akashic
1876–2024
Emporia, KS·Kansas

Emporia, KS delivered R+18 in 2024.

A small-city core where rural Kansas voting patterns hold firm

1876 — 2024·38 elections
KS
Latest
R+18
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
34,747
2024 ACS

Emporia, KS, Kansas: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted R+18%. Republican peak: R+51 in 1928.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+18MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
BellwetherAkashic typology
Population
34,7472024 5-year
Median household income
$59,6592024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
72.8%2024 5-year
Black
1.4%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
23.0%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+23 in 1912MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+51 in 1928MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
2 counties · 0 D · 2 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−18.2%
5,8638,55214,776
R
−14.7%
6,4008,67315,479
R
−18.5%
4,9657,52113,841
R
−14.3%
5,4697,34513,146
R
−9.6%
6,3077,67414,295
R
−22.4%
5,6529,00614,941
R
−13.9%
5,5817,50013,772
R
−13.6%
5,3807,39014,771
R
−2.6%
5,2815,70016,341
R
−13.4%
5,8527,70413,792
R
−40.6%
4,58110,95815,691
R
−27.3%
5,0939,50416,154
R
−11.4%
6,2777,98415,029
R
−42.9%
4,03510,34114,700
R
−23.8%
4,4827,59613,104
D
+7.5%
7,0836,08613,255
R
−23.0%
5,4638,74614,258
R
−37.3%
4,3609,57413,997
R
−39.6%
4,45710,35914,902
R
−4.9%
6,6697,37314,306
R
−9.3%
5,9827,22013,316
R
−7.7%
7,5148,78916,457
D
+8.5%
9,0467,61516,750
D
+3.4%
8,0687,52915,987
R
−50.7%
3,50010,83214,451
R
−33.2%
3,5088,11213,884
R
−25.3%
4,2077,15111,617
D
+11.8%
7,1685,57113,536
D
+23.5%
3,1751,4387,398
R
−7.7%
3,3963,9947,769
R
−35.5%
2,0234,6677,444
R
−4.2%
3,8214,1678,144
D
+7.3%
4,2573,6728,044
O
−49.8%
03,5957,225
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Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
21.0%
Irish
9.1%
English
8.1%
American
3.7%
Scottish
2.2%
French
2.0%
Italian
1.6%
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.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 34.0 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.4%
85+
1.4%
2.3%
75–84
2.5%
4.9%
65–74
5.2%
5.7%
55–64
5.8%
4.8%
45–54
4.9%
5.9%
35–44
5.3%
6.6%
25–34
6.1%
7.3%
18–24
8.8%
8.3%
5–17
8.1%
2.8%
<5
2.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$59,659
Emporia, KS ranks near the middle of US counties.
Emporia, KS$59,659
Kansas$74,275
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
14.1%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.8%
Working age (18–64)14.3%
Seniors (65+)6.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
84.1%
speak English only
Spanish14.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
Other Indo-European0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
13.0%
Methodist
9.2%
Other Christian
7.9%
Mainline Protestant
5.6%
Pentecostal & Holiness
4.2%
Baptist
3.8%
Non-Christian
0.3%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 56.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Emporia anchors Lyon County, a former swing pocket that has shifted decisively Republican over the past two decades as its meatpacking and university workforce has aged and ruralized in political outlook.

The Democratic margin in Emporia, KS has rarely exceeded twenty-three points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded fifty-one points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Republican candidate by eighteen points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 73% non-Hispanic-white share, a 14% poverty rate, and a median household income of $59,659 — all within the broad national range.

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.
Emporia, KS, Kansas. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/21380/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Emporia, KS, Kansas vote in 2024?
In 2024, Emporia, KS, Kansas voted Republican by 18.2 points (R+18), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 14,776 votes cast, 5,863 went Democratic and 8,552 went Republican.
What is Emporia, KS, Kansas's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Emporia, KS, Kansas as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 6 times, Republican 27 times, and other 1 times.
When did Emporia, KS, Kansas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Emporia, KS, Kansas voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Emporia, KS, Kansas?
Emporia, KS, Kansas has a population of 34,747 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Emporia, KS, Kansas?
Median household income in Emporia, KS, Kansas is $59,659 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kansas state median is $74,275.
What is the political history of Emporia, KS, Kansas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Emporia, KS, Kansas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.