akashic
1876–2024
Ruston, LA·Louisiana

Ruston, LA has voted Republican in seven straight presidential elections — R+25 in 2024.

College town anchors a historically timber-dependent north Louisiana corridor

1876 — 2024·38 elections
LA
LatestR+25in 2024
TypologyBlack Beltcluster typology
Population48,1742024 ACS

Ruston, LA, Louisiana: Black Belt metro. In 2024, voted R+25%. Democratic peak: D+92 in 1896.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+25MIT Election Lab
Political typology
Black BeltAkashic typology
Population
48,1742024 5-year
Median household income
$39,1722024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
53.2%2024 5-year
Black
36.9%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
3.7%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+92 in 1896MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+43 in 1972MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Ruston, LA
TrumpR+25
—
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
Donald Trump ✓Republican61.9%11,248
Kamala HarrisDemocratic36.5%6,627
OtherAll other candidates1.6%282
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: −25.5% in 2024.flipped R · 2000−25.5%DR18762024
Presidential margin over time
YearMargin (D minus R)
1876No data
1880No data
1884No data
1888No data
1892−21.4%
1896+92.0%
1900+78.9%
1904+90.0%
1908+81.7%
1912+84.1%
1916+91.0%
1920+68.8%
1924+72.7%
1928+21.7%
1932+84.3%
1936+82.9%
1940+73.7%
1944+24.6%
1948+8.5%
1952−21.0%
1956−36.8%
1960−33.6%
1964+54.2%
1968−7.1%
1972−42.6%
1976−15.5%
1980−14.2%
1984−24.9%
1988−23.4%
1992−0.1%
1996+5.9%
2000−14.5%
2004−19.5%
2008−12.5%
2012−14.7%
2016−19.6%
2020−19.5%
2024−25.5%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−25.5%
6,62711,24818,157
R
−19.5%
7,55911,31119,275
R
−19.6%
7,10710,76118,669
R
−14.7%
7,95610,73918,993
R
−12.5%
8,29210,68019,179
R
−19.5%
7,24210,79118,218
R
−14.5%
6,8519,24616,551
D
+5.9%
7,9036,97315,855
R
−0.1%
7,2057,22016,561
R
−23.4%
5,4278,85314,657
R
−24.9%
5,4329,08714,701
R
−14.2%
5,5987,51513,470
R
−15.5%
4,9716,82811,969
R
−42.6%
2,5896,7369,741
O
−7.1%
2,0092,6438,877
D
+54.2%
5,7661,7147,480
R
−33.6%
1,0512,7665,109
R
−36.8%
1,0142,6764,520
R
−21.0%
2,0093,0745,083
O
+8.5%
6253533,201
D
+24.6%
1,7051,0322,737
D
+73.7%
2,9694493,418
D
+82.9%
2,1542012,356
D
+84.3%
1,9081632,071
D
+21.7%
1,0416701,711
D
+72.7%
1,0051571,166
D
+68.8%
9891831,172
D
+91.0%
93242978
D
+84.1%
6443762
D
+81.7%
63452712
D
+90.0%
53226562
D
+78.9%
51761578
D
+92.0%
1,241401,306
R
−21.4%
6951,0741,769
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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.
American
16.3%
English
10.9%
Irish
6.8%
German
5.8%
French
3.4%
Italian
2.1%
Scottish
2.0%
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.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 28.6 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.6%
85+
1.0%
1.7%
75–84
2.6%
3.9%
65–74
4.4%
4.5%
55–64
5.1%
4.3%
45–54
4.7%
5.0%
35–44
5.3%
6.0%
25–34
5.9%
12.7%
18–24
12.6%
7.7%
5–17
6.9%
2.7%
<5
2.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$39,172
Ruston, LA ranks near the middle of US counties.
Ruston, LA$39,172
Louisiana$60,756
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
31.2%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1834.8%
Working age (18–64)31.9%
Seniors (65+)10.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.5%
speak English only
Spanish1.8%
Other Indo-European1.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Baptist
33.5%
Other Christian
9.2%
Methodist
6.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.4%
Catholic & Orthodox
2.3%
Mainline Protestant
0.9%
Non-Christian
0.3%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 45.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Home to Louisiana Tech University, Ruston's Lincoln Parish core skews younger than surrounding rural parishes, tempering the region's otherwise lopsided Republican margins in statewide races.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of ninety-two points in 1896 and a Republican high of forty-three points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-five points.

A population of 48,174, a 53% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $39,172 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.
Ruston, LA, Louisiana. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/40820/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Ruston, LA, Louisiana vote in 2024?
In 2024, Ruston, LA, Louisiana voted Republican by 25.5 points (R+25), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 18,157 votes cast, 6,627 went Democratic and 11,248 went Republican.
What is Ruston, LA, Louisiana's political typology?
Akashic places Ruston, LA, Louisiana 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 15 times, Republican 17 times, and other 2 times.
When did Ruston, LA, Louisiana last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Ruston, LA, Louisiana voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Ruston, LA, Louisiana?
Ruston, LA, Louisiana has a population of 48,174 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Ruston, LA, Louisiana?
Median household income in Ruston, LA, Louisiana is $39,172 — below the national median of $80,734. The Louisiana state median is $60,756.
What is the political history of Ruston, LA, Louisiana?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Ruston, LA, Louisiana from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Black Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.