Waynesville, NC, North Carolina: Stable Rural Right metro. In 2024, voted R+25%. Democratic peak: D+57 in 1940.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+25MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 62,6622024 5-year
- Median household income
- $61,9122024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 91.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+57 in 1940MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+32 in 1972MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Waynesville, NC
TrumpR+25
Constituent county margins for Waynesville, NC, NCOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 61.8% | 23,393 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 36.8% | 13,913 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.4% | 545 |
D+60R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | +21.6% |
| 1896 | +29.1% |
| 1900 | +15.9% |
| 1904 | +18.4% |
| 1908 | +19.9% |
| 1912 | +52.1% |
| 1916 | +22.4% |
| 1920 | +17.0% |
| 1924 | +30.5% |
| 1928 | −3.5% |
| 1932 | +37.4% |
| 1936 | +42.1% |
| 1940 | +57.1% |
| 1944 | +45.3% |
| 1948 | +45.7% |
| 1952 | +17.7% |
| 1956 | +4.4% |
| 1960 | −3.2% |
| 1964 | +31.3% |
| 1968 | −3.2% |
| 1972 | −32.0% |
| 1976 | +28.9% |
| 1980 | +14.9% |
| 1984 | −12.1% |
| 1988 | +0.3% |
| 1992 | +14.7% |
| 1996 | +6.8% |
| 2000 | +10.4% |
| 2004 | −12.8% |
| 2008 | −7.8% |
| 2012 | −13.6% |
| 2016 | −27.5% |
| 2020 | −26.5% |
| 2024 | −25.0% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 13,913 | 23,393 | 37,851 | ||
| R | 13,144 | 22,834 | 36,542 | ||
| R | 10,473 | 18,929 | 30,727 | ||
| R | 11,833 | 15,633 | 27,974 | ||
| R | 12,730 | 14,910 | 28,067 | ||
| R | 11,237 | 14,545 | 25,932 | ||
| D | 12,118 | 9,793 | 22,273 | ||
| D | 9,350 | 7,995 | 20,069 | ||
| D | 10,385 | 7,292 | 21,009 | ||
| D | 9,010 | 8,957 | 18,028 | ||
| R | 7,958 | 10,146 | 18,131 | ||
| D | 9,814 | 7,217 | 17,462 | ||
| D | 10,692 | 5,885 | 16,648 | ||
| R | 4,515 | 8,903 | 13,731 | ||
| R | 5,703 | 6,205 | 15,806 | ||
| D | 10,664 | 5,575 | 16,239 | ||
| R | 8,044 | 8,583 | 16,627 | ||
| D | 7,598 | 6,955 | 14,553 | ||
| D | 8,761 | 6,124 | 14,885 | ||
| D | 7,373 | 2,684 | 10,266 | ||
| D | 7,755 | 2,919 | 10,674 | ||
| D | 8,631 | 2,357 | 10,988 | ||
| D | 8,175 | 3,331 | 11,506 | ||
| D | 6,790 | 3,082 | 9,906 | ||
| R | 4,173 | 4,472 | 8,645 | ||
| D | 4,582 | 2,440 | 7,030 | ||
| D | 4,229 | 3,000 | 7,229 | ||
| D | 2,403 | 1,523 | 3,926 | ||
| D | 2,068 | 354 | 3,289 | ||
| D | 1,952 | 1,304 | 3,258 | ||
| D | 1,631 | 1,125 | 2,756 | ||
| D | 1,735 | 1,257 | 3,011 | ||
| D | 1,901 | 1,039 | 2,967 | ||
| D | 1,525 | 959 | 2,616 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
19.2%
German
12.1%
Irish
12.1%
American
8.4%
Scottish
4.5%
Italian
3.1%
French
2.4%
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: 47.8 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.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$61,912
Waynesville, NC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Waynesville, NC$61,912
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
13.1%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.2%
Working age (18–64)12.1%
Seniors (65+)10.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.2%
speak English only
Spanish3.0%
Other Indo-European0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.2%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 38.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Waynesville anchors Haywood County, a historically Democratic mountain enclave that has trended Republican over the past two decades while remaining a hub for retirees and outdoor-economy workers who complicate simple partisan sorting.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of fifty-seven points in 1940 and a Republican high of thirty-two points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved one point toward the Democratic candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-five points.
A population of 62,662, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $61,912 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.
Waynesville, NC, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/48200/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Waynesville, NC, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Waynesville, NC, North Carolina voted Republican by 25.0 points (R+25), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 37,851 votes cast, 13,913 went Democratic and 23,393 went Republican.
What is Waynesville, NC, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Waynesville, NC, North Carolina in the "Stable Rural Right" 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 23 times, Republican 11 times, and other 0 times.
When did Waynesville, NC, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Waynesville, NC, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Waynesville, NC, North Carolina?
Waynesville, NC, North Carolina has a population of 62,662 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Waynesville, NC, North Carolina?
Median household income in Waynesville, NC, North Carolina is $61,912 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Waynesville, NC, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Waynesville, NC, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 23 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.