Elmira, NY, New York: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+17%. Republican peak: R+48 in 1956.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+17MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 82,1472024 5-year
- Median household income
- $63,7162024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 85.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 6.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 3.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+28 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+48 in 1956MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Elmira, NY, NYOne 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 | 15,572 | 21,861 | 37,560 | ||
| R | 16,636 | 21,922 | 39,410 | ||
| R | 13,757 | 20,097 | 36,119 | ||
| R | 16,797 | 17,612 | 35,010 | ||
| R | 18,888 | 19,364 | 38,695 | ||
| R | 17,080 | 21,321 | 39,075 | ||
| R | 17,424 | 18,779 | 37,710 | ||
| D | 16,977 | 14,287 | 35,813 | ||
| R | 15,099 | 16,088 | 39,135 | ||
| R | 15,966 | 20,951 | 37,139 | ||
| R | 14,638 | 24,909 | 39,647 | ||
| R | 14,565 | 19,674 | 37,209 | ||
| R | 17,207 | 20,640 | 38,026 | ||
| R | 12,650 | 26,200 | 38,944 | ||
| R | 15,820 | 20,693 | 39,553 | ||
| D | 26,332 | 14,716 | 41,082 | ||
| R | 17,899 | 26,469 | 44,396 | ||
| R | 11,592 | 33,270 | 44,862 | ||
| R | 13,729 | 30,188 | 44,022 | ||
| R | 13,352 | 22,754 | 36,919 | ||
| R | 15,064 | 22,198 | 37,359 | ||
| R | 15,203 | 22,156 | 37,499 | ||
| R | 15,542 | 20,515 | 36,195 | ||
| R | 13,825 | 20,152 | 34,750 | ||
| R | 12,189 | 25,029 | 37,354 | ||
| R | 7,162 | 18,599 | 28,765 | ||
| R | 7,060 | 17,864 | 26,068 | ||
| D | 7,461 | 6,409 | 14,704 | ||
| D | 6,008 | 3,317 | 12,985 | ||
| R | 5,966 | 7,410 | 13,952 | ||
| R | 5,641 | 7,282 | 13,664 | ||
| R | 6,531 | 6,921 | 13,997 | ||
| R | 5,259 | 7,926 | 13,586 | ||
| R | 4,661 | 5,410 | 11,175 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
Irish
16.2%
German
16.0%
English
14.0%
Italian
10.9%
American
5.6%
Polish
4.6%
Scottish
2.1%
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: 42.0 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
$63,716
Elmira, NY ranks near the middle of US counties.
Elmira, NY$63,716
New York$85,974
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
16.3%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.9%
Working age (18–64)15.6%
Seniors (65+)8.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.3%
speak English only
Spanish1.9%
Other Indo-European1.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.2%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Elmira metro, centered on Chemung County, has drifted Republican in presidential cycles even as New York tilts blue—reflecting a deindustrialized workforce and rural collar communities that consistently outperform statewide GOP baselines.
The Democratic margin in Elmira, NY peaked at twenty-eight points in 1964. By 2000 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was seventeen points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $63,716 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.
Elmira, NY, New York — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/21300/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Elmira, NY, New York vote in 2024?
In 2024, Elmira, NY, New York voted Republican by 16.7 points (R+17), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 37,560 votes cast, 15,572 went Democratic and 21,861 went Republican.
What is Elmira, NY, New York's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Elmira, NY, New York as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 4 times, Republican 30 times, and other 0 times.
When did Elmira, NY, New York last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Elmira, NY, New York voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Elmira, NY, New York?
Elmira, NY, New York has a population of 82,147 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Elmira, NY, New York?
Median household income in Elmira, NY, New York is $63,716 — below the national median of $80,734. The New York state median is $85,974.
What is the political history of Elmira, NY, New York?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Elmira, NY, New York from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 30 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.