Wilmington, North Carolina: Old Confederacy market. In 2024, voted R+16%. Democratic peak: D+64 in 1940.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+16MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Old ConfederacyAkashic typology
- Population
- 533,0532024 5-year
- Median household income
- $72,1052024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 75.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 13.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+64 in 1940MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+45 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Wilmington, 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 | 137,099 | 189,276 | 330,187 | ||
| R | 127,943 | 167,645 | 299,745 | ||
| R | 99,736 | 138,525 | 247,770 | ||
| R | 99,450 | 123,434 | 225,717 | ||
| R | 99,312 | 115,441 | 216,784 | ||
| R | 73,926 | 95,260 | 169,813 | ||
| D | 72,910 | 64,700 | 138,645 | ||
| R | 52,260 | 52,844 | 113,972 | ||
| D | 53,462 | 46,704 | 116,077 | ||
| R | 41,862 | 49,169 | 91,271 | ||
| R | 37,511 | 52,374 | 90,076 | ||
| D | 41,129 | 34,425 | 77,664 | ||
| D | 43,460 | 24,116 | 68,070 | ||
| R | 15,315 | 41,213 | 57,837 | ||
| O | 19,661 | 19,058 | 64,678 | ||
| D | 33,549 | 24,462 | 58,011 | ||
| D | 35,039 | 19,473 | 54,512 | ||
| D | 27,623 | 17,620 | 45,243 | ||
| D | 25,757 | 18,151 | 43,908 | ||
| D | 17,092 | 6,967 | 29,297 | ||
| D | 21,804 | 7,550 | 29,354 | ||
| D | 22,391 | 4,939 | 27,330 | ||
| D | 22,187 | 5,029 | 27,216 | ||
| D | 18,017 | 5,045 | 23,320 | ||
| R | 9,182 | 12,923 | 22,105 | ||
| D | 11,336 | 5,154 | 17,002 | ||
| D | 11,985 | 5,620 | 17,605 | ||
| D | 7,539 | 3,859 | 11,401 | ||
| D | 6,573 | 627 | 9,434 | ||
| D | 6,371 | 3,766 | 10,137 | ||
| D | 5,095 | 2,180 | 7,300 | ||
| D | 6,634 | 3,675 | 10,362 | ||
| D | 8,238 | 7,643 | 16,092 | ||
| D | 6,855 | 4,924 | 13,595 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
14.5%
Irish
12.0%
German
10.8%
American
7.3%
Italian
5.3%
Scottish
2.8%
Polish
2.1%
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: 45.4 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
$72,105
Wilmington ranks near the middle of US counties.
Wilmington$72,105
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
12.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.9%
Working age (18–64)11.6%
Seniors (65+)9.2%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.1%
speak English only
Spanish5.1%
Other Indo-European1.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Wilmington's media market punches above its size by doubling as the primary broadcast footprint for a small but delegate-rich state, making it a consistent stop for Senate and presidential-cycle advertising.
The shift began with civil rights. 2004 marked the realignment in Wilmington, by a thirteen points margin. The Republican margin reached its widest at forty-five points in 1972. The 2024 margin was sixteen points.
The political shift has tracked, in Wilmington, the political shift of the South more broadly. A 75% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $72,105, and a 12% poverty rate describe the demographic context.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Wilmington, North Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/550/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Wilmington, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Wilmington, North Carolina voted Republican by 15.8 points (R+16), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 330,187 votes cast, 137,099 went Democratic and 189,276 went Republican.
What is Wilmington, North Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Wilmington, North Carolina as a "Old Confederacy" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 22 times, Republican 11 times, and other 1 times.
When did Wilmington, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Wilmington, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Wilmington, North Carolina?
Wilmington, North Carolina has a population of 533,053 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Wilmington, North Carolina?
Median household income in Wilmington, North Carolina is $72,105 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Wilmington, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Wilmington, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Old Confederacy" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.