akashic
1876–2024
Morgantown, WV·West Virginia

Morgantown, WV delivered R+18 in 2024.

A college-town enclave that votes differently than the state around it

1876 — 2024·38 elections
WV
Latest
R+18
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
141,323
2024 ACS

Morgantown, WV, West Virginia: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted R+18%. Republican peak: R+42 in 1904.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+18MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
BellwetherAkashic typology
Population
141,3232024 5-year
Median household income
$64,5082024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
87.2%2024 5-year
Black
4.1%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
2.9%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+40 in 1900MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+42 in 1904MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
2 counties · 0 D · 2 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).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−18.0%
22,21832,26055,878
R
−15.1%
23,44531,99356,652
R
−21.8%
17,16927,97049,536
R
−18.6%
16,75724,72042,774
R
−4.1%
21,26523,10045,171
R
−11.4%
20,27625,52546,235
R
−10.8%
16,11820,20237,806
D
+8.6%
17,64314,44637,126
D
+9.8%
18,07514,26039,118
D
+1.8%
18,53517,89536,534
R
−11.8%
17,29021,92739,305
R
−1.6%
17,20017,80038,572
D
+10.7%
21,75817,54639,304
R
−28.4%
13,69824,56538,263
D
+6.6%
17,14814,89734,162
D
+38.5%
23,62210,48834,110
R
−3.1%
17,32418,43135,755
R
−20.9%
14,38121,99936,380
R
−9.7%
17,43021,17038,600
D
+1.0%
15,66515,34931,279
R
−10.1%
13,42616,43229,858
R
−2.5%
17,67018,58036,250
D
+7.7%
19,08716,36435,579
D
+1.4%
15,19114,77630,567
R
−38.0%
8,53719,14727,950
R
−25.4%
7,42213,39023,485
R
−40.4%
5,59213,50219,588
R
−28.8%
3,9217,25011,573
O
+7.5%
3,5182,67711,155
R
−35.4%
3,2127,05910,858
R
−41.8%
2,8387,12310,255
D
+39.5%
6,7782,9009,817
R
−37.3%
2,8136,2129,113
R
−28.0%
2,8285,1218,187
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Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
18.5%
English
12.7%
Irish
11.9%
American
9.0%
Italian
7.3%
Polish
3.3%
Scottish
3.1%
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: 35.3 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.5%
85+
0.8%
2.0%
75–84
2.4%
4.6%
65–74
4.7%
5.5%
55–64
5.5%
5.8%
45–54
5.1%
7.2%
35–44
5.9%
8.2%
25–34
6.9%
9.6%
18–24
8.5%
6.3%
5–17
5.7%
2.3%
<5
2.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$64,508
Morgantown, WV ranks near the middle of US counties.
Morgantown, WV$64,508
West Virginia$59,608
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
18.3%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.6%
Working age (18–64)18.9%
Seniors (65+)13.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.5%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.7%
Spanish1.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.4%
Other languages0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Other Christian
9.2%
Catholic & Orthodox
7.7%
Methodist
6.5%
Baptist
1.5%
Mainline Protestant
1.4%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.2%
Non-Christian
0.3%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 72.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Home to West Virginia University, the Morgantown metro consistently posts Democratic margins that stand apart from the broader rightward shift West Virginia has made over the past two decades, driven by a younger, degree-holding residential base.

The Democratic margin in Morgantown, WV has rarely exceeded forty points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded forty-two points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Republican candidate by eighteen points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 87% non-Hispanic-white share, a 18% poverty rate, and a median household income of $64,508 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Morgantown, WV, West Virginia — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/34060/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Morgantown, WV, West Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Morgantown, WV, West Virginia voted Republican by 18.0 points (R+18), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 55,878 votes cast, 22,218 went Democratic and 32,260 went Republican.
What is Morgantown, WV, West Virginia's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Morgantown, WV, West Virginia as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 10 times, Republican 23 times, and other 1 times.
When did Morgantown, WV, West Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Morgantown, WV, West Virginia voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Morgantown, WV, West Virginia?
Morgantown, WV, West Virginia has a population of 141,323 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Morgantown, WV, West Virginia?
Median household income in Morgantown, WV, West Virginia is $64,508 — below the national median of $80,734. The West Virginia state median is $59,608.
What is the political history of Morgantown, WV, West Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Morgantown, WV, West Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 10 went Democratic and 23 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.