Roanoke, VA, Virginia: Old Confederacy metro. In 2024, voted R+19%. Democratic peak: D+45 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+19MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Old ConfederacyAkashic typology
- Population
- 314,9862024 5-year
- Median household income
- $70,3852024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 76.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 12.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+45 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+36 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Roanoke, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 67,445 | 98,686 | 168,702 | ||
| R | 68,390 | 96,088 | 167,549 | ||
| R | 55,980 | 87,507 | 151,681 | ||
| R | 62,977 | 84,868 | 151,305 | ||
| R | 66,098 | 81,633 | 149,581 | ||
| R | 52,902 | 80,991 | 135,098 | ||
| R | 51,032 | 68,230 | 122,191 | ||
| R | 49,722 | 52,684 | 113,042 | ||
| R | 48,360 | 52,889 | 117,137 | ||
| R | 44,244 | 57,284 | 102,354 | ||
| R | 40,207 | 63,591 | 104,440 | ||
| R | 44,673 | 47,377 | 96,620 | ||
| D | 49,783 | 39,942 | 91,026 | ||
| R | 15,930 | 34,499 | 51,582 | ||
| R | 18,268 | 37,977 | 72,684 | ||
| D | 23,216 | 19,673 | 42,923 | ||
| R | 18,638 | 29,010 | 47,770 | ||
| R | 13,670 | 29,107 | 43,940 | ||
| R | 14,497 | 26,112 | 40,700 | ||
| R | 11,044 | 13,310 | 26,895 | ||
| D | 14,543 | 11,046 | 25,665 | ||
| D | 14,503 | 8,164 | 22,777 | ||
| D | 14,991 | 8,181 | 23,284 | ||
| D | 13,426 | 7,222 | 20,909 | ||
| R | 8,852 | 12,701 | 21,553 | ||
| D | 8,849 | 5,083 | 14,905 | ||
| D | 9,478 | 6,220 | 15,850 | ||
| D | 5,846 | 3,139 | 9,138 | ||
| D | 5,073 | 1,370 | 8,186 | ||
| D | 4,530 | 3,136 | 7,717 | ||
| D | 4,217 | 2,632 | 7,030 | ||
| D | 6,285 | 5,604 | 12,152 | ||
| D | 7,410 | 6,755 | 14,371 | ||
| D | 8,712 | 5,698 | 15,346 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
15.3%
German
10.9%
American
10.6%
Irish
9.3%
Italian
2.4%
Scottish
2.3%
Polish
1.1%
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: 43.0 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
$70,385
Roanoke, VA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Roanoke, VA$70,385
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.5%
Working age (18–64)10.9%
Seniors (65+)11.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.7%
speak English only
Spanish3.8%
Other Indo-European1.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 45.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Roanoke's consolidated metro leans Democratic in its urban core but is ringed by reliably Republican rural counties, making the overall margin a consistent bellwether for southwestern Virginia's shifting political balance.
The shift began with civil rights. 1980 marked the realignment in Roanoke, VA, by a three points margin. The Republican margin reached its widest at thirty-six points in 1972. The 2024 margin was nineteen points.
The political shift has tracked, in Roanoke, VA, the political shift of the South more broadly. A 77% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $70,385, and a 12% poverty rate describe the demographic context.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Roanoke, VA, Virginia — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/40220/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Roanoke, VA, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Roanoke, VA, Virginia voted Republican by 18.5 points (R+19), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 168,702 votes cast, 67,445 went Democratic and 98,686 went Republican.
What is Roanoke, VA, Virginia's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Roanoke, VA, Virginia as a "Old Confederacy" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 19 times, and other 0 times.
When did Roanoke, VA, Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Roanoke, VA, Virginia voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in Roanoke, VA, Virginia?
Roanoke, VA, Virginia has a population of 314,986 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Roanoke, VA, Virginia?
Median household income in Roanoke, VA, Virginia is $70,385 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Roanoke, VA, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Roanoke, VA, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Old Confederacy" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.