Columbus, OH
Latest: 2024
Competitive — shifted 3.2pp toward Republicans in 2024 — 2.7M residents — 22 counties
Race & ancestry
| Group | % |
|---|---|
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13) | 72.4% |
▶Hispanic / Latino(18) | 4.9% |
▶Black / African American(14) | 13.6% |
▶Asian(6) | 4.3% |
▶Middle Eastern / North African(10) | 0.8% |
▶Native American / Alaska Native(1) | 0.2% |
Multiracial / Other | 4.6% |
Religious adherence
| Tradition | % Pop | % Adherents |
|---|---|---|
| Evangelical Protestant | 18.5% | 44.7% |
| Catholic | 10.2% | 24.6% |
| Mainline Protestant | 7.1% | 17.2% |
| Other | 3.9% | 9.4% |
| Black Protestant | 1.3% | 3.2% |
| LDS (Mormon) | 0.7% | 1.7% |
| Orthodox Christian | 0.4% | 1.0% |
| Non-religious | 58.6% | — |
Presidential results
| Year | Result |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Trump+3.2 |
| 2020 | Biden+0.0 |
| 2016 | Trump+1.9 |
| 2012 | Obama+4.5 |
| 2008 | Obama+3.4 |
| 2004 | Bush+6.2 |
| 2000 | Bush+10.2 |
| 1996 | Dole+1.3 |
| 1992 | Bush+5.6 |
Columbus, OH is a media market that has a population of 2,673,185. In the 2024 presidential election, it voted Republican with a margin of R+3.2. Akashic Edge tracks 40 presidential elections here, dating back to 1868.
| Year | Dem % | Rep % | Margin | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 47.9% | 51.1% | R+3.2 | R+3.2 |
| 2020 | 49.2% | 49.2% | Even | D+1.9 |
| 2016 | 45.5% | 47.4% | R+1.9 | R+6.4 |
| 2012 | 51.3% | 46.8% | D+4.5 | D+1.1 |
| 2008 | 50.8% | 47.4% | D+3.4 | D+9.6 |
| 2004 | 46.6% | 52.8% | R+6.2 | D+4.0 |
| 2000 | 43.1% | 53.3% | R+10.2 | R+8.9 |
| 1996 | 44.3% | 45.7% | R+1.3 | D+4.3 |
| 1992 | 36.5% | 42.2% | R+5.6 | D+19.1 |
| 1988 | 37.2% | 61.9% | R+24.7 | D+10.7 |
| 1984 | 31.5% | 66.9% | R+35.4 | R+16.4 |
| 1980 | 37.1% | 56.0% | R+19.0 | R+7.5 |
| 1976 | 43.0% | 54.5% | R+11.5 | D+22.2 |
| 1972 | 31.9% | 65.6% | R+33.7 | R+16.4 |
| 1968 | 34.8% | 52.0% | R+17.2 | R+29.8 |
| 1964 | 56.3% | 43.7% | D+12.6 | D+36.0 |
| 1960 | 38.3% | 61.7% | R+23.5 | D+9.2 |
| 1956 | 33.7% | 66.3% | R+32.6 | R+8.5 |
| 1952 | 38.0% | 62.0% | R+24.1 | R+15.3 |
| 1948 | 45.4% | 54.1% | R+8.8 | — |
What defines Columbus, OH?
Columbus, OH has flipped between parties in each of the last three elections — a fiercely contested battleground. It has a moderately diverse, middle-class electorate where education levels and suburban growth shape the partisan balance.
Constituent Counties
Similar media markets
Nearest neighbors matched on the same place-page feature set used across the dossier system.
Kansas City
Small-town rural republican 3
Indianapolis
Small-town rural republican 3
Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville)
Educated rural competitive
Milwaukee
Educated rural competitive
Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News
Educated rural competitive
Richmond-Petersburg
Educated rural competitive
Des Moines-Ames
Small-town rural republican 3
Seattle-Tacoma
Educated rural democratic
Counties in Columbus, OH
2024 presidential results across the counties that make up this geography.
