Harrisonburg, Virginia: Populist market. In 2024, voted R+26%. Republican peak: R+57 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+26MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 269,8572024 5-year
- Median household income
- $74,0162024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 81.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 9.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+35 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+57 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Harrisonburg, VAOne 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 | 50,591 | 86,075 | 138,972 | ||
| R | 47,268 | 80,638 | 130,541 | ||
| R | 37,581 | 70,747 | 115,530 | ||
| R | 38,812 | 66,532 | 107,388 | ||
| R | 39,507 | 63,816 | 104,617 | ||
| R | 26,947 | 63,045 | 91,086 | ||
| R | 23,192 | 51,925 | 78,060 | ||
| R | 22,329 | 41,861 | 71,065 | ||
| R | 20,790 | 41,183 | 72,955 | ||
| R | 17,775 | 44,216 | 62,799 | ||
| R | 15,558 | 46,658 | 62,584 | ||
| R | 18,700 | 35,989 | 58,184 | ||
| R | 20,042 | 31,359 | 53,275 | ||
| R | 11,333 | 42,424 | 54,897 | ||
| R | 9,993 | 26,373 | 43,194 | ||
| D | 33,961 | 30,144 | 64,201 | ||
| R | 9,113 | 18,198 | 27,408 | ||
| R | 7,250 | 16,971 | 24,737 | ||
| R | 7,345 | 16,119 | 23,496 | ||
| R | 7,483 | 10,034 | 18,998 | ||
| R | 9,645 | 10,020 | 19,715 | ||
| D | 10,557 | 8,354 | 19,020 | ||
| D | 10,906 | 7,764 | 18,780 | ||
| D | 9,869 | 6,453 | 16,638 | ||
| R | 6,179 | 10,274 | 16,453 | ||
| D | 7,643 | 5,889 | 13,784 | ||
| D | 7,513 | 7,161 | 14,818 | ||
| D | 5,534 | 3,685 | 9,332 | ||
| D | 5,111 | 2,045 | 8,743 | ||
| D | 4,878 | 3,812 | 8,977 | ||
| D | 4,813 | 3,625 | 8,646 | ||
| D | 7,262 | 6,574 | 14,207 | ||
| D | 7,894 | 7,687 | 16,094 | ||
| D | 8,850 | 6,126 | 15,587 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
18.2%
English
13.2%
Irish
9.5%
American
6.3%
Italian
3.6%
Scottish
2.2%
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: 38.7 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
$74,016
Harrisonburg ranks near the middle of US counties.
Harrisonburg$74,016
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.4%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1813.5%
Working age (18–64)12.4%
Seniors (65+)8.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.7%
speak English only
Spanish7.6%
Other Indo-European2.1%
Other languages0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 50.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Harrisonburg's media market spans a conservative rural Shenandoah Valley base softened by James Madison University's student and faculty population, producing a competitive mix that keeps margins tighter than surrounding Virginia districts typically suggest.
The Democratic margin in Harrisonburg peaked at thirty-five points in 1912. By 1968 the market had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty-six points, the most Republican-leaning result in the market's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $74,016 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.
Harrisonburg, Virginia — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/569/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Harrisonburg, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Harrisonburg, Virginia voted Republican by 25.5 points (R+26), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 138,972 votes cast, 50,591 went Democratic and 86,075 went Republican.
What is Harrisonburg, Virginia's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Harrisonburg, Virginia as a "Populist" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 13 times, Republican 21 times, and other 0 times.
When did Harrisonburg, Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Harrisonburg, Virginia voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Harrisonburg, Virginia?
Harrisonburg, Virginia has a population of 269,857 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Harrisonburg, Virginia?
Median household income in Harrisonburg, Virginia is $74,016 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Harrisonburg, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Harrisonburg, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.