
6,4778,34014,855
R
−4.1%
5,5416,04012,169
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Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
23.8%
German
12.3%
Irish
11.0%
American
7.7%
Scottish
3.9%
Italian
3.7%
French
2.5%
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.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 44.1 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
1.0%
85+
1.5%
3.0%
75–84
4.0%
6.1%
65–74
7.2%
6.4%
55–64
7.1%
6.3%
45–54
6.3%
6.5%
35–44
6.7%
6.2%
25–34
6.4%
3.7%
18–24
3.5%
6.9%
5–17
6.6%
2.3%
<5
2.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$71,812
Asheville, NC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Asheville, NC$71,812
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.5%
Working age (18–64)11.0%
Seniors (65+)10.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.2%
speak English only
Spanish7.2%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Baptist
21.9%
Other Christian
10.8%
Catholic & Orthodox
8.2%
Methodist
4.6%
Mainline Protestant
3.8%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.3%
Non-Christian
0.9%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 48.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

The Asheville metro's Buncombe County votes reliably Democratic while surrounding mountain counties tilt Republican, making the region a study in how urban density and in-migration reshape partisan geography within a single media market.

The Democratic margin in Asheville, NC has rarely exceeded thirty-five points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded forty-six points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by eleven points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 82% non-Hispanic-white share, a 12% poverty rate, and a median household income of $71,812 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Asheville, NC, North Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/11700/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Asheville, NC, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Asheville, NC, North Carolina voted Democratic by 10.8 points (D+11), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 244,105 votes cast, 133,113 went Democratic and 106,788 went Republican.
What is Asheville, NC, North Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Asheville, NC, North Carolina as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 19 times, and other 0 times.
When did Asheville, NC, North Carolina last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Asheville, NC, North Carolina voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in Asheville, NC, North Carolina?
Asheville, NC, North Carolina has a population of 414,711 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Asheville, NC, North Carolina?
Median household income in Asheville, NC, North Carolina is $71,812 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Asheville, NC, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Asheville, NC, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.