2024 presidential election
Shelby
TrumpR+1.9
Constituent county margins for Shelby, NCOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
| Donald Trump ✓Republican | 50.4% | 5,239 |
|---|---|---|
| Kamala HarrisDemocratic | 48.5% | 5,041 |
| OtherAll other candidates | 1.1% | 119 |
D+60R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 2008–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 2008 | +2.6% |
| 2012 | +7.0% |
| 2016 | +1.5% |
| 2020 | −0.5% |
| 2024 | −1.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
5 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 5,041 | 5,239 | 10,399 | ||
| R | 5,253 | 5,309 | 10,695 | ||
| D | 4,744 | 4,600 | 9,651 | ||
| D | 5,231 | 4,543 | 9,774 | ||
| D | 5,001 | 4,743 | 9,868 |
Demographics
Demographic profile
Demographic Profile
Key indicators compared across containing geographies
| Indicator | ShelbyCity | North CarolinaState | United StatesNation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Race & Ethnicity | |||
| White | 55.6% | 61.8% | 61.0% |
| Black | 31.3% | 20.3% | 12.2% |
| Asian | 0.9% | 3.3% | 6.0% |
| Two or more races | 