How did Kinston, NC vote in the 2024 presidential election?

Kinston, NC voted Republican in 2024 with a margin of R+6.8. Kamala D Harris received 12,700 votes and Donald Trump received 14,564 out of 27,503 total votes cast, a 3.3-point shift toward Republicans from 2020.

What is Kinston, NC's political history?

Kinston, NC has 40 presidential elections on record, spanning 1868 to 2024. It has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1972. The largest single-election swing was 57.0 points in 1932.

What are the demographics of Kinston, NC?

Kinston, NC has a population of 54,919 according to the 2020 Census. The racial composition is 47.3% non-Hispanic white, 8.8% Hispanic, 39.3% Black. About 16% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Median household income is $45,143.

Which places are most similar to Kinston, NC?

Based on demographic and electoral similarity analysis, the three most similar metro areas to Kinston, NC are Wilson, NC, Selma, AL, Cordele, GA. Similarity is computed using a vector embedding of demographic, economic, and electoral characteristics.

Kinston, NC

Latest: 2024↓ R+3.3 vs 2020

Leans Republican — shifted 3.3pp toward Republicans in 2024 — 55K residents — 1 counties

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POPULATION
55K
COUNTIES
1
PRES MARGIN
R+6.8
2024
TURNOUT
66.3%
MEDIAN INCOME
$45K

Place Story

What defines Kinston, NC

Methodology

Tilts Republican since 1972
- Tilt R
- 14 straight R wins
Competitive with a modest baseline — persuasion matters on the margin.
Biggest swing: D+57.0 in 1932
- 1928 → 1932
Volatile behavior — treat historical margins with caution.
Demographically distinctive: 39% Black (+27pp vs national)
- 39% Black (+27pp vs national)
- 16% college+ (-19pp vs national)
Evangelical edge: 62pp over Catholics
- 5% Catholic / 67% Evangelical
Correlates nationally with Republican-leaning behavior.
Ticket-splitting: President ran 30.6pp behind Governor
- Divergence 30.6pp in 2008
Persuadable voters present — downballot races can run independent of presidential.

Constituent Counties

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Similarity Explorer

Similar metro areas

Nearest neighbors matched on the same place-page feature set used across the dossier system.

8 visible matches

Constituent Geography

Counties in Kinston, NC

2024 presidential results across the counties that make up this geography.

Sort:

County	Pop.	Margin	Dem	Rep	Total	Share
Lenoir	55K	R+6.8	12,700	14,564	27,503	100.0%

1 countiesTotal votes: 27,503

Historian Query

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Explore Kinston, NC's political evolution with the Historian

“How has the Kinston, NC metro area voted in presidential elections?”

Race & Ancestry

Who Lives Here

A race-first Census view with ancestry expansion where source coverage is strong enough to support detail.

Kinston, NCCensus ACS 2024Ancestry detail available

Census race profile

Major Census race and ethnicity groups shown as a share of total population.

Expand rows for ancestry detail

White (Non-Hispanic) 47.3%Black 39.3%Hispanic 8.8%Multiracial 3.6%Asian 0.8%

Group	Kinston, NC	National
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13)	47.3%	57.4%
▶Black / African American(7)	39.3%	12.2%
▶Hispanic / Latino(9)	8.8%	19.3%
Multiracial / Other	3.6%	4.0%
▶Asian(6)	0.8%	6.0%
▶Native American / Alaska Native(2)	0.3%	0.9%
▶Middle Eastern / North African(5)	0.1%	0.9%
▶Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander(1)	0.1%	0.2%

Method notes

Census treats race and Hispanic/Latino origin as separate questions. Race categories other than Hispanic reflect total populations (small Hispanic overlap in Black, Asian, AIAN, NHPI). “Multiracial / Other” is derived as a non-overlapping remainder.

Click rows to expand ancestry detail. Ancestry from ACS B04006, B03001, B02020, B02016. Totals may differ from race — individuals can report multiple ancestries.

Black / African American (estimated remainder) is derived as Black population share minus reported Sub-Saharan African and West Indian ancestry. It is shown as an estimated ancestry detail, not a standalone Census ancestry category.

MENA estimated from ancestry reporting — Census does not have a separate MENA race category. Not shown in bar (overlaps with other race groups).

Religious Adherents

Population that are religious adherents:

54.4%(29.9K people)

U.S. Religion Census 2020

Browse all religions

Catholic-Evangelical edge: -66.6pp (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
Evangelical Protestant	36.3%	66.7%	—	—
Mainline Protestant	7.6%	13.9%	—	—
Black Protestant	5.5%	10.1%	—	—
Other	2.6%	4.8%	—	—
Catholic	2.5%	4.5%	—	—
LDS (Mormon)	1.8%	3.3%	—	—
Non-religiousPopulation	45.6%	—	—	—

Click the chevron to expand denominations. Tradition and denomination rows label both share of total population and share of all religious adherents. Non-religious is shown as a share of total population only.

Explore Evangelical Protestant adherence nationally

Who lives in the Kinston, NC metro area? 54,919 residents across 1 counties.

Demographic Comparison

Demographics

Read this geography's profile in three layers: local, state (where available), and national baseline.

Kinston, NC vs National55K residents

16% of adults hold a bachelor's degree — 17pp below the national average. Places with similar education levels vote R+22 on average nationally.

Population & electorate

Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.

Total population

Local vs state vs U.S.

55K

local

55KNational 334.9M

Share of U.S. population

Local vs state vs U.S.

0.02%

local

0.02%National 100%

Voting-age population

Local vs state vs U.S.

75.5%

local

75.5%National 75.7%

Economic profile

Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.

Median household income

Local vs state vs U.S.

$45,143

local

$45,143National $83,960

Poverty rate

Local vs state vs U.S.

21.9%

local

21.9%National 12.5%

College degree

Local vs state vs U.S.

16.4%

local

16.4%National 35.6%

Homeownership

Local vs state vs U.S.

59.2%

local

59.2%National 65.2%

Community profile

Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.

Median age

Local vs state vs U.S.

41.9 yrs

local

41.9 yrsNational 39.1 yrs

Age 18–29

Local vs state vs U.S.

13.6%

local

13.6%National 15.7%

Age 65+

Local vs state vs U.S.

21.5%

local

21.5%National 17.0%

Foreign born

Local vs state vs U.S.

4.4%

local

4.4%National 14.1%

Non-English at home

Local vs state vs U.S.

8.3%

local

8.3%National 22.2%

English only

Local vs state vs U.S.

91.7%

local

91.7%National 77.8%

Voter Turnout

Turnout in Kinston, NC

Estimated using 2020 Census voting-age population.

2024 Turnout

66.3%

vs Previous

-2.2pp

Voting-Age Pop

41,464

History

1988–2024

Competitiveness

How competitive is Kinston, NC?

Tilt RAvg margin: R+4.6 (last 3 elections)

2008

R+0.1

2012

R+0.1

2016

R+3.7

2020

R+3.5

2024

R+6.8

Elasticity

6.7pp

margin range

Party Flips

last 30 years

5-Elec Avg

R+2.8

Ticket-Splitting

Do voters in Kinston, NC split their tickets?

Divergence between offices in the same election reveals persuadable voters.

ConsistencyHeavy splitting (42/100)

2024 Office Comparisons

Offices	Margin A	Margin B	Split
President vs Governor	R+6.8	D+6.7	13.5pp

Average divergence across office pairs: 11.2pp

Containing Geography

Located In

Kinston, NC sits inside these higher-level geographies.

North Carolina(State)

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