akashic
1876–2024
Winston-Salem, NC·North Carolina

Winston-Salem, NC delivered R+16 in 2024.

Forsyth County anchor where suburban realignment meets a majority-minority city core

1876 — 2024·38 elections
NC
Latest
R+16
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
689,766
2024 ACS

Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted R+16%. Republican peak: R+43 in 1972.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+16MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
BellwetherAkashic typology
Population
689,7662024 5-year
Median household income
$66,4142024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
66.7%2024 5-year
Black
17.2%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
12.2%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+29 in 1940MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+43 in 1972MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
5 counties · 1 D · 4 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
R
−15.6%
154,402212,636372,600
R
−14.6%
151,431204,027360,721
R
−16.3%
125,668176,890315,098
R
−14.1%
128,657171,653304,106
R
−9.8%
131,098159,971293,972
R
−24.5%
93,982155,140250,028
D
+25.4%
135,73480,464217,851
R
−19.9%
71,357110,008194,493
R
−9.7%
79,51999,742208,020
R
−26.2%
64,621110,629175,738
R
−32.5%
59,219116,371175,905
R
−12.6%
66,35286,290157,762
R
−1.5%
72,19974,416147,304
R
−43.4%
35,04390,845128,514
R
−22.5%
33,19462,833131,574
R
−4.7%
56,97262,552119,524
R
−19.1%
46,89669,099115,995
R
−27.3%
34,22559,95594,180
R
−9.0%
45,16254,07799,239
D
+0.6%
28,62328,28760,823
D
+6.5%
34,69130,47165,162
D
+29.0%
42,57823,42466,002
D
+26.8%
39,64722,87362,520
D
+22.5%
32,19920,25053,070
R
−35.3%
15,67532,81448,489
R
−0.5%
19,39619,58539,564
R
−9.3%
17,89321,57039,463
R
−4.9%
10,14811,20421,629
D
+10.6%
8,2066,24918,388
R
−16.0%
7,0369,75616,996
R
−9.1%
6,8528,24615,258
R
−12.5%
7,5299,69917,350
R
−15.2%
8,28411,28419,679
R
−2.1%
7,7968,17017,665
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Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
14.0%
German
11.2%
Irish
8.5%
American
7.3%
Italian
2.5%
Scottish
2.2%
Polish
0.8%
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: 40.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.7%
85+
1.4%
2.5%
75–84
3.1%
5.0%
65–74
5.9%
6.7%
55–64
7.0%
6.1%
45–54
6.6%
5.7%
35–44
6.1%
6.1%
25–34
6.4%
4.3%
18–24
4.5%
8.4%
5–17
8.1%
2.8%
<5
2.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$66,414
Winston-Salem, NC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Winston-Salem, NC$66,414
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
13.5%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.7%
Working age (18–64)11.8%
Seniors (65+)11.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
87.2%
speak English only
Spanish9.8%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.2%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Other Christian
20.6%
Baptist
12.8%
Methodist
9.8%
Catholic & Orthodox
9.6%
Mainline Protestant
4.5%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.2%
Non-Christian
1.0%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 39.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Winston-Salem's metro has trended toward competitive margins as college-educated suburban voters shifted in recent cycles, while the city proper—nearly 40% Black—anchors strong Democratic turnout that rural Forsyth precincts partially offset.

The Democratic margin in Winston-Salem, NC has rarely exceeded twenty-nine points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded forty-three points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Republican candidate by sixteen points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 67% non-Hispanic-white share, a 14% poverty rate, and a median household income of $66,414 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/49180/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina voted Republican by 15.6 points (R+16), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 372,600 votes cast, 154,402 went Democratic and 212,636 went Republican.
What is Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Winston-Salem, 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 7 times, Republican 27 times, and other 0 times.
When did Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina?
Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina has a population of 689,766 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina?
Median household income in Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina is $66,414 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Winston-Salem, NC, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.