Olean, NY, New York: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+33%. Republican peak: R+45 in 1956.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+33MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 76,1452024 5-year
- Median household income
- $59,5402024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 88.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+34 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+45 in 1956MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Olean, NY, NYOne 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 | 11,424 | 22,586 | 34,107 | ||
| R | 11,879 | 22,155 | 34,760 | ||
| R | 9,497 | 19,692 | 31,161 | ||
| R | 12,649 | 16,569 | 29,767 | ||
| R | 14,307 | 17,770 | 32,617 | ||
| R | 13,514 | 20,051 | 34,266 | ||
| R | 13,816 | 18,382 | 33,733 | ||
| D | 13,029 | 12,971 | 31,643 | ||
| R | 10,150 | 13,944 | 35,092 | ||
| R | 12,447 | 19,691 | 32,428 | ||
| R | 10,194 | 24,162 | 34,468 | ||
| R | 12,917 | 17,222 | 32,709 | ||
| R | 13,768 | 19,469 | 33,422 | ||
| R | 10,909 | 21,906 | 32,927 | ||
| R | 12,733 | 16,594 | 31,148 | ||
| D | 21,994 | 10,907 | 32,933 | ||
| R | 14,797 | 21,749 | 36,573 | ||
| R | 9,613 | 25,282 | 34,895 | ||
| R | 11,333 | 24,808 | 36,195 | ||
| R | 11,289 | 18,246 | 30,393 | ||
| R | 11,787 | 19,907 | 31,795 | ||
| R | 11,924 | 22,987 | 35,055 | ||
| R | 11,901 | 20,484 | 32,984 | ||
| R | 11,467 | 18,071 | 30,786 | ||
| R | 10,229 | 22,135 | 33,001 | ||
| R | 5,369 | 17,307 | 27,066 | ||
| R | 6,693 | 16,083 | 24,029 | ||
| R | 6,565 | 8,825 | 16,197 | ||
| D | 4,886 | 4,820 | 14,363 | ||
| R | 6,096 | 9,320 | 16,371 | ||
| R | 4,923 | 10,182 | 15,919 | ||
| R | 6,224 | 9,948 | 16,713 | ||
| R | 6,088 | 9,337 | 15,889 | ||
| R | 5,753 | 7,973 | 15,105 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
25.2%
Irish
16.2%
English
13.2%
Polish
8.6%
Italian
8.1%
American
4.1%
French
1.8%
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: 42.8 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
$59,540
Olean, NY ranks near the middle of US counties.
Olean, NY$59,540
New York$85,974
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
19.1%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1827.3%
Working age (18–64)16.8%
Seniors (65+)15.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.0%
speak English only
Other Indo-European3.5%
Spanish1.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other languages0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 64.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Olean anchors Cattaraugus County, a persistently Republican-leaning corner of western New York where manufacturing decline and a regional university create an unusual mix of working-class and college-town demographics.
The Democratic margin in Olean, NY peaked at thirty-four points in 1964. By 2000 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-three points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $59,540 sits well below state and national norms, and 19% 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.
Olean, NY, New York — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/36460/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Olean, NY, New York vote in 2024?
In 2024, Olean, NY, New York voted Republican by 32.7 points (R+33), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 34,107 votes cast, 11,424 went Democratic and 22,586 went Republican.
What is Olean, NY, New York's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Olean, NY, New York as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 3 times, Republican 31 times, and other 0 times.
When did Olean, NY, New York last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Olean, NY, New York voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Olean, NY, New York?
Olean, NY, New York has a population of 76,145 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Olean, NY, New York?
Median household income in Olean, NY, New York is $59,540 — below the national median of $80,734. The New York state median is $85,974.
What is the political history of Olean, NY, New York?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Olean, NY, New York from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 31 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.