Odessa, TX, Texas: Realigner metro. In 2024, voted R+53%. Democratic peak: D+97 in 1916.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+53MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- RealignerAkashic typology
- Population
- 164,6542024 5-year
- Median household income
- $71,5362024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 48.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 63.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+97 in 1916MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+59 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Odessa, TX, TXOne 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 | 9,881 | 32,429 | 42,690 | ||
| R | 11,367 | 32,697 | 44,591 | ||
| R | 10,249 | 25,020 | 36,530 | ||
| R | 8,118 | 24,010 | 32,513 | ||
| R | 9,123 | 26,199 | 35,606 | ||
| R | 8,579 | 27,502 | 36,310 | ||
| R | 9,425 | 22,893 | 32,901 | ||
| R | 12,017 | 17,746 | 32,686 | ||
| R | 11,130 | 18,161 | 36,073 | ||
| R | 10,825 | 23,155 | 34,152 | ||
| R | 8,913 | 31,228 | 40,342 | ||
| R | 9,069 | 26,188 | 36,179 | ||
| R | 10,802 | 18,973 | 30,328 | ||
| R | 5,449 | 21,386 | 26,960 | ||
| R | 5,312 | 10,557 | 24,540 | ||
| R | 10,826 | 11,497 | 22,386 | ||
| R | 8,996 | 11,145 | 20,672 | ||
| R | 5,109 | 8,805 | 14,108 | ||
| R | 5,270 | 8,259 | 13,537 | ||
| D | 4,305 | 1,145 | 5,694 | ||
| D | 2,265 | 432 | 3,091 | ||
| D | 2,783 | 451 | 3,239 | ||
| D | 816 | 81 | 908 | ||
| D | 530 | 37 | 595 | ||
| R | 151 | 168 | 319 | ||
| D | 138 | 12 | 155 | ||
| D | 100 | 23 | 125 | ||
| D | 120 | 2 | 122 | ||
| D | 89 | 3 | 96 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
5.3%
English
4.8%
American
4.5%
Irish
3.6%
Scottish
1.1%
Italian
0.6%
French
0.5%
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: 31.4 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
$71,536
Odessa, TX ranks near the middle of US counties.
Odessa, TX$71,536
Texas$78,476
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
16.5%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1822.0%
Working age (18–64)13.5%
Seniors (65+)24.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
52.9%
speak English only
Spanish45.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.9%
Other languages0.7%
Other Indo-European0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Odessa anchors the Midland-Odessa metro in the heart of the Permian Basin, where boom-and-bust oil economics shape both population swings and voting patterns — the area has backed Republican presidential nominees by margins exceeding 50 points in recent cycles.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Odessa, TX peaked at ninety-seven points in 1916; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1952 election delivered the metro to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of twenty-two points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.
The economic and demographic context is severe. The median household income of $71,536 is among the lowest at this geographic scale; 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Odessa, TX, Texas — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/36220/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Odessa, TX, Texas vote in 2024?
In 2024, Odessa, TX, Texas voted Republican by 52.8 points (R+53), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 42,690 votes cast, 9,881 went Democratic and 32,429 went Republican.
What is Odessa, TX, Texas's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Odessa, TX, Texas as a "Realigner" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 9 times, Republican 20 times, and other 0 times.
When did Odessa, TX, Texas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Odessa, TX, Texas voted Democratic was 1948.
How many people live in Odessa, TX, Texas?
Odessa, TX, Texas has a population of 164,654 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Odessa, TX, Texas?
Median household income in Odessa, TX, Texas is $71,536 — below the national median of $80,734. The Texas state median is $78,476.
What is the political history of Odessa, TX, Texas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Odessa, TX, Texas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Realigner" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.