Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+16%. Democratic peak: D+68 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+16MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,487,3022024 5-year
- Median household income
- $100,6652024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 59.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 18.7%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 12.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+68 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+45 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Raleigh-Cary, NC, NCOne 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 469,267 | 335,551 | 820,925 | ||
| D | 450,472 | 315,451 | 780,538 | ||
| D | 343,972 | 266,822 | 643,901 | ||
| D | 307,988 | 274,626 | 591,507 | ||
| D | 290,771 | 243,896 | 539,901 | ||
| R | 196,461 | 225,767 | 424,119 | ||
| D | 178,207 | 144,624 | 325,426 | ||
| R | 121,197 | 133,132 | 270,900 | ||
| R | 106,780 | 106,885 | 252,412 | ||
| R | 75,507 | 102,675 | 178,793 | ||
| R | 62,922 | 103,445 | 166,719 | ||
| D | 64,031 | 63,720 | 134,650 | ||
| D | 59,711 | 55,432 | 115,747 | ||
| R | 28,636 | 76,511 | 106,744 | ||
| R | 28,326 | 37,067 | 97,380 | ||
| D | 46,533 | 32,162 | 78,695 | ||
| D | 41,045 | 26,204 | 67,249 | ||
| D | 37,577 | 20,879 | 58,456 | ||
| D | 38,766 | 21,226 | 59,992 | ||
| D | 31,665 | 8,295 | 42,377 | ||
| D | 30,299 | 8,708 | 39,007 | ||
| D | 32,783 | 7,084 | 39,867 | ||
| D | 36,312 | 7,026 | 43,338 | ||
| D | 28,731 | 6,256 | 35,294 | ||
| D | 17,213 | 15,145 | 32,358 | ||
| D | 15,023 | 8,187 | 23,731 | ||
| D | 16,792 | 9,830 | 26,622 | ||
| D | 10,152 | 5,714 | 15,871 | ||
| D | 8,609 | 1,688 | 13,256 | ||
| D | 8,290 | 6,349 | 14,649 | ||
| D | 8,081 | 3,102 | 11,206 | ||
| D | 10,709 | 7,546 | 18,357 | ||
| D | 11,956 | 8,333 | 20,342 | ||
| D | 8,600 | 4,016 | 17,552 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.4%
German
9.8%
Irish
9.1%
American
6.4%
Italian
4.6%
Scottish
2.4%
Polish
1.6%
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: 37.6 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
$100,665
Raleigh-Cary, NC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Raleigh-Cary, NC$100,665
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
8.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.7%
Working age (18–64)7.9%
Seniors (65+)9.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
81.7%
speak English only
Spanish9.3%
Other Indo-European3.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander3.6%
Other languages1.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Raleigh-Cary has absorbed one of the fastest-growing educated workforces in the South, driven by tech and life-sciences expansion around Research Triangle Park, producing presidential margins that have tightened measurably over the past three cycles.
The Democratic margin in Raleigh-Cary, NC has rarely exceeded sixty-eight points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded forty-five points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by sixteen points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 59% non-Hispanic-white share, a 9% poverty rate, and a median household income of $100,665 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/39580/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina voted Democratic by 16.3 points (D+16), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 820,925 votes cast, 469,267 went Democratic and 335,551 went Republican.
What is Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 27 times, Republican 7 times, and other 0 times.
When did Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina?
Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina has a population of 1,487,302 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina?
Median household income in Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina is $100,665 — above the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Raleigh-Cary, NC, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 27 went Democratic and 7 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.