Sort:
| County | Pop. | Margin | Dem | Rep | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | 1.3M | D+28.4 | 380,518 | 210,830 | 598,225 | 47.1% |
| Delaware | 227K | R+6.6 | 61,657 | 70,448 | 133,392 | 10.5% |
| Licking | 182K | R+30.0 | 32,832 | 61,359 | 95,060 | 7.5% |
| Fairfield | 163K | R+24.0 | 31,695 | 51,999 | 84,457 | 6.6% |
| Ross | 76K | R+39.3 | 9,846 | 22,801 | 32,932 | 2.6% |
| Union | 67K | R+29.6 | 12,934 | 23,982 | 37,301 | 2.9% |
| Marion | 65K | R+41.4 | 7,902 | 19,219 | 27,359 | 2.2% |
| Knox | 63K | R+44.9 | 8,698 | 23,112 | 32,104 | 2.5% |
| Athens | 62K | D+10.7 | 14,134 | 11,369 | 25,776 | 2.0% |
| Pickaway | 60K | R+48.5 | 7,397 | 21,607 | 29,280 | 2.3% |
| Madison | 44K | R+43.7 | 5,713 | 14,737 | 20,669 | 1.6% |
| Crawford | 42K | R+53.0 | 4,683 | 15,402 | 20,245 | 1.6% |
| Guernsey | 38K | R+52.0 | 4,154 | 13,314 | 17,601 | 1.4% |
| Coshocton | 37K | R+52.2 | 3,835 | 12,362 | 16,337 | 1.3% |
| Perry | 36K | R+54.5 | 3,800 | 13,062 | 16,992 | 1.3% |
| Morrow | 35K | R+55.7 | 4,100 | 14,609 | 18,857 | 1.5% |
| Hardin | 30K | R+54.7 | 2,863 | 9,911 | 12,893 | 1.0% |
| Fayette | 29K | R+55.1 | 2,773 | 9,706 | 12,571 | 1.0% |
| Hocking | 28K | R+44.3 | 3,704 | 9,679 | 13,489 | 1.1% |
| Pike | 27K | R+53.7 | 2,793 | 9,352 | 12,218 | 1.0% |
| Noble | 14K | R+64.6 | 1,069 | 5,050 | 6,161 | 0.5% |
| Morgan | 14K | R+53.2 | 1,560 | 5,168 | 6,782 | 0.5% |
22 countiesTotal votes: 1,270,701
Ask the Historian
Explore Columbus, OH's political evolution with the Historian
Key Insights
High-confidence patterns distilled from this geography's election history.
- The 2020 election was decided by just 0.0 points — razor-thin
- Split-ticket voting in 2024: Different parties won President and Senate
- Won by both parties in recent history — Democrats most recently in 2020, Republicans in 2024
Who Lives Here
A race-first Census view with ancestry expansion where source coverage is strong enough to support detail.
Census race profile
Major Census race and ethnicity groups shown as a share of total population.
| Group | Columbus, OH | National |
|---|---|---|
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13) | 72.4% | 57.4% |
▶Black / African American(14) | 13.6% | 12.2% |
▶Hispanic / Latino(18) | 4.9% | 19.3% |
Multiracial / Other | 4.6% | 4.0% |
▶Asian(6) | 4.3% | 6.0% |
▶Middle Eastern / North African(10) | 0.8% | 0.9% |
▶Native American / Alaska Native(1) | 0.2% | 0.9% |
Method notes
Religious Adherents
Population that are religious adherents:
41.4%
Catholic-Evangelical edge: -24.5pp (vs national 4.5pp). A strongly Evangelical-leaning religious profile, which nationally correlates with Republican-leaning rural and exurban communities.
| Tradition | % Pop | % Adherents | US Pop | US Adherents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18.5% | 44.7% | — | — | |
| 10.2% | 24.6% | — | — | |
| 7.1% | 17.2% | — | — | |
| 3.9% | 9.4% | — | — | |
| 1.3% | 3.2% | — | — | |
LDS (Mormon) | 0.7% | 1.7% | — | — |
| 0.4% | 1.0% | — | — | |
Non-religiousPopulation | 58.6% | — | — | — |
Who lives in the Columbus, OH media market? 2,673,185 residents across 22 counties.
Demographics
Read this geography's profile in three layers: local, state (where available), and national baseline.
Population & electorate
Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.
Total population
2.7M
Share of U.S. population
0.80%
Voting-age population
74.2%
Economic profile
Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.
Median household income
$79,284
Poverty rate
13.0%
College degree
36.2%
Homeownership
63.0%
Community profile
Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.
Median age
37.5 yrs
Age 18–29
16.4%
Age 65+
15.2%
Foreign born
8.4%
Non-English at home
11.3%
English only
88.7%
Turnout in Columbus, OH
Estimated using 2020 Census voting-age population.
64.1%
-0.9pp
1,983,818
1988–2024
How competitive is Columbus, OH?
TossupAvg margin: R+1.7 (last 3 elections)
2008
D+3.4
2012
D+4.5
2016
R+1.9
2020
D+0.0
2024
R+3.2
7.7pp
4
D+0.6
Do voters in Columbus, OH split their tickets?
Divergence between offices in the same election reveals persuadable voters.
Heavy splitting (28/100)
| Offices | Margin A | Margin B | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| President vs Senate | R+3.2 | D+3.9 | 7.1pp |
Average divergence across office pairs: 13.3pp
Located In
Columbus, OH sits inside these higher-level geographies.
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