Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+16%. Republican peak: R+64 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+16MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 557,9312024 5-year
- Median household income
- $86,9592024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 81.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 11.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+1 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+64 in 1928MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Lancaster, PA, PAOne 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 | 120,119 | 166,261 | 290,672 | ||
| R | 115,847 | 160,209 | 280,239 | ||
| R | 91,093 | 137,914 | 244,832 | ||
| R | 88,481 | 130,669 | 223,351 | ||
| R | 99,586 | 126,568 | 228,137 | ||
| R | 74,328 | 145,591 | 221,372 | ||
| R | 54,968 | 115,900 | 175,367 | ||
| R | 49,120 | 92,875 | 155,286 | ||
| R | 44,255 | 88,447 | 160,180 | ||
| R | 38,982 | 96,979 | 137,029 | ||
| R | 31,308 | 99,090 | 131,016 | ||
| R | 30,026 | 79,963 | 118,897 | ||
| R | 35,533 | 72,106 | 109,676 | ||
| R | 24,223 | 81,036 | 107,138 | ||
| R | 29,870 | 69,953 | 108,307 | ||
| D | 53,041 | 52,243 | 105,508 | ||
| R | 33,233 | 78,390 | 111,889 | ||
| R | 26,538 | 69,026 | 95,801 | ||
| R | 28,146 | 64,193 | 92,721 | ||
| R | 21,308 | 46,306 | 68,499 | ||
| R | 27,353 | 44,888 | 72,673 | ||
| R | 32,210 | 44,939 | 77,418 | ||
| R | 38,454 | 42,272 | 82,273 | ||
| R | 24,406 | 34,502 | 61,019 | ||
| R | 12,146 | 55,530 | 68,192 | ||
| R | 12,091 | 42,787 | 58,034 | ||
| R | 9,521 | 29,549 | 40,542 | ||
| R | 10,016 | 20,292 | 31,996 | ||
| O | 8,574 | 12,668 | 34,282 | ||
| R | 8,109 | 23,523 | 32,931 | ||
| R | 7,092 | 26,083 | 34,077 | ||
| R | 8,437 | 23,230 | 32,368 | ||
| R | 8,145 | 24,337 | 33,490 | ||
| R | 10,326 | 20,126 | 31,222 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
30.7%
Irish
10.6%
English
9.1%
Italian
5.9%
American
5.3%
Polish
2.8%
French
1.5%
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: 39.4 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
$86,959
Lancaster, PA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Lancaster, PA$86,959
Pennsylvania$77,971
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
8.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.4%
Working age (18–64)7.3%
Seniors (65+)9.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
83.2%
speak English only
Other Indo-European7.8%
Spanish6.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.3%
Other languages0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 52.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Lancaster's political profile has shifted noticeably as its Latino population—now roughly 10% of city residents—has grown, while the surrounding county's rural precincts continue to anchor reliably conservative margins in statewide races.
The Democratic margin in Lancaster, PA peaked at one points in 1964. By 1968 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixteen points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $86,959 sits well below state and national norms, and 8% 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.
Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/29540/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania vote in 2024?
In 2024, Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania voted Republican by 15.9 points (R+16), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 290,672 votes cast, 120,119 went Democratic and 166,261 went Republican.
What is Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 1 times, Republican 32 times, and other 1 times.
When did Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania?
Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania has a population of 557,931 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania?
Median household income in Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania is $86,959 — above the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.
What is the political history of Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 1 went Democratic and 32 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.