Charlotte, North Carolina: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+9%. Democratic peak: D+55 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+9MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 3,488,2462024 5-year
- Median household income
- $79,1522024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 62.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 19.7%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 11.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+55 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+43 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Charlotte, NCOne 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 | 810,628 | 972,799 | 1,811,802 | ||
| R | 798,847 | 926,602 | 1,751,124 | ||
| R | 618,874 | 781,077 | 1,461,297 | ||
| R | 613,599 | 734,898 | 1,366,330 | ||
| R | 597,699 | 683,606 | 1,293,867 | ||
| R | 411,847 | 615,114 | 1,031,671 | ||
| D | 497,158 | 360,635 | 865,676 | ||
| R | 303,967 | 373,469 | 733,134 | ||
| R | 304,135 | 366,981 | 782,934 | ||
| R | 237,330 | 397,391 | 636,539 | ||
| R | 214,935 | 424,274 | 640,698 | ||
| R | 251,521 | 281,319 | 551,388 | ||
| D | 280,107 | 231,467 | 513,854 | ||
| R | 127,155 | 321,762 | 456,431 | ||
| R | 125,449 | 221,940 | 479,703 | ||
| D | 229,352 | 204,199 | 433,555 | ||
| R | 203,504 | 223,314 | 426,818 | ||
| R | 159,541 | 203,888 | 366,625 | ||
| R | 179,619 | 207,217 | 386,836 | ||
| D | 100,157 | 80,182 | 217,221 | ||
| D | 142,119 | 77,677 | 220,083 | ||
| D | 167,582 | 59,999 | 227,583 | ||
| D | 172,242 | 60,860 | 233,200 | ||
| D | 133,755 | 58,925 | 193,986 | ||
| R | 73,946 | 92,011 | 165,963 | ||
| D | 76,483 | 49,260 | 127,975 | ||
| D | 84,519 | 61,494 | 146,013 | ||
| D | 44,803 | 28,403 | 73,291 | ||
| D | 37,231 | 4,415 | 60,058 | ||
| D | 36,477 | 24,551 | 61,205 | ||
| D | 30,045 | 16,966 | 47,589 | ||
| D | 33,450 | 22,294 | 56,606 | ||
| D | 43,437 | 24,876 | 68,882 | ||
| D | 34,225 | 16,781 | 60,065 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
11.3%
German
10.4%
American
9.0%
Irish
8.5%
Italian
3.6%
Scottish
2.2%
Polish
1.4%
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: 38.9 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
$79,152
Charlotte ranks near the middle of US counties.
Charlotte$79,152
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
11.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1816.2%
Working age (18–64)10.4%
Seniors (65+)10.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
85.6%
speak English only
Spanish9.0%
Other Indo-European2.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.2%
Other languages0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 43.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Charlotte DMA spans the Carolina Piedmont and has added nearly a million residents since 2010, making its fast-growing outer suburbs among the most closely watched bellwether zones in statewide contests for both North and South Carolina.
The Democratic margin in Charlotte peaked at fifty-five points in 1912. By 2004 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was nine points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $79,152 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.
Charlotte, North Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/517/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Charlotte, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Charlotte, North Carolina voted Republican by 9.0 points (R+9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,811,802 votes cast, 810,628 went Democratic and 972,799 went Republican.
What is Charlotte, North Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Charlotte, North Carolina as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 17 times, Republican 17 times, and other 0 times.
When did Charlotte, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Charlotte, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Charlotte, North Carolina?
Charlotte, North Carolina has a population of 3,488,246 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Charlotte, North Carolina?
Median household income in Charlotte, North Carolina is $79,152 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Charlotte, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Charlotte, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 17 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.