Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+8%. Republican peak: R+45 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+8MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 2,821,4502024 5-year
- Median household income
- $74,6002024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 84.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 7.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+45 in 1904MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Pittsburgh, PAOne 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 | 727,001 | 856,016 | 1,603,473 | ||
| R | 724,053 | 831,745 | 1,574,717 | ||
| R | 610,812 | 738,252 | 1,413,486 | ||
| R | 624,991 | 678,687 | 1,324,200 | ||
| D | 688,397 | 677,276 | 1,380,851 | ||
| D | 692,813 | 670,224 | 1,371,504 | ||
| D | 625,081 | 556,853 | 1,216,909 | ||
| D | 564,543 | 443,085 | 1,131,181 | ||
| D | 630,813 | 381,890 | 1,257,432 | ||
| D | 676,460 | 484,129 | 1,170,795 | ||
| D | 716,689 | 587,880 | 1,315,840 | ||
| D | 591,259 | 543,233 | 1,223,272 | ||
| D | 656,117 | 572,060 | 1,254,676 | ||
| R | 516,347 | 712,663 | 1,254,873 | ||
| D | 682,426 | 506,802 | 1,330,725 | ||
| D | 908,590 | 437,234 | 1,350,628 | ||
| D | 770,378 | 642,675 | 1,415,720 | ||
| R | 606,300 | 710,833 | 1,319,025 | ||
| D | 692,126 | 656,397 | 1,354,121 | ||
| D | 575,428 | 467,150 | 1,068,243 | ||
| D | 610,520 | 494,505 | 1,110,733 | ||
| D | 660,804 | 510,335 | 1,176,202 | ||
| D | 700,977 | 395,500 | 1,123,896 | ||
| D | 387,758 | 330,014 | 750,737 | ||
| R | 285,298 | 487,118 | 779,549 | ||
| R | 81,658 | 330,009 | 553,590 | ||
| R | 110,625 | 287,788 | 440,980 | ||
| R | 121,680 | 159,560 | 306,891 | ||
| O | 83,604 | 53,668 | 282,583 | ||
| R | 95,411 | 161,939 | 282,093 | ||
| R | 66,717 | 186,691 | 267,224 | ||
| R | 88,786 | 157,202 | 253,249 | ||
| R | 93,399 | 164,137 | 263,175 | ||
| R | 87,756 | 111,456 | 207,863 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
24.2%
Irish
16.4%
Italian
13.9%
English
9.6%
Polish
7.1%
American
3.7%
Scottish
2.0%
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: 42.6 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
$74,600
Pittsburgh ranks near the middle of US counties.
Pittsburgh$74,600
Pennsylvania$77,971
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.6%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.7%
Working age (18–64)10.8%
Seniors (65+)11.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.3%
speak English only
Other Indo-European2.4%
Spanish1.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.4%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 47.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Pittsburgh media market spans Allegheny County's Democratic core and a broad ring of ancestrally blue, now competitive collar counties, making marginal swings here disproportionately consequential in Pennsylvania statewide races.
The Democratic margin in Pittsburgh peaked at thirty-five points in 1964. By 2012 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was eight points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $74,600 sits well below state and national norms, and 12% 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.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/508/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania vote in 2024?
In 2024, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania voted Republican by 8.0 points (R+8), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,603,473 votes cast, 727,001 went Democratic and 856,016 went Republican.
What is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 18 times, Republican 15 times, and other 1 times.
When did Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania?
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has a population of 2,821,450 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania?
Median household income in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is $74,600 — below the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.
What is the political history of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 15 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.