akashic
1876–2024
Kinston, NC·North Carolina

Kinston, NC has voted Republican in six straight presidential elections — R+7 in 2024.

Lenoir County's tobacco-belt city where rural realignment reshaped margins

1876 — 2024·38 elections
NC
LatestR+7in 2024
TypologyBlack Beltcluster typology
Population54,9192024 ACS

Kinston, NC, North Carolina: Black Belt metro. In 2024, voted R+7%. Democratic peak: D+89 in 1936.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+7MIT Election Lab
Political typology
Black BeltAkashic typology
Population
54,9192024 5-year
Median household income
$45,1432024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
49.5%2024 5-year
Black
39.3%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
8.8%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+89 in 1936MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+49 in 1972MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Kinston, NC
TrumpR+7
—
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
Donald Trump ✓Republican53.0%14,564
Kamala HarrisDemocratic46.2%12,700
OtherAll other candidates0.9%239
D+60
R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over timeDemocratic-minus-Republican presidential margin from 1876 to 2024. Most recent: −6.8% in 2024.flipped R · 2004−6.8%DR18762024
Presidential margin over time
YearMargin (D minus R)
1876No data
1880No data
1884No data
1888No data
1892+15.4%
1896+16.5%
1900+22.7%
1904+34.5%
1908+18.1%
1912+71.0%
1916+42.8%
1920+37.9%
1924+61.4%
1928+28.6%
1932+85.7%
1936+88.7%
1940+86.8%
1944+80.9%
1948+80.2%
1952+50.1%
1956+45.5%
1960+37.9%
1964+15.1%
1968+0.1%
1972−49.4%
1976−0.4%
1980−12.9%
1984−21.7%
1988−16.5%
1992−0.7%
1996−4.2%
2000+9.4%
2004−11.8%
2008−0.1%
2012−0.1%
2016−3.7%
2020−3.5%
2024−6.8%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−6.8%
12,70014,56427,503
R
−3.5%
13,60514,59028,409
R
−3.7%
12,63413,61326,807
R
−0.1%
13,94813,98028,086
R
−0.1%
13,37813,40126,897
R
−11.8%
10,20712,93923,179
D
+9.4%
11,5129,52721,163
R
−4.2%
8,6359,43318,925
R
−0.7%
8,7938,93219,842
R
−16.5%
7,64910,66918,353
R
−21.7%
8,55613,32121,914
R
−12.9%
7,5469,83217,714
R
−0.4%
7,6507,71515,474
R
−49.4%
3,67211,06514,975
O
+0.1%
3,8533,84415,733
D
+15.1%
7,6175,61713,234
D
+37.9%
8,1263,65811,784
D
+45.5%
6,8472,5649,411
D
+50.1%
6,7232,2338,956
D
+80.2%
5,4455156,150
D
+80.9%
5,2535545,807
D
+86.8%
6,2474406,687
D
+88.7%
5,8543516,205
D
+85.7%
4,6773505,051
D
+28.6%
2,3631,3113,674
D
+61.4%
2,1915142,730
D
+37.9%
2,5601,1533,713
D
+42.8%
1,6666672,335
D
+71.0%
1,5681222,037
D
+18.1%
1,3939662,362
D
+34.5%
1,3866742,061
D
+22.7%
1,9421,2243,166
D
+16.5%
1,9661,4103,378
D
+15.4%
1,3889572,800
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No data
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Demographics

2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
12.3%
American
8.4%
Irish
5.5%
German
5.0%
Scottish
1.1%
Italian
0.8%
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: 41.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
1.1%
85+
1.7%
2.4%
75–84
3.7%
5.7%
65–74
6.8%
6.6%
55–64
7.5%
5.3%
45–54
6.1%
5.4%
35–44
5.8%
5.5%
25–34
5.8%
4.0%
18–24
3.9%
8.5%
5–17
8.2%
3.3%
<5
2.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$45,143
Kinston, NC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Kinston, NC$45,143
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
22.0%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1830.3%
Working age (18–64)19.6%
Seniors (65+)18.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.7%
speak English only
Spanish7.4%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other Indo-European0.2%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Other Christian
24.3%
Baptist
13.1%
Methodist
5.8%
Pentecostal & Holiness
4.6%
Mainline Protestant
3.8%
Catholic & Orthodox
2.5%
Non-Christian
0.2%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 45.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Kinston anchors a historically Democratic tobacco-farming corridor that has shifted sharply toward Republicans over the past two decades, mirroring broader rural realignment patterns across eastern North Carolina's Black Belt counties.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of eighty-nine points in 1936 and a Republican high of forty-nine points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was seven points.

A population of 54,919, a 50% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $45,143 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.
Kinston, NC, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/28820/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Kinston, NC, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Kinston, NC, North Carolina voted Republican by 6.8 points (R+7), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 27,503 votes cast, 12,700 went Democratic and 14,564 went Republican.
What is Kinston, NC, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Kinston, NC, North Carolina in the "Black Belt" 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 20 times, Republican 13 times, and other 1 times.
When did Kinston, NC, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Kinston, NC, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Kinston, NC, North Carolina?
Kinston, NC, North Carolina has a population of 54,919 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Kinston, NC, North Carolina?
Median household income in Kinston, NC, North Carolina is $45,143 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Kinston, NC, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Kinston, NC, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 20 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Black Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.