Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metro Area — Elections 1876–2024

Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+7%. Democratic peak: D+94 in 1936.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: D+7MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: BellwetherAkashic typology
Population: 1,341,9242024 5-year
Median household income: $67,4032024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 41.4%2024 5-year
Black: 46.4%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 7.5%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+94 in 1936MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+34 in 1972MIT Election Lab

2024 results by constituent county

9 counties · 3 D · 6 R

R+60

D+60

One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	D	+6.5%	264,640	231,564	506,974
2020	D	+13.2%	313,247	239,039	561,602
2016	D	+10.6%	265,987	213,548	496,084
2012	D	+12.2%	297,435	232,296	534,925
2008	D	+13.5%	321,271	244,375	569,554
2004	D	+5.7%	269,203	240,167	512,403
2000	D	+7.3%	233,152	201,188	440,138
1996	D	+10.4%	223,534	179,630	422,789
1992	D	+8.5%	234,986	195,783	460,200
1988	R	−4.9%	182,108	200,886	385,400
1984	R	−3.5%	196,392	210,546	409,638
1980	D	+6.5%	197,018	172,349	380,201
1976	D	+10.5%	188,004	152,030	344,117
1972	R	−34.5%	94,397	196,837	297,252
1968	O	+5.8%	97,218	80,904	280,651
1964	D	+1.4%	123,543	120,035	243,647
1960	D	+1.2%	96,747	94,331	198,078
1956	D	+2.6%	74,736	70,671	154,980
1952	D	+9.9%	87,488	71,720	159,428
1948	O	+16.7%	28,369	15,060	79,853
1944	D	+67.4%	61,666	11,985	73,737
1940	D	+80.5%	73,504	7,878	81,498
1936	D	+93.9%	75,769	2,337	78,188
1932	D	+75.7%	49,960	6,641	57,211
1928	D	+36.4%	28,164	13,098	41,358
1924	D	+44.0%	21,816	7,840	31,756
1920	D	+41.5%	25,177	10,316	35,838
1916	D	+57.5%	19,220	5,079	24,577
1912	D	+60.4%	11,586	1,362	16,916
1908	D	+42.4%	11,350	4,496	16,171
1904	D	+51.6%	12,922	4,017	17,273
1900	D	+38.7%	13,306	5,815	19,333
1896	D	+24.8%	15,056	8,971	24,552
1892	D	+55.9%	13,949	3,309	19,030
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

English

8.0%

American

6.2%

Irish

6.0%

German

5.1%

Italian

1.8%

Scottish

1.3%

French

0.9%

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: 36.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.4%

85+

1.0%

1.8%

75–84

2.4%

4.2%

65–74

5.2%

5.7%

55–64

6.4%

5.7%

45–54

6.4%

6.1%

35–44

6.8%

25–34

7.3%

4.3%

18–24

4.3%

9.4%

5–17

9.1%

3.3%

3.2%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$67,403

Memphis, TN-MS-AR ranks near the middle of US counties.

Memphis, TN-MS-AR$67,403

Mississippi$60,773

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

16.6%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1824.7%

Working age (18–64)13.9%

Seniors (65+)13.4%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

90.8%

speak English only

Spanish5.8%

Asian & Pacific Islander1.3%

Other Indo-European1.2%

Other languages0.8%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Baptist

26.5%

Other Christian

16.2%

Methodist

6.0%

Pentecostal & Holiness

5.5%

Catholic & Orthodox

4.9%

Mainline Protestant

2.8%

Non-Christian

2.5%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 35.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

The Memphis metro straddles Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas, with Shelby County's dense urban core driving reliably Democratic presidential margins above 60% even as surrounding exurban and rural counties trend sharply Republican.

The Democratic margin in Memphis, TN-MS-AR has rarely exceeded ninety-four points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded thirty-four points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by seven points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 41% non-Hispanic-white share, a 17% poverty rate, and a median household income of $67,403 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/32820/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi vote in 2024?

In 2024, Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi voted Democratic by 6.5 points (D+7), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 506,974 votes cast, 264,640 went Democratic and 231,564 went Republican.

What is Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 29 times, Republican 3 times, and other 2 times.

When did Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi last vote Republican?

The most recent presidential election in which Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi voted Republican was 1988.

How many people live in Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi?

Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi has a population of 1,341,924 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi?

Median household income in Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi is $67,403 — below the national median of $80,734. The Mississippi state median is $60,773.

What is the political history of Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Memphis, TN-MS-AR, Mississippi from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 29 went Democratic and 3 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Memphis, TN-MS-AR votes the way the country votes.

Key facts

Demographics

Frequently asked questions