Charleston, WV, West Virginia: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+23%. Democratic peak: D+32 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+23MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 205,3982024 5-year
- Median household income
- $59,8382024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 87.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.3%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+32 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+25 in 2016MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Charleston, WV, WVOne 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 | 32,452 | 52,263 | 86,621 | ||
| R | 37,026 | 55,893 | 94,628 | ||
| R | 30,621 | 52,654 | 88,662 | ||
| R | 36,201 | 48,802 | 86,832 | ||
| D | 46,544 | 46,339 | 94,111 | ||
| R | 50,778 | 50,835 | 102,198 | ||
| D | 45,797 | 42,049 | 89,393 | ||
| D | 48,479 | 32,365 | 88,994 | ||
| D | 46,819 | 34,634 | 94,989 | ||
| D | 49,946 | 42,462 | 92,698 | ||
| R | 47,070 | 57,822 | 105,159 | ||
| D | 52,529 | 48,220 | 107,522 | ||
| D | 64,792 | 46,567 | 111,359 | ||
| R | 45,204 | 73,174 | 118,378 | ||
| D | 54,957 | 46,156 | 113,912 | ||
| D | 82,302 | 42,216 | 124,518 | ||
| D | 65,401 | 63,640 | 129,041 | ||
| R | 60,043 | 66,613 | 126,656 | ||
| D | 65,563 | 63,495 | 129,058 | ||
| D | 62,960 | 46,419 | 109,744 | ||
| D | 56,161 | 42,051 | 98,212 | ||
| D | 69,321 | 47,122 | 116,443 | ||
| D | 61,885 | 41,377 | 103,380 | ||
| D | 47,628 | 41,453 | 89,913 | ||
| R | 32,297 | 42,339 | 74,864 | ||
| R | 28,089 | 30,871 | 64,155 | ||
| R | 23,346 | 28,436 | 52,598 | ||
| D | 12,720 | 12,621 | 26,070 | ||
| O | 8,709 | 2,548 | 22,450 | ||
| R | 8,973 | 11,977 | 22,079 | ||
| R | 7,726 | 10,666 | 18,963 | ||
| D | 8,918 | 6,410 | 15,402 | ||
| R | 6,243 | 8,287 | 14,613 | ||
| R | 5,834 | 6,113 | 12,265 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
16.7%
Irish
11.4%
German
10.6%
American
8.9%
Italian
2.6%
Scottish
2.2%
Polish
1.0%
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: 44.0 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
$59,838
Charleston, WV ranks near the middle of US counties.
Charleston, WV$59,838
West Virginia$59,608
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
16.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.3%
Working age (18–64)15.4%
Seniors (65+)11.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.9%
speak English only
Other Indo-European0.9%
Spanish0.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 61.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Once a reliable Democratic stronghold anchored by coal and chemical industry labor, the Charleston metro has swung decisively toward Republican candidates at nearly every level since 2000, mirroring West Virginia's broader partisan realignment.
The Democratic margin in Charleston, WV peaked at thirty-two points in 1964. By 2012 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty-three points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $59,838 sits well below state and national norms, and 16% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Charleston, WV, West Virginia — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/16620/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Charleston, WV, West Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Charleston, WV, West Virginia voted Republican by 22.9 points (R+23), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 86,621 votes cast, 32,452 went Democratic and 52,263 went Republican.
What is Charleston, WV, West Virginia's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Charleston, WV, West Virginia as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 18 times, Republican 15 times, and other 1 times.
When did Charleston, WV, West Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Charleston, WV, West Virginia voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Charleston, WV, West Virginia?
Charleston, WV, West Virginia has a population of 205,398 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Charleston, WV, West Virginia?
Median household income in Charleston, WV, West Virginia is $59,838 — below the national median of $80,734. The West Virginia state median is $59,608.
What is the political history of Charleston, WV, West Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Charleston, WV, West Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 15 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.