Philadelphia Media Market — Elections 1876–2024

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Bellwether market. In 2024, voted D+20%. Republican peak: R+52 in 1924.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: D+20MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: BellwetherAkashic typology
Population: 8,395,4252024 5-year
Median household income: $91,3302024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 60.2%2024 5-year
Black: 17.9%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 13.8%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+33 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+52 in 1924MIT Election Lab

2024 results by constituent county

18 counties · 10 D · 8 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).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	D	+20.1%	2,565,017	1,695,320	4,326,367
2020	D	+24.8%	2,716,528	1,629,794	4,389,031
2016	D	+22.7%	2,307,993	1,424,799	3,893,924
2012	D	+25.4%	2,304,775	1,360,490	3,712,305
2008	D	+28.2%	2,437,015	1,357,945	3,833,084
2004	D	+18.2%	2,109,185	1,457,213	3,588,970
2000	D	+20.3%	1,784,235	1,165,483	3,041,996
1996	D	+21.3%	1,531,647	940,677	2,772,258
1992	D	+13.4%	1,462,863	1,052,196	3,074,573
1988	R	−4.4%	1,335,129	1,459,192	2,821,462
1984	R	−8.4%	1,341,193	1,587,113	2,942,900
1980	R	−4.7%	1,174,627	1,303,947	2,737,820
1976	D	+8.1%	1,472,152	1,248,931	2,771,947
1972	R	−14.5%	1,157,261	1,557,909	2,757,956
1968	D	+7.0%	1,336,886	1,143,618	2,742,949
1964	D	+33.0%	1,803,965	907,102	2,720,730
1960	D	+9.1%	1,469,792	1,222,998	2,699,536
1956	R	−8.5%	1,104,046	1,309,697	2,420,970
1952	R	−0.9%	1,176,762	1,199,411	2,386,170
1948	R	−4.2%	930,174	1,013,194	1,990,827
1944	D	+9.5%	1,047,950	864,569	1,921,760
1940	D	+12.0%	1,123,798	882,283	2,015,529
1936	D	+18.0%	1,161,272	800,025	2,003,267
1932	R	−13.4%	632,956	838,110	1,528,616
1928	R	−33.9%	530,697	1,084,028	1,630,113
1924	R	−51.6%	209,786	762,213	1,070,388
1920	R	−41.2%	257,564	650,334	953,066
1916	R	−21.1%	239,897	373,212	632,402
1912	O	+4.1%	193,699	170,118	570,228
1908	R	−27.0%	207,377	367,811	595,163
1904	R	−44.4%	146,384	392,220	553,756
1900	R	−32.4%	162,137	322,565	495,639
1896	R	−34.1%	157,502	327,603	498,929
1892	R	−6.3%	200,354	227,725	436,618
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

Irish

15.5%

German

14.4%

Italian

11.7%

English

7.5%

Polish

4.3%

American

3.5%

Scottish

0.9%

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: 39.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.7%

85+

1.4%

2.2%

75–84

3.0%

4.8%

65–74

5.5%

6.4%

55–64

6.9%

5.9%

45–54

6.2%

6.5%

35–44

6.6%

6.8%

25–34

6.8%

4.5%

18–24

4.5%

8.1%

5–17

7.8%

2.8%

2.7%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$91,330

Philadelphia ranks near the middle of US counties.

Philadelphia$91,330

Pennsylvania$77,971

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

11.5%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1815.4%

Working age (18–64)10.3%

Seniors (65+)12.1%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

81.0%

speak English only

Spanish9.4%

Other Indo-European4.8%

Asian & Pacific Islander3.5%

Other languages1.3%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

26.3%

Other Christian

6.7%

Mainline Protestant

4.7%

Non-Christian

4.1%

Baptist

2.7%

Methodist

2.3%

Pentecostal & Holiness

1.5%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

The Philadelphia media market delivers the state's largest Democratic vote shares, but raw turnout variation within the city itself can swing a Pennsylvania statewide contest by tens of thousands of votes in either direction.

The Democratic margin in Philadelphia has rarely exceeded thirty-three points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded fifty-two points. 2024 delivered the market to the Democratic candidate by twenty points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most markets. A 60% non-Hispanic-white share, a 12% poverty rate, and a median household income of $91,330 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/504/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Philadelphia, Pennsylvania vote in 2024?

In 2024, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania voted Democratic by 20.1 points (D+20), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 4,326,367 votes cast, 2,565,017 went Democratic and 1,695,320 went Republican.

What is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as a "Bellwether" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 16 times, Republican 17 times, and other 1 times.

When did Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last vote Republican?

The most recent presidential election in which Philadelphia, Pennsylvania voted Republican was 1988.

How many people live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania?

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has a population of 8,395,425 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania?

Median household income in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is $91,330 — above the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.

What is the political history of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Philadelphia delivered D+20 in 2024.

Key facts

Demographics

Frequently asked questions