Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC Metro Area — Elections 1876–2024

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina: Sunbelt Conservative metro. In 2024, voted R+44%. Republican peak: R+45 in 1972.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+44MIT Election Lab
Political typology: Sunbelt ConservativeAkashic typology
Population: 368,3162024 5-year
Median household income: $62,9042024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 79.8%2024 5-year
Black: 6.4%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 9.2%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+39 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+45 in 1972MIT Election Lab

2024 presidential election

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC

TrumpR+44

—

How it voted

Share of the 2024 vote

Donald Trump ✓Republican	71.6%	141,120
Kamala HarrisDemocratic	27.4%	54,047
OtherAll other candidates	1.0%	2,006

D+60

R+60

4 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.

presidential history

Presidential margin, 1876–2024

Democratic minus Republican, by election

Presidential margin over time
Year	Margin (D minus R)
1876	No data
1880	No data
1884	No data
1888	No data
1892	+21.1%
1896	+25.5%
1900	−0.0%
1904	−1.6%
1908	−7.0%
1912	+39.0%
1916	−0.5%
1920	−6.3%
1924	+4.7%
1928	−24.5%
1932	+16.3%
1936	+23.3%
1940	+27.2%
1944	+9.4%
1948	−2.0%
1952	−16.0%
1956	−22.3%
1960	−13.8%
1964	+4.2%
1968	−29.8%
1972	−45.1%
1976	+5.4%
1980	−16.9%
1984	−39.3%
1988	−31.0%
1992	−13.0%
1996	−19.1%
2000	+31.7%
2004	−33.3%
2008	−26.1%
2012	−31.0%
2016	−42.5%
2020	−43.1%
2024	−44.2%

DemocraticRepublican

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−44.2%	54,047	141,120	197,173
2020	R	−43.1%	53,197	135,614	191,092
2016	R	−42.5%	44,659	115,076	165,862
2012	R	−31.0%	53,279	102,287	158,073
2008	R	−26.1%	57,805	99,411	159,303
2004	R	−33.3%	45,203	90,638	136,398
2000	D	+31.7%	79,289	40,924	121,106
1996	R	−19.1%	39,284	60,152	109,306
1992	R	−13.0%	42,781	58,170	118,733
1988	R	−31.0%	35,780	67,949	103,882
1984	R	−39.3%	32,945	75,768	108,929
1980	R	−16.9%	38,837	55,170	96,714
1976	D	+5.4%	48,297	43,299	91,980
1972	R	−45.1%	21,295	57,394	80,002
1968	R	−29.8%	19,258	44,273	84,006
1964	D	+4.2%	43,197	39,690	82,887
1960	R	−13.8%	36,184	47,788	83,972
1956	R	−22.3%	28,994	45,669	74,663
1952	R	−16.0%	29,484	40,684	70,168
1948	R	−2.0%	22,160	23,146	49,033
1944	D	+9.4%	24,642	20,402	45,044
1940	D	+27.2%	27,548	15,767	43,315
1936	D	+23.3%	28,542	17,765	46,307
1932	D	+16.3%	22,744	16,342	39,284
1928	R	−24.5%	11,810	19,476	31,286
1924	D	+4.7%	15,530	14,128	29,871
1920	R	−6.3%	13,642	15,468	29,110
1916	R	−0.5%	6,869	6,944	13,827
1912	D	+39.0%	5,954	1,256	12,048
1908	R	−7.0%	5,380	6,187	11,604
1904	R	−1.6%	4,516	4,666	9,500
1900	R	−0.0%	4,886	4,887	10,007
1896	D	+25.5%	6,746	3,976	10,857
1892	D	+21.1%	4,884	2,837	9,684
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Demographics

2024 ACS

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

American

15.1%

German

13.7%

English

13.4%

Irish

9.2%

Scottish

2.6%

Italian

2.0%

French

0.9%

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.

2024 ACS

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 43.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.7%

85+

1.3%

2.8%

75–84

3.6%

5.6%

65–74

6.2%

7.3%

55–64

7.3%

6.7%

45–54

6.7%

5.8%

35–44

5.7%

6.1%

25–34

6.0%

4.2%

18–24

3.7%

7.8%

5–17

7.5%

2.7%

2.4%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

2024 ACS

Median household income

Inflation-adjusted dollars

$62,904

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC ranks near the middle of US counties.

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC$62,904

North Carolina$72,388

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

2024 ACS

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

13.5%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1820.6%

Working age (18–64)11.9%

Seniors (65+)10.9%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

2024 ACS

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

90.3%

speak English only

Spanish6.7%

Asian & Pacific Islander2.1%

Other Indo-European0.8%

Other languages0.1%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

2020 religion census

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Baptist

27.9%

Methodist

8.8%

Other Christian

7.6%

Mainline Protestant

6.8%

Catholic & Orthodox

6.5%

Pentecostal & Holiness

2.3%

Non-Christian

0.1%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 40.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Anchored by Catawba County's long Republican lean, this Piedmont foothills metro blends legacy furniture and fiber industries with a growing Latino workforce — a demographic shift that has slowly narrowed margins in local races without flipping the region's overall orientation.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of thirty-nine points in 1912 and a Republican high of forty-five points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved one point toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was forty-four points.

A population of 368,316, a 80% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $62,904 describe the metro.

Compare two places, side by side

Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/25860/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina vote in 2024?

In 2024, Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina voted Republican by 44.2 points (R+44), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 197,173 votes cast, 54,047 went Democratic and 141,120 went Republican.

What is Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina's political typology?

Akashic places Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina in the "Sunbelt Conservative" typology. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 11 times, Republican 23 times, and other 0 times.

When did Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.

How many people live in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina?

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina has a population of 368,316 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina?

Median household income in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina is $62,904 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.

What is the political history of Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 23 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Sunbelt Conservative" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.

Burke County, NC	R +3,257
Caldwell County, NC	R +3,027
Catawba County, NC	R +2,835

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC has voted Republican in six straight presidential elections — R+44 in 2024.

Key facts

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions