Richmond, VA, Virginia: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+13%. Democratic peak: D+72 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+13MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,341,2482024 5-year
- Median household income
- $89,6692024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 55.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 28.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+72 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+31 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Richmond, VA, VAOne 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 | 406,685 | 309,167 | 729,067 | ||
| D | 404,462 | 300,886 | 718,019 | ||
| D | 331,172 | 272,434 | 639,222 | ||
| D | 323,078 | 290,307 | 622,012 | ||
| D | 314,132 | 275,087 | 594,345 | ||
| R | 220,786 | 273,351 | 497,163 | ||
| R | 181,315 | 231,422 | 423,562 | ||
| R | 159,229 | 192,559 | 377,960 | ||
| R | 155,663 | 197,390 | 411,651 | ||
| R | 125,170 | 216,987 | 345,391 | ||
| R | 120,993 | 223,212 | 345,803 | ||
| R | 119,157 | 172,717 | 306,094 | ||
| R | 120,470 | 150,896 | 277,028 | ||
| R | 77,192 | 148,361 | 229,455 | ||
| R | 68,443 | 106,472 | 225,690 | ||
| D | 80,145 | 78,055 | 158,412 | ||
| R | 49,659 | 72,798 | 123,286 | ||
| R | 29,412 | 61,295 | 106,462 | ||
| R | 41,335 | 58,537 | 100,132 | ||
| D | 30,784 | 23,216 | 62,335 | ||
| D | 39,617 | 14,842 | 54,583 | ||
| D | 37,310 | 11,963 | 49,454 | ||
| D | 36,187 | 9,027 | 45,412 | ||
| D | 28,512 | 9,977 | 39,329 | ||
| D | 19,466 | 18,793 | 38,259 | ||
| D | 17,852 | 5,088 | 24,301 | ||
| D | 23,596 | 7,463 | 31,358 | ||
| D | 13,644 | 2,767 | 16,601 | ||
| D | 11,877 | 1,339 | 14,655 | ||
| D | 9,908 | 3,517 | 13,546 | ||
| D | 9,628 | 2,730 | 12,534 | ||
| D | 18,389 | 12,535 | 31,208 | ||
| D | 22,230 | 17,380 | 40,403 | ||
| D | 24,226 | 15,316 | 41,181 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.3%
German
9.1%
Irish
8.3%
American
6.7%
Italian
3.7%
Scottish
1.9%
Polish
1.2%
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: 39.1 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
$89,669
Richmond, VA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Richmond, VA$89,669
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.7%
Working age (18–64)9.0%
Seniors (65+)10.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.1%
speak English only
Spanish6.1%
Other Indo-European2.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.2%
Other languages1.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 46.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Richmond, VA in the Mid-Atlantic and Appalachia has, for decades, voted very close to the way the country has voted. Its margins are typically narrow, and the candidate who carries Richmond, VA more often than not also wins the national popular vote.
The Democratic margin in Richmond, VA has rarely exceeded seventy-two points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded thirty-one points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by thirteen points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 56% non-Hispanic-white share, a 10% poverty rate, and a median household income of $89,669 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Richmond, VA, Virginia — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/40060/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Richmond, VA, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Richmond, VA, Virginia voted Democratic by 13.4 points (D+13), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 729,067 votes cast, 406,685 went Democratic and 309,167 went Republican.
What is Richmond, VA, Virginia's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Richmond, VA, Virginia as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 21 times, Republican 13 times, and other 0 times.
When did Richmond, VA, Virginia last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Richmond, VA, Virginia voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in Richmond, VA, Virginia?
Richmond, VA, Virginia has a population of 1,341,248 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Richmond, VA, Virginia?
Median household income in Richmond, VA, Virginia is $89,669 — above the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Richmond, VA, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Richmond, VA, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 21 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.