Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi: Realigner metro. In 2024, voted D+40%. Democratic peak: D+95 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+40MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- RealignerAkashic typology
- Population
- 20,5402024 5-year
- Median household income
- $37,4612024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 19.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 74.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+95 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+62 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Clarksdale, MS, MSOne 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 | 4,711 | 2,008 | 6,790 | ||
| D | 6,020 | 2,375 | 8,501 | ||
| D | 6,378 | 2,426 | 8,912 | ||
| D | 7,792 | 2,712 | 10,549 | ||
| D | 7,597 | 2,917 | 10,568 | ||
| D | 6,805 | 3,676 | 10,608 | ||
| D | 5,662 | 3,695 | 9,553 | ||
| D | 5,776 | 3,441 | 9,611 | ||
| D | 6,409 | 4,120 | 11,180 | ||
| D | 6,139 | 4,939 | 11,278 | ||
| D | 6,839 | 5,759 | 12,810 | ||
| D | 7,030 | 4,592 | 12,015 | ||
| D | 6,412 | 4,269 | 11,113 | ||
| R | 3,708 | 6,602 | 10,725 | ||
| D | 5,352 | 1,875 | 10,898 | ||
| R | 964 | 4,172 | 5,136 | ||
| D | 1,386 | 1,096 | 3,867 | ||
| D | 1,677 | 1,082 | 3,299 | ||
| D | 2,115 | 1,619 | 3,734 | ||
| O | 246 | 113 | 2,319 | ||
| D | 2,392 | 191 | 2,583 | ||
| D | 2,440 | 137 | 2,577 | ||
| D | 2,059 | 49 | 2,108 | ||
| D | 1,672 | 62 | 1,737 | ||
| D | 1,778 | 223 | 2,001 | ||
| D | 1,362 | 121 | 1,483 | ||
| D | 882 | 61 | 953 | ||
| D | 697 | 21 | 721 | ||
| D | 396 | 16 | 440 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| D | 266 | 77 | 347 | ||
| D | 347 | 83 | 443 | ||
| D | 272 | 33 | 341 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
6.2%
Irish
4.2%
German
2.4%
American
2.4%
Italian
1.9%
Scottish
0.7%
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: 35.9 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
$37,461
Clarksdale, MS ranks near the middle of US counties.
Clarksdale, MS$37,461
Mississippi$56,447
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
35.5%
Nearly half of children live in poverty.
Children under 1848.2%
Working age (18–64)31.8%
Seniors (65+)18.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.3%
speak English only
Spanish2.2%
Other Indo-European0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 47.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Clarksdale anchors one of the most heavily African American counties in the nation, where Democratic presidential candidates have routinely cleared 70–80% of the vote, reflecting both demographic concentration and a century of civil-rights organizing history.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Clarksdale, MS peaked at ninety-five points in 1936; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1976 election delivered the metro to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of nineteen points. By 2024, the margin had settled into deep Republican territory.
The economic and demographic context is severe. The median household income of $37,461 is among the lowest at this geographic scale; 36% of residents live below the federal poverty line.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/17260/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi vote in 2024?
In 2024, Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi voted Democratic by 39.8 points (D+40), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 6,790 votes cast, 4,711 went Democratic and 2,008 went Republican.
What is Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi as a "Realigner" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 29 times, Republican 2 times, and other 1 times.
When did Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi voted Republican was 1972.
How many people live in Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi?
Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi has a population of 20,540 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi?
Median household income in Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi is $37,461 — below the national median of $80,734. The Mississippi state median is $56,447.
What is the political history of Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Clarksdale, MS, Mississippi from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 29 went Democratic and 2 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Realigner" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.