Louisville, Kentucky: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+16%. Democratic peak: D+34 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+16MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,817,4552024 5-year
- Median household income
- $72,0832024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 76.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 11.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+34 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+23 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Louisville, KYOne 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 | 346,650 | 485,350 | 848,350 | ||
| R | 379,672 | 482,166 | 877,876 | ||
| R | 315,464 | 435,253 | 791,545 | ||
| R | 336,035 | 393,506 | 742,878 | ||
| R | 358,208 | 395,781 | 763,219 | ||
| R | 304,496 | 411,149 | 721,171 | ||
| R | 274,651 | 340,944 | 628,835 | ||
| D | 272,987 | 250,170 | 577,563 | ||
| D | 281,775 | 245,500 | 618,000 | ||
| R | 238,756 | 295,918 | 537,065 | ||
| R | 224,294 | 339,289 | 566,521 | ||
| R | 244,935 | 260,745 | 527,316 | ||
| D | 249,577 | 235,116 | 494,140 | ||
| R | 167,608 | 272,694 | 448,277 | ||
| R | 173,082 | 190,406 | 436,327 | ||
| D | 282,222 | 155,736 | 439,781 | ||
| R | 224,844 | 236,966 | 462,253 | ||
| R | 178,523 | 232,538 | 412,998 | ||
| R | 180,200 | 202,172 | 384,545 | ||
| D | 168,286 | 144,219 | 318,126 | ||
| D | 177,021 | 144,324 | 323,045 | ||
| D | 201,119 | 148,479 | 350,777 | ||
| D | 193,343 | 127,589 | 326,359 | ||
| D | 190,836 | 140,857 | 335,070 | ||
| R | 142,921 | 196,613 | 340,435 | ||
| R | 136,186 | 137,545 | 282,910 | ||
| R | 154,882 | 155,411 | 313,493 | ||
| D | 86,750 | 73,852 | 163,643 | ||
| D | 75,001 | 23,904 | 150,133 | ||
| D | 83,979 | 74,705 | 162,604 | ||
| D | 75,727 | 67,901 | 148,443 | ||
| D | 80,141 | 74,250 | 156,264 | ||
| R | 72,167 | 77,638 | 152,964 | ||
| D | 67,950 | 48,422 | 124,391 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
15.8%
English
13.5%
Irish
11.9%
American
8.2%
Italian
2.4%
Scottish
2.0%
French
1.3%
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: 39.5 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
$72,083
Louisville ranks near the middle of US counties.
Louisville$72,083
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
13.1%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.3%
Working age (18–64)11.8%
Seniors (65+)12.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.7%
speak English only
Spanish4.6%
Other Indo-European1.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
Other languages0.9%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Louisville's Jefferson County delivers Democratic margins that routinely offset Republican gains in surrounding rural counties, making the market's inner precincts a reliable bellwether for statewide competitive races.
The Democratic margin in Louisville peaked at thirty-four points in 1912. By 2000 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixteen points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $72,083 sits well below state and national norms, and 13% 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.
Louisville, Kentucky — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/529/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Louisville, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Louisville, Kentucky voted Republican by 16.3 points (R+16), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 848,350 votes cast, 346,650 went Democratic and 485,350 went Republican.
What is Louisville, Kentucky's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Louisville, Kentucky as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 19 times, and other 0 times.
When did Louisville, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Louisville, Kentucky voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Louisville, Kentucky?
Louisville, Kentucky has a population of 1,817,455 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Louisville, Kentucky?
Median household income in Louisville, Kentucky is $72,083 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Louisville, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Louisville, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.