Athens, OH, Ohio: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+11%. Republican peak: R+57 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+11MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 61,7372024 5-year
- Median household income
- $56,0012024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.3%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 2008MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 1904MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Athens, OH, OHOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 14,134 | 11,369 | 26,014 | ||
| D | 14,772 | 10,862 | 26,059 | ||
| D | 16,370 | 11,354 | 30,042 | ||
| D | 18,307 | 8,543 | 28,008 | ||
| D | 20,722 | 9,742 | 31,259 | ||
| D | 18,998 | 10,847 | 30,045 | ||
| D | 13,158 | 9,703 | 25,447 | ||
| D | 13,418 | 7,154 | 23,954 | ||
| D | 13,423 | 7,184 | 25,793 | ||
| D | 10,795 | 9,314 | 20,281 | ||
| R | 10,201 | 11,548 | 21,958 | ||
| D | 9,514 | 8,170 | 19,801 | ||
| D | 9,896 | 8,387 | 19,016 | ||
| D | 9,977 | 9,735 | 19,915 | ||
| R | 7,351 | 7,837 | 16,400 | ||
| D | 10,633 | 6,211 | 16,844 | ||
| R | 7,542 | 10,747 | 18,289 | ||
| R | 5,959 | 10,794 | 16,753 | ||
| R | 7,108 | 10,829 | 17,937 | ||
| R | 7,398 | 8,902 | 16,354 | ||
| R | 7,438 | 10,326 | 17,764 | ||
| D | 11,449 | 11,213 | 22,662 | ||
| D | 13,205 | 9,509 | 22,922 | ||
| R | 8,915 | 9,897 | 19,343 | ||
| R | 4,546 | 11,101 | 15,855 | ||
| R | 2,669 | 8,695 | 14,943 | ||
| R | 6,523 | 11,016 | 17,900 | ||
| R | 4,101 | 5,554 | 10,066 | ||
| O | 2,393 | 3,090 | 9,483 | ||
| R | 3,654 | 6,449 | 10,475 | ||
| R | 1,594 | 6,352 | 8,376 | ||
| R | 2,529 | 6,126 | 8,891 | ||
| R | 3,293 | 5,429 | 8,897 | ||
| R | 2,599 | 4,458 | 7,597 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
22.6%
English
17.5%
Irish
15.4%
American
5.1%
Italian
3.6%
Polish
2.4%
Scottish
2.0%
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: 33.2 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.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$56,001
Athens, OH ranks near the middle of US counties.
Athens, OH$56,001
Ohio$71,389
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
21.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.0%
Working age (18–64)24.5%
Seniors (65+)7.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.8%
Other languages0.9%
Spanish0.8%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 80.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Athens anchors a small Appalachian metro where Ohio University's enrollment shapes the electorate in ways that diverge sharply from surrounding rural counties, producing some of southeastern Ohio's most competitive precinct-level variation.
The Democratic margin in Athens, OH has rarely exceeded thirty-five points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded fifty-seven points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by eleven points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 90% non-Hispanic-white share, a 22% poverty rate, and a median household income of $56,001 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Athens, OH, Ohio — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/11900/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Athens, OH, Ohio vote in 2024?
In 2024, Athens, OH, Ohio voted Democratic by 10.6 points (D+11), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 26,014 votes cast, 14,134 went Democratic and 11,369 went Republican.
What is Athens, OH, Ohio's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Athens, OH, Ohio as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 16 times, Republican 17 times, and other 1 times.
When did Athens, OH, Ohio last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Athens, OH, Ohio voted Republican was 1984.
How many people live in Athens, OH, Ohio?
Athens, OH, Ohio has a population of 61,737 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Athens, OH, Ohio?
Median household income in Athens, OH, Ohio is $56,001 — below the national median of $80,734. The Ohio state median is $71,389.
What is the political history of Athens, OH, Ohio?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Athens, OH, Ohio from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.