West Plains, MO, Missouri: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+67%. Republican peak: R+67 in 2024.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+67MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 40,3832024 5-year
- Median household income
- $50,9932024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 92.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+13 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+67 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for West Plains, MO, MOOne 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 | 3,073 | 15,733 | 18,968 | ||
| R | 3,218 | 15,181 | 18,676 | ||
| R | 2,881 | 13,893 | 17,455 | ||
| R | 4,395 | 11,544 | 16,346 | ||
| R | 5,736 | 10,982 | 17,029 | ||
| R | 5,118 | 11,097 | 16,379 | ||
| R | 4,641 | 9,018 | 14,075 | ||
| R | 5,261 | 5,991 | 13,524 | ||
| D | 5,492 | 5,360 | 13,537 | ||
| R | 4,324 | 7,277 | 11,645 | ||
| R | 3,767 | 8,204 | 11,971 | ||
| R | 4,472 | 7,149 | 11,903 | ||
| D | 5,265 | 4,692 | 10,035 | ||
| R | 2,795 | 7,253 | 10,048 | ||
| R | 2,763 | 5,631 | 9,838 | ||
| D | 4,968 | 4,632 | 9,600 | ||
| R | 2,734 | 7,095 | 9,829 | ||
| R | 3,066 | 5,473 | 8,539 | ||
| R | 3,349 | 6,608 | 9,983 | ||
| R | 3,599 | 4,427 | 8,060 | ||
| R | 3,020 | 5,151 | 8,185 | ||
| R | 4,218 | 6,158 | 10,397 | ||
| R | 4,725 | 5,297 | 10,064 | ||
| D | 4,775 | 3,660 | 8,540 | ||
| R | 2,543 | 4,869 | 7,461 | ||
| R | 2,681 | 3,130 | 6,493 | ||
| R | 2,323 | 4,344 | 6,869 | ||
| R | 1,861 | 2,132 | 4,245 | ||
| D | 1,565 | 1,465 | 4,294 | ||
| R | 1,827 | 2,164 | 4,236 | ||
| R | 1,605 | 2,089 | 3,913 | ||
| R | 1,975 | 2,059 | 4,216 | ||
| D | 2,373 | 1,892 | 4,298 | ||
| D | 1,642 | 1,484 | 3,539 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
15.1%
German
13.6%
Irish
12.1%
American
9.0%
Italian
2.3%
French
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: 40.3 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
$50,993
West Plains, MO ranks near the middle of US counties.
West Plains, MO$50,993
Missouri$70,702
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
20.3%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1823.8%
Working age (18–64)19.7%
Seniors (65+)15.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.9%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.5%
Spanish1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 58.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
West Plains anchors the south-central Missouri Ozarks as a regional service center, drawing voters from timber, farming, and medical communities whose preferences have trended heavily toward statewide Republican candidates in recent cycles.
The Democratic margin in West Plains, MO peaked at thirteen points in 1932. By 1996 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty-seven points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $50,993 sits well below state and national norms, and 20% 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.
West Plains, MO, Missouri — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/48460/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did West Plains, MO, Missouri vote in 2024?
In 2024, West Plains, MO, Missouri voted Republican by 66.7 points (R+67), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 18,968 votes cast, 3,073 went Democratic and 15,733 went Republican.
What is West Plains, MO, Missouri's political archetype?
Akashic classifies West Plains, MO, Missouri as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 7 times, Republican 27 times, and other 0 times.
When did West Plains, MO, Missouri last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which West Plains, MO, Missouri voted Democratic was 1992.
How many people live in West Plains, MO, Missouri?
West Plains, MO, Missouri has a population of 40,383 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in West Plains, MO, Missouri?
Median household income in West Plains, MO, Missouri is $50,993 — below the national median of $80,734. The Missouri state median is $70,702.
What is the political history of West Plains, MO, Missouri?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in West Plains, MO, Missouri from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.