Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania: Industrial Catholic Metro market. In 2024, voted R+24%. Republican peak: R+34 in 1924.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+24MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 1,508,9062024 5-year
- Median household income
- $67,5192024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 4.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 9.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+31 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+34 in 1924MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn
TrumpR+24
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 61.7% | 478,752 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 37.2% | 288,859 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.1% | 8,341 |
D+60R+60
17 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
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | +3.5% |
| 1896 | −11.8% |
| 1900 | −6.8% |
| 1904 | −27.4% |
| 1908 | −11.4% |
| 1912 | +24.4% |
| 1916 | −5.0% |
| 1920 | −27.4% |
| 1924 | −33.6% |
| 1928 | −16.9% |
| 1932 | +1.4% |
| 1936 | +9.3% |
| 1940 | +3.6% |
| 1944 | −4.1% |
| 1948 | −9.6% |
| 1952 | −16.6% |
| 1956 | −22.3% |
| 1960 | −0.6% |
| 1964 | +30.9% |
| 1968 | −1.1% |
| 1972 | −27.5% |
| 1976 | +1.6% |
| 1980 | −14.1% |
| 1984 | −20.3% |
| 1988 | −13.7% |
| 1992 | −2.0% |
| 1996 | +3.6% |
| 2000 | −3.9% |
| 2004 | −8.7% |
| 2008 | +1.2% |
| 2012 | −3.7% |
| 2016 | −24.4% |
| 2020 | −20.9% |
| 2024 | −24.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 288,859 | 478,752 | 775,952 | ||
| R | 293,799 | 451,440 | 754,604 | ||
| R | 236,644 | 398,321 | 662,939 | ||
| R | 286,337 | 308,956 | 606,505 | ||
| D | 326,142 | 318,460 | 652,572 | ||
| R | 288,262 | 344,028 | 638,058 | ||
| R | 258,147 | 280,068 | 559,638 | ||
| D | 232,328 | 213,720 | 513,938 | ||
| R | 217,684 | 228,750 | 561,203 | ||
| R | 216,234 | 285,642 | 505,997 | ||
| R | 210,549 | 318,653 | 533,625 | ||
| R | 214,102 | 289,500 | 536,394 | ||
| D | 275,173 | 266,171 | 549,677 | ||
| R | 194,896 | 346,206 | 549,409 | ||
| R | 270,012 | 276,177 | 577,478 | ||
| D | 391,445 | 205,867 | 599,912 | ||
| R | 330,022 | 334,096 | 665,205 | ||
| R | 235,003 | 370,410 | 607,149 | ||
| R | 257,463 | 360,528 | 619,875 | ||
| R | 232,439 | 282,688 | 521,345 | ||
| R | 258,157 | 280,067 | 539,998 | ||
| D | 333,126 | 309,824 | 644,904 | ||
| D | 370,834 | 307,079 | 686,447 | ||
| D | 227,954 | 221,370 | 460,858 | ||
| R | 229,022 | 322,812 | 553,681 | ||
| R | 92,327 | 215,085 | 365,284 | ||
| R | 114,492 | 206,711 | 336,510 | ||
| R | 96,643 | 107,373 | 214,646 | ||
| O | 77,899 | 27,325 | 207,665 | ||
| R | 94,715 | 120,335 | 225,283 | ||
| R | 71,442 | 129,064 | 210,584 | ||
| R | 94,363 | 108,601 | 210,832 | ||
| R | 91,093 | 116,572 | 215,568 | ||
| D | 87,365 | 81,264 | 176,100 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
21.8%
Irish
15.3%
Italian
11.5%
Polish
8.9%
English
7.8%
American
4.6%
French
1.0%
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: 43.1 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
$67,519
Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn ranks near the middle of US counties.
Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn$67,519
Pennsylvania$77,971
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 1818.6%
Working age (18–64)11.6%
Seniors (65+)11.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
90.4%
speak English only
Spanish6.0%
Other Indo-European2.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other languages0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 54.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Anchored by the deindustrialized Wyoming Valley and the Lackawanna County seat, this Northeastern Pennsylvania media market has shifted sharply rightward in presidential cycles while retaining competitive down-ballot races driven by union household legacy and Catholic voter density.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of thirty-one points in 1964 and a Republican high of thirty-four points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the market moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was twenty-four points.
A population of 1,508,906, a 83% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $67,519 describe the market.
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.
Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania. Akashic. https://akashic.app/dma/577/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania vote in 2024?
In 2024, Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania voted Republican by 24.5 points (R+24), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 775,952 votes cast, 288,859 went Democratic and 478,752 went Republican.
What is Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania's political typology?
Akashic places Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" 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 market has voted Democratic 8 times, Republican 25 times, and other 1 times.
When did Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania?
Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania has a population of 1,508,906 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania?
Median household income in Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania is $67,519 — below the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.
What is the political history of Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn, Pennsylvania from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 8 went Democratic and 25 went Republican. The market's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.