Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted R+16%. Republican peak: R+39 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+16MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 181,6642024 5-year
- Median household income
- $67,7752024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 85.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+29 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+39 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, VAOne 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 36,909 | 51,761 | 90,309 | ||
| R | 36,661 | 48,643 | 87,317 | ||
| R | 31,368 | 43,622 | 80,540 | ||
| R | 33,389 | 40,779 | 76,290 | ||
| R | 36,008 | 39,206 | 76,443 | ||
| R | 27,217 | 36,885 | 64,843 | ||
| R | 23,999 | 30,267 | 56,864 | ||
| D | 23,418 | 22,586 | 52,550 | ||
| R | 23,846 | 24,348 | 56,655 | ||
| R | 20,219 | 28,062 | 48,911 | ||
| R | 17,993 | 31,296 | 49,662 | ||
| R | 20,718 | 21,358 | 45,110 | ||
| D | 20,832 | 19,381 | 41,152 | ||
| R | 7,586 | 17,478 | 25,530 | ||
| R | 9,163 | 18,581 | 33,375 | ||
| D | 8,602 | 8,102 | 16,800 | ||
| R | 8,532 | 12,955 | 21,650 | ||
| R | 7,775 | 14,265 | 22,370 | ||
| R | 6,759 | 11,780 | 18,590 | ||
| R | 5,327 | 7,325 | 13,550 | ||
| D | 6,964 | 6,462 | 13,460 | ||
| D | 7,632 | 5,836 | 13,504 | ||
| D | 7,065 | 6,066 | 13,181 | ||
| D | 7,114 | 5,039 | 12,322 | ||
| R | 4,887 | 7,177 | 12,064 | ||
| D | 5,137 | 4,536 | 10,001 | ||
| R | 4,786 | 5,347 | 10,200 | ||
| D | 3,339 | 3,216 | 6,663 | ||
| D | 2,784 | 1,070 | 6,008 | ||
| R | 2,747 | 3,470 | 6,275 | ||
| R | 2,737 | 3,189 | 6,046 | ||
| R | 4,065 | 5,255 | 9,460 | ||
| R | 4,639 | 5,694 | 10,520 | ||
| D | 5,187 | 3,820 | 9,789 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
18.5%
English
13.6%
German
11.5%
Irish
9.2%
Italian
3.0%
Scottish
2.2%
Polish
1.6%
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: 35.6 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.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$67,775
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA$67,775
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
20.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.1%
Working age (18–64)22.0%
Seniors (65+)8.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.6%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.2%
Spanish2.1%
Other languages0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 63.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The metro's electoral behavior is shaped by a large student and faculty population at Virginia Tech and Radford University, creating a competitive mix in an otherwise rural Appalachian region where margins have tightened in recent cycles.
The Democratic margin in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA has rarely exceeded twenty-nine points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded thirty-nine points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Republican candidate by sixteen points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 85% non-Hispanic-white share, a 20% poverty rate, and a median household income of $67,775 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/13980/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia voted Republican by 16.4 points (R+16), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 90,309 votes cast, 36,909 went Democratic and 51,761 went Republican.
What is Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 11 times, Republican 23 times, and other 0 times.
When did Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia?
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia has a population of 181,664 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia?
Median household income in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia is $67,775 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 23 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.