Marion, NC, North Carolina: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+49%. Republican peak: R+50 in 2016.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+49MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 44,8172024 5-year
- Median household income
- $57,1682024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 87.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 3.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+41 in 1940MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+50 in 2016MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Marion, NC, NCOne 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 | 5,911 | 17,520 | 23,655 | ||
| R | 5,832 | 16,883 | 23,003 | ||
| R | 4,667 | 14,568 | 19,875 | ||
| R | 6,031 | 11,775 | 18,099 | ||
| R | 6,571 | 11,534 | 18,386 | ||
| R | 5,330 | 10,590 | 16,002 | ||
| D | 9,109 | 4,747 | 14,011 | ||
| R | 4,553 | 6,407 | 12,278 | ||
| R | 5,309 | 6,090 | 13,295 | ||
| R | 4,449 | 6,526 | 10,997 | ||
| R | 4,076 | 7,639 | 11,736 | ||
| R | 4,703 | 5,680 | 10,606 | ||
| D | 6,246 | 4,450 | 10,746 | ||
| R | 2,348 | 6,570 | 9,114 | ||
| R | 2,543 | 4,740 | 10,301 | ||
| D | 6,314 | 4,174 | 10,488 | ||
| R | 4,889 | 6,148 | 11,037 | ||
| R | 4,392 | 5,468 | 9,860 | ||
| D | 4,755 | 4,710 | 9,465 | ||
| D | 3,805 | 2,709 | 7,152 | ||
| D | 4,008 | 2,258 | 6,266 | ||
| D | 5,290 | 2,216 | 7,506 | ||
| D | 5,352 | 3,114 | 8,466 | ||
| D | 4,810 | 2,478 | 7,323 | ||
| D | 3,430 | 3,423 | 6,853 | ||
| D | 3,023 | 2,590 | 5,638 | ||
| D | 2,809 | 2,561 | 5,370 | ||
| D | 1,274 | 1,218 | 2,494 | ||
| D | 1,037 | 343 | 2,163 | ||
| R | 950 | 1,000 | 1,954 | ||
| R | 836 | 931 | 1,792 | ||
| R | 1,014 | 1,024 | 2,055 | ||
| D | 1,204 | 950 | 2,158 | ||
| D | 1,055 | 727 | 1,862 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
14.3%
American
11.7%
Irish
10.4%
German
8.7%
Scottish
2.2%
Italian
1.6%
French
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: 44.3 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
$57,168
Marion, NC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Marion, NC$57,168
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.3%
Working age (18–64)13.7%
Seniors (65+)13.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.8%
speak English only
Spanish5.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.9%
Other Indo-European0.6%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Marion anchors McDowell County, a historically working-class community whose economic identity traces to furniture and textile industries. The county has shifted toward Republican margins in recent cycles while retaining a modest Democratic base in municipal precincts.
The Democratic margin in Marion, NC peaked at forty-one points in 1940. By 2004 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-nine points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $57,168 sits well below state and national norms, and 15% 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.
Marion, NC, North Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/32000/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Marion, NC, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Marion, NC, North Carolina voted Republican by 49.1 points (R+49), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 23,655 votes cast, 5,911 went Democratic and 17,520 went Republican.
What is Marion, NC, North Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Marion, NC, North Carolina as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 16 times, Republican 18 times, and other 0 times.
When did Marion, NC, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Marion, NC, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Marion, NC, North Carolina?
Marion, NC, North Carolina has a population of 44,817 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Marion, NC, North Carolina?
Median household income in Marion, NC, North Carolina is $57,168 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Marion, NC, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Marion, NC, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.