akashic
1876–2024
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV·Virginia

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV delivered D+41 in 2024.

Federal employment shapes nearly every economic and political signal here

1876 — 2024·38 elections
VA
Latest
D+41
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
6,318,377
2024 ACS

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted D+41%. Democratic peak: D+66 in 1912.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
D+41MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
BellwetherAkashic typology
Population
6,318,3772024 5-year
Median household income
$130,0742024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
43.4%2024 5-year
Black
24.6%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
18.0%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+66 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+19 in 1952MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
23 counties · 16 D · 7 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
D
+41.1%
2,133,257864,3753,089,360
D
+47.8%
2,295,373787,7723,152,120
D
+43.9%
1,932,759708,8252,789,516
D
+36.9%
1,803,699819,5062,665,972
D
+38.0%
1,724,077767,7162,518,706
D
+24.2%
1,355,192823,8042,200,145
D
+21.1%
1,099,822704,2971,873,594
D
+20.7%
930,726595,9341,620,421
D
+19.7%
929,211587,9951,732,570
D
+2.4%
746,507711,0451,473,273
D
+2.6%
711,950676,2901,394,799
R
−0.4%
527,055531,2761,189,054
D
+12.1%
609,676476,8861,098,588
R
−11.8%
436,304554,3061,002,148
D
+9.9%
428,297341,804871,505
D
+37.4%
501,173228,375730,317
D
+3.9%
223,527206,616430,814
R
−11.4%
149,599188,641341,992
R
−18.9%
114,636168,209284,184
R
−8.5%
66,99580,079153,954
R
−2.7%
69,75073,619143,531
D
+17.9%
75,98752,720129,670
D
+24.4%
70,69342,866114,124
D
+30.8%
61,05232,05994,255
R
−15.6%
38,50052,79591,644
D
+11.9%
37,28828,87970,936
D
+3.9%
36,55333,77671,227
D
+20.3%
27,12417,83745,764
D
+66.1%
37,51410,08741,505
—
No data
37,22517,11917,832
—
No data
40,43717,36915,787
D
+10.5%
32,51829,07832,800
D
+5.8%
33,19229,48563,787
D
+17.8%
34,81524,11960,203
—
No data
———
—
No data
———
—
No data
———
—
No data
———

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
8.9%
Irish
8.2%
English
8.2%
Italian
4.0%
American
3.6%
Polish
2.0%
Scottish
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: 38.2 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.6%
85+
1.0%
1.9%
75–84
2.4%
3.9%
65–74
4.6%
6.0%
55–64
6.2%
6.6%
45–54
6.7%
7.3%
35–44
7.4%
7.0%
25–34
7.2%
4.2%
18–24
4.2%
8.6%
5–17
8.2%
3.0%
<5
2.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$130,074
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ranks near the middle of US counties.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$130,074
Virginia$103,678
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
8.1%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1810.5%
Working age (18–64)7.4%
Seniors (65+)9.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
68.8%
speak English only
Spanish14.4%
Other Indo-European6.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander6.0%
Other languages4.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
16.7%
Other Christian
9.1%
Baptist
5.9%
Non-Christian
5.9%
Methodist
4.1%
Mainline Protestant
3.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.7%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

The Washington metro anchors the highest concentration of federal workers in the nation, producing an electorate and economy unusually sensitive to shifts in government spending, contracting cycles, and public-sector labor policy.

The Democratic margin in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV has rarely exceeded sixty-six points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded nineteen points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by forty-one points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 43% non-Hispanic-white share, a 8% poverty rate, and a median household income of $130,074 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/47900/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia voted Democratic by 41.1 points (D+41), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 3,089,360 votes cast, 2,133,257 went Democratic and 864,375 went Republican.
What is Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 25 times, Republican 7 times, and other 0 times.
When did Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia voted Republican was 1980.
How many people live in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia?
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia has a population of 6,318,377 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia?
Median household income in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia is $130,074 — above the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $103,678.
What is the political history of Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 25 went Democratic and 7 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.