Ruston, LA
Latest: 2024
Safe Republican — shifted 6.0pp toward Republicans in 2024 — 48K residents — 1 counties
Race & ancestry
| Group | % |
|---|---|
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13) | 52.7% |
▶Hispanic / Latino(8) | 3.7% |
▶Black / African American(4) | 36.9% |
▶Asian(6) | 1.3% |
▶Middle Eastern / North African(3) | 0.6% |
▶Native American / Alaska Native(1) | 0.8% |
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander | 0.1% |
Multiracial / Other | 4.5% |
Religious adherence
| Tradition | % Pop | % Adherents |
|---|---|---|
| Evangelical Protestant | 38.3% | 69.8% |
| Mainline Protestant | 6.4% | 11.7% |
| Black Protestant | 5.8% | 10.7% |
| Catholic | 2.3% | 4.2% |
| Other | 2.0% | 3.7% |
| LDS (Mormon) | 0.8% | 1.5% |
| Non-religious | 45.2% | — |
Presidential results
| Year | Result |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Trump+25.5 |
| 2020 | Trump+19.5 |
| 2016 | Trump+19.6 |
| 2012 | Romney+14.7 |
| 2008 | McCain+12.5 |
| 2004 | Bush+19.5 |
| 2000 | Bush+14.5 |
| 1996 | Clinton+5.9 |
| 1992 | Bush+0.1 |
Ruston, LA is a metro area that has a population of 48,174. In the 2024 presidential election, it voted Republican with a margin of R+25.5. Akashic Edge tracks 38 presidential elections here, dating back to 1876.
| Year | Dem % | Rep % | Margin | Swing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 36.5% | 61.9% | R+25.5 | R+6.0 |
| 2020 | 39.2% | 58.7% | R+19.5 | D+0.1 |
| 2016 | 38.1% | 57.6% | R+19.6 | R+4.9 |
| 2012 | 41.9% | 56.5% | R+14.7 | R+2.2 |
| 2008 | 43.2% | 55.7% | R+12.5 | D+7.0 |
| 2004 | 39.8% | 59.2% | R+19.5 | R+5.0 |
| 2000 | 41.4% | 55.9% | R+14.5 | R+20.3 |
| 1996 | 49.8% | 44.0% | D+5.9 | D+6.0 |
| 1992 | 43.5% | 43.6% | R+0.1 | D+23.3 |
| 1988 | 37.0% | 60.4% | R+23.4 | D+1.5 |
| 1984 | 36.9% | 61.8% | R+24.9 | R+10.6 |
| 1980 | 41.6% | 55.8% | R+14.2 | D+1.3 |
| 1976 | 41.5% | 57.0% | R+15.5 | D+27.1 |
| 1972 | 26.6% | 69.2% | R+42.6 | R+35.4 |
| 1968 | 22.6% | 29.8% | R+7.1 | D+47.0 |
| 1964 | 22.9% | 77.1% | R+54.2 | R+20.6 |
| 1960 | 20.6% | 54.1% | R+33.6 | D+3.2 |
| 1956 | 22.4% | 59.2% | R+36.8 | R+15.8 |
| 1952 | 39.5% | 60.5% | R+21.0 | R+29.4 |
| 1948 | 19.5% | 11.0% | D+8.5 | — |
What defines Ruston, LA?
It has a racially mixed, moderately educated electorate — the suburban swing demographic that decides close elections.
Constituent Counties
Similar metro areas
Nearest neighbors matched on the same place-page feature set used across the dossier system.
Counties in Ruston, LA
2024 presidential results across the counties that make up this geography.
Sort:
| County | Pop. | Margin | Dem | Rep | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | 48K | R+25.4 | 6,627 | 11,248 | 18,157 | 100.0% |
1 countiesTotal votes: 18,157
Ask the Historian
Explore Ruston, LA's political evolution with the Historian
Key Insights
High-confidence patterns distilled from this geography's election history.
- Has voted Republican in the last 5 presidential elections
- Latest election (2024) was a Republican landslide with a 25.5% margin
- Turnout decreased by 3.3 percentage points since the previous presidential election
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 | Ruston, LA | National |
|---|---|---|
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13) | 52.7% | 57.4% |
▶Black / African American(4) | 36.9% | 12.2% |
Multiracial / Other | 4.5% | 4.0% |
▶Hispanic / Latino(8) | 3.7% | 19.3% |
▶Asian(6) | 1.3% | 6.0% |
▶Native American / Alaska Native(1) | 0.8% | 0.9% |
▶Middle Eastern / North African(3) | 0.6% | 0.9% |
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.2% |
Method notes
Religious Adherents
Population that are religious adherents:
54.8%
Catholic-Evangelical edge: -70.1pp (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38.3% | 69.8% | — | — | |
| 6.4% | 11.7% | — | — | |
| 5.8% | 10.7% | — | — | |
| 2.3% | 4.2% | — | — | |
| 2.0% | 3.7% | — | — | |
LDS (Mormon) | 0.8% | 1.5% | — | — |
Non-religiousPopulation | 45.2% | — | — | — |
Who lives in the Ruston, LA metro area? 48,174 residents across 1 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
48K
Share of U.S. population
0.01%
Voting-age population
70.7%
Economic profile
Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.
Median household income
$39,172
Poverty rate
31.2%
College degree
36.2%
Homeownership
53.8%
Community profile
Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.
Median age
28.6 yrs
Age 18–29
31.8%
Age 65+
14.3%
Foreign born
3.2%
Non-English at home
4.5%
English only
95.5%
Turnout in Ruston, LA
Estimated using 2020 Census voting-age population.
53.3%
-3.3pp
34,077
1988–2024
How competitive is Ruston, LA?
Safe RAvg margin: R+21.5 (last 3 elections)
2008
R+12.5
2012
R+14.7
2016
R+19.6
2020
R+19.5
2024
R+25.5
13.0pp
1
R+18.3
Do voters in Ruston, LA split their tickets?
Divergence between offices in the same election reveals persuadable voters.
Heavy splitting (36/100)
| Offices | Margin A | Margin B | Split |
|---|---|---|---|
| President vs Senate | R+19.5 | R+44.2 | 24.8pp |
Average divergence across office pairs: 12.1pp
Located In
Ruston, LA sits inside these higher-level geographies.
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