Norfolk, NE, Nebraska: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+61%. Republican peak: R+69 in 1984.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+61MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 48,6532024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,6092024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 83.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.7%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 13.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+42 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+69 in 1984MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Norfolk, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 4,298 | 18,101 | 22,733 | ||
| R | 4,490 | 17,963 | 22,996 | ||
| R | 3,510 | 15,867 | 20,774 | ||
| R | 4,736 | 14,718 | 19,960 | ||
| R | 5,589 | 13,821 | 19,766 | ||
| R | 4,039 | 15,964 | 20,232 | ||
| R | 3,842 | 14,065 | 18,547 | ||
| R | 4,321 | 11,345 | 18,174 | ||
| R | 3,471 | 11,004 | 19,921 | ||
| R | 4,332 | 13,322 | 17,734 | ||
| R | 2,713 | 14,889 | 17,686 | ||
| R | 2,805 | 14,601 | 18,434 | ||
| R | 5,201 | 11,487 | 16,985 | ||
| R | 3,355 | 12,693 | 16,048 | ||
| R | 3,449 | 10,882 | 15,296 | ||
| R | 7,306 | 9,419 | 16,725 | ||
| R | 5,014 | 12,993 | 18,007 | ||
| R | 4,998 | 12,444 | 17,442 | ||
| R | 4,170 | 13,511 | 17,681 | ||
| R | 5,676 | 8,611 | 14,287 | ||
| R | 5,451 | 11,530 | 16,981 | ||
| R | 6,512 | 12,698 | 19,210 | ||
| D | 10,318 | 8,334 | 19,033 | ||
| D | 12,648 | 5,185 | 17,976 | ||
| R | 6,289 | 9,982 | 16,335 | ||
| R | 3,315 | 6,069 | 14,841 | ||
| R | 2,960 | 9,106 | 12,360 | ||
| R | 4,287 | 4,392 | 8,864 | ||
| D | 3,390 | 2,346 | 7,653 | ||
| R | 3,796 | 3,996 | 7,897 | ||
| R | 2,178 | 4,227 | 6,926 | ||
| R | 3,354 | 3,767 | 7,226 | ||
| D | 3,508 | 3,159 | 6,803 | ||
| O | 1,963 | 934 | 5,062 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
41.4%
Irish
9.6%
English
5.5%
American
3.4%
Polish
1.3%
French
1.2%
Italian
0.7%
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: 38.1 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
$66,609
Norfolk, NE ranks near the middle of US counties.
Norfolk, NE$66,609
Nebraska$76,475
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.8%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.1%
Working age (18–64)11.3%
Seniors (65+)15.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
89.5%
speak English only
Spanish8.9%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 35.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Norfolk anchors a largely rural northeast Nebraska media market where commodity prices and trade policy consistently drive voter sentiment, and Republican margins in federal races have routinely exceeded 30 points over the past decade.
The Democratic margin in Norfolk, NE peaked at forty-two points in 1932. By 1940 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $66,609 sits well below state and national norms, and 12% 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.
Norfolk, NE, Nebraska — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/35740/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Norfolk, NE, Nebraska vote in 2024?
In 2024, Norfolk, NE, Nebraska voted Republican by 60.7 points (R+61), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 22,733 votes cast, 4,298 went Democratic and 18,101 went Republican.
What is Norfolk, NE, Nebraska's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Norfolk, NE, Nebraska as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 4 times, Republican 29 times, and other 1 times.
When did Norfolk, NE, Nebraska last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Norfolk, NE, Nebraska voted Democratic was 1936.
How many people live in Norfolk, NE, Nebraska?
Norfolk, NE, Nebraska has a population of 48,653 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Norfolk, NE, Nebraska?
Median household income in Norfolk, NE, Nebraska is $66,609 — below the national median of $80,734. The Nebraska state median is $76,475.
What is the political history of Norfolk, NE, Nebraska?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Norfolk, NE, Nebraska from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 4 went Democratic and 29 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.