Boone, NC, North Carolina: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+6%. Republican peak: R+29 in 1984.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+6MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 55,1232024 5-year
- Median household income
- $51,6932024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.8%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+24 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+29 in 1984MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Boone, NC, NCOne 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 | 17,225 | 15,254 | 33,095 | ||
| D | 17,122 | 14,451 | 32,220 | ||
| D | 14,138 | 13,697 | 29,985 | ||
| R | 13,002 | 13,861 | 27,674 | ||
| D | 14,558 | 13,344 | 28,372 | ||
| R | 11,232 | 12,659 | 24,050 | ||
| D | 10,438 | 7,959 | 18,723 | ||
| R | 7,349 | 8,146 | 17,222 | ||
| D | 8,262 | 7,899 | 19,225 | ||
| R | 6,048 | 8,662 | 14,785 | ||
| R | 5,163 | 9,370 | 14,579 | ||
| R | 5,022 | 6,149 | 11,958 | ||
| R | 5,358 | 5,400 | 10,817 | ||
| R | 3,451 | 6,017 | 9,573 | ||
| R | 2,952 | 5,081 | 9,093 | ||
| D | 4,031 | 3,932 | 7,963 | ||
| R | 3,440 | 5,020 | 8,460 | ||
| R | 3,223 | 4,636 | 7,859 | ||
| R | 3,600 | 4,527 | 8,127 | ||
| R | 3,379 | 3,851 | 7,400 | ||
| R | 3,214 | 3,954 | 7,168 | ||
| R | 3,615 | 3,739 | 7,354 | ||
| D | 3,880 | 3,409 | 7,289 | ||
| D | 3,419 | 3,166 | 6,606 | ||
| R | 2,591 | 3,159 | 5,750 | ||
| R | 2,365 | 2,665 | 5,038 | ||
| R | 1,721 | 2,631 | 4,352 | ||
| R | 1,141 | 1,352 | 2,493 | ||
| D | 933 | 420 | 2,174 | ||
| R | 962 | 1,313 | 2,275 | ||
| R | 773 | 1,143 | 1,947 | ||
| R | 923 | 1,439 | 2,364 | ||
| R | 1,063 | 1,166 | 2,240 | ||
| D | 940 | 839 | 1,884 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
20.2%
German
15.0%
Irish
13.9%
American
10.1%
Scottish
4.7%
Italian
4.4%
Polish
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: 31.4 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
$51,693
Boone, NC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Boone, NC$51,693
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
25.5%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.4%
Working age (18–64)29.1%
Seniors (65+)8.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.1%
speak English only
Spanish4.0%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Appalachian State University, Boone's Watauga County has trended more competitive in recent cycles as student voter registration has grown, sitting against an otherwise rural, Republican-leaning western North Carolina backdrop.
The Democratic margin in Boone, NC has rarely exceeded twenty-four points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded twenty-nine points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by six points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 90% non-Hispanic-white share, a 26% poverty rate, and a median household income of $51,693 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Boone, NC, North Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/14380/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Boone, NC, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Boone, NC, North Carolina voted Democratic by 6.0 points (D+6), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 33,095 votes cast, 17,225 went Democratic and 15,254 went Republican.
What is Boone, NC, North Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Boone, 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 11 times, Republican 23 times, and other 0 times.
When did Boone, NC, North Carolina last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Boone, NC, North Carolina voted Republican was 2012.
How many people live in Boone, NC, North Carolina?
Boone, NC, North Carolina has a population of 55,123 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Boone, NC, North Carolina?
Median household income in Boone, NC, North Carolina is $51,693 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Boone, NC, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Boone, NC, North Carolina 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.