Lincoln, NE, Nebraska: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+1%. Republican peak: R+49 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+1MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 344,3372024 5-year
- Median household income
- $75,1852024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 81.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+36 in 1892MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+49 in 1904MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Lincoln, NE, NEOne 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 | 83,400 | 80,882 | 167,974 | ||
| D | 84,731 | 76,582 | 166,414 | ||
| R | 63,773 | 67,042 | 144,145 | ||
| R | 64,401 | 67,437 | 134,928 | ||
| D | 68,437 | 64,045 | 135,019 | ||
| R | 54,861 | 75,117 | 132,074 | ||
| R | 46,900 | 59,971 | 114,148 | ||
| R | 45,771 | 48,291 | 104,417 | ||
| R | 43,523 | 44,650 | 112,335 | ||
| R | 47,086 | 48,216 | 95,935 | ||
| R | 34,809 | 52,761 | 88,182 | ||
| R | 28,965 | 42,307 | 82,198 | ||
| R | 30,911 | 42,261 | 75,081 | ||
| R | 28,011 | 46,280 | 74,291 | ||
| R | 25,197 | 35,990 | 64,381 | ||
| D | 37,850 | 26,108 | 63,958 | ||
| R | 24,659 | 41,313 | 65,972 | ||
| R | 21,127 | 39,279 | 60,406 | ||
| R | 19,413 | 41,054 | 60,467 | ||
| R | 20,612 | 26,536 | 47,148 | ||
| R | 21,421 | 30,436 | 51,857 | ||
| R | 21,850 | 31,501 | 53,351 | ||
| D | 26,232 | 24,025 | 51,145 | ||
| R | 22,398 | 23,070 | 46,294 | ||
| R | 12,207 | 34,062 | 46,535 | ||
| R | 13,411 | 20,858 | 38,883 | ||
| R | 9,932 | 19,328 | 30,263 | ||
| D | 10,890 | 8,897 | 20,390 | ||
| D | 8,281 | 3,354 | 17,515 | ||
| D | 10,569 | 9,358 | 20,456 | ||
| R | 3,008 | 10,410 | 15,180 | ||
| R | 7,542 | 9,402 | 17,358 | ||
| R | 7,563 | 8,201 | 16,122 | ||
| D | 7,194 | 2,046 | 14,454 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
32.6%
Irish
11.2%
English
10.2%
American
3.3%
Polish
2.1%
Italian
1.8%
French
1.7%
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: 34.5 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
$75,185
Lincoln, NE ranks near the middle of US counties.
Lincoln, NE$75,185
Nebraska$76,475
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.7%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.0%
Working age (18–64)11.7%
Seniors (65+)9.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.2%
speak English only
Spanish4.6%
Other Indo-European3.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.9%
Other languages1.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Lincoln's Lancaster County has trended more competitive than Nebraska's statewide lean in recent cycles, driven by a large public-university workforce and student population concentrated near the UNL campus.
The Democratic margin in Lincoln, NE has rarely exceeded thirty-six points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded forty-nine points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by one points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 81% non-Hispanic-white share, a 12% poverty rate, and a median household income of $75,185 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Lincoln, NE, Nebraska — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/30700/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Lincoln, NE, Nebraska vote in 2024?
In 2024, Lincoln, NE, Nebraska voted Democratic by 1.5 points (D+1), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 167,974 votes cast, 83,400 went Democratic and 80,882 went Republican.
What is Lincoln, NE, Nebraska's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Lincoln, NE, Nebraska as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 9 times, Republican 25 times, and other 0 times.
When did Lincoln, NE, Nebraska last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Lincoln, NE, Nebraska voted Republican was 2016.
How many people live in Lincoln, NE, Nebraska?
Lincoln, NE, Nebraska has a population of 344,337 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lincoln, NE, Nebraska?
Median household income in Lincoln, NE, Nebraska is $75,185 — below the national median of $80,734. The Nebraska state median is $76,475.
What is the political history of Lincoln, NE, Nebraska?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Lincoln, NE, Nebraska from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.