Lexington, Kentucky: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+32%. Republican peak: R+34 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+32MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,328,1942024 5-year
- Median household income
- $60,4202024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 85.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+21 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+34 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Lexington, 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 | 201,068 | 397,044 | 608,623 | ||
| R | 217,264 | 391,108 | 619,635 | ||
| R | 171,755 | 351,048 | 550,084 | ||
| R | 176,043 | 322,089 | 507,622 | ||
| R | 196,676 | 308,590 | 512,788 | ||
| R | 195,906 | 311,002 | 510,975 | ||
| R | 169,738 | 252,418 | 432,125 | ||
| R | 164,842 | 177,122 | 375,982 | ||
| R | 162,824 | 178,467 | 400,233 | ||
| R | 142,101 | 206,457 | 351,280 | ||
| R | 128,135 | 227,995 | 358,535 | ||
| R | 156,179 | 172,894 | 341,898 | ||
| D | 148,239 | 143,676 | 296,470 | ||
| R | 90,288 | 183,692 | 278,061 | ||
| R | 89,684 | 128,754 | 261,409 | ||
| D | 153,943 | 99,359 | 254,253 | ||
| R | 111,591 | 160,900 | 272,491 | ||
| R | 111,325 | 150,307 | 262,794 | ||
| R | 117,428 | 129,771 | 247,783 | ||
| D | 114,564 | 95,831 | 213,914 | ||
| D | 112,280 | 112,179 | 225,301 | ||
| D | 136,134 | 119,970 | 256,722 | ||
| D | 129,316 | 116,313 | 246,399 | ||
| D | 147,074 | 112,562 | 260,920 | ||
| R | 86,949 | 149,342 | 236,550 | ||
| R | 99,410 | 109,105 | 213,676 | ||
| R | 115,683 | 125,474 | 242,577 | ||
| R | 69,494 | 70,365 | 141,193 | ||
| D | 60,419 | 39,206 | 123,325 | ||
| R | 62,968 | 71,142 | 136,330 | ||
| R | 57,829 | 61,113 | 121,298 | ||
| R | 60,889 | 69,185 | 131,321 | ||
| R | 54,517 | 65,225 | 122,506 | ||
| D | 46,917 | 42,396 | 94,166 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
15.4%
English
15.1%
Irish
10.0%
German
9.7%
Scottish
2.0%
Italian
1.6%
French
1.0%
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: 38.8 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
$60,420
Lexington ranks near the middle of US counties.
Lexington$60,420
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
18.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.8%
Working age (18–64)17.1%
Seniors (65+)14.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.6%
speak English only
Spanish3.3%
Other Indo-European1.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.0%
Other languages0.7%
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.
The Lexington DMA blends a large university population with surrounding rural counties, producing a media audience that swings measurably younger and more educated than Kentucky's statewide average.
The Democratic margin in Lexington peaked at twenty-one points in 1964. By 1980 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-two points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $60,420 sits well below state and national norms, and 18% 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.
Lexington, Kentucky — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/541/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Lexington, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Lexington, Kentucky voted Republican by 32.2 points (R+32), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 608,623 votes cast, 201,068 went Democratic and 397,044 went Republican.
What is Lexington, Kentucky's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Lexington, Kentucky as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 9 times, Republican 25 times, and other 0 times.
When did Lexington, Kentucky last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Lexington, Kentucky voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in Lexington, Kentucky?
Lexington, Kentucky has a population of 1,328,194 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Lexington, Kentucky?
Median household income in Lexington, Kentucky is $60,420 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Lexington, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Lexington, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 9 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.