Charlottesville, Virginia: Bellwether market. In 2024, voted D+17%. Democratic peak: D+60 in 1912.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+17MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 261,4692024 5-year
- Median household income
- $94,6752024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 74.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 10.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+60 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+36 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Charlottesville, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 86,416 | 60,458 | 149,722 | ||
| D | 85,432 | 56,645 | 144,884 | ||
| D | 68,090 | 50,129 | 126,638 | ||
| D | 64,959 | 53,501 | 120,444 | ||
| D | 64,762 | 48,318 | 114,460 | ||
| R | 47,022 | 47,694 | 95,772 | ||
| R | 35,192 | 39,593 | 79,698 | ||
| R | 31,445 | 31,858 | 68,350 | ||
| D | 31,106 | 30,108 | 70,631 | ||
| R | 24,514 | 32,435 | 57,729 | ||
| R | 20,978 | 33,071 | 54,324 | ||
| R | 20,279 | 24,978 | 49,818 | ||
| R | 20,241 | 22,407 | 43,790 | ||
| R | 8,637 | 18,635 | 27,788 | ||
| R | 8,267 | 14,797 | 29,570 | ||
| R | 9,075 | 9,274 | 18,371 | ||
| R | 7,668 | 10,533 | 18,438 | ||
| R | 5,185 | 9,721 | 16,626 | ||
| R | 6,041 | 9,613 | 15,714 | ||
| D | 4,697 | 4,530 | 10,416 | ||
| D | 6,587 | 4,208 | 10,826 | ||
| D | 6,324 | 3,180 | 9,540 | ||
| D | 6,176 | 2,572 | 8,783 | ||
| D | 6,311 | 2,182 | 8,562 | ||
| D | 4,695 | 3,808 | 8,503 | ||
| D | 4,374 | 1,488 | 6,153 | ||
| D | 4,713 | 2,141 | 6,894 | ||
| D | 3,908 | 1,161 | 5,084 | ||
| D | 3,337 | 674 | 4,471 | ||
| D | 3,183 | 1,466 | 4,695 | ||
| D | 3,174 | 1,319 | 4,527 | ||
| D | 6,529 | 4,765 | 11,359 | ||
| D | 7,294 | 5,259 | 12,693 | ||
| D | 7,651 | 4,345 | 12,399 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
16.2%
German
14.0%
Irish
12.1%
American
5.7%
Italian
4.9%
Scottish
2.8%
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: 39.7 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
$94,675
Charlottesville ranks near the middle of US counties.
Charlottesville$94,675
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.7%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1812.6%
Working age (18–64)10.5%
Seniors (65+)6.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.7%
speak English only
Spanish4.8%
Other Indo-European3.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander2.2%
Other languages0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Charlottesville's media market centers on a flagship research university community, producing voter composition that skews younger and more credentialed than surrounding Piedmont counties, which frequently pull aggregate results in competing directions.
The Democratic margin in Charlottesville has rarely exceeded sixty points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded thirty-six points. 2024 delivered the market to the Democratic candidate by seventeen points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most markets. A 75% non-Hispanic-white share, a 11% poverty rate, and a median household income of $94,675 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Charlottesville, Virginia — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/584/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Charlottesville, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Charlottesville, Virginia voted Democratic by 17.3 points (D+17), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 149,722 votes cast, 86,416 went Democratic and 60,458 went Republican.
What is Charlottesville, Virginia's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Charlottesville, Virginia as a "Bellwether" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 21 times, Republican 13 times, and other 0 times.
When did Charlottesville, Virginia last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Charlottesville, Virginia voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in Charlottesville, Virginia?
Charlottesville, Virginia has a population of 261,469 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Charlottesville, Virginia?
Median household income in Charlottesville, Virginia is $94,675 — above the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of Charlottesville, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Charlottesville, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 21 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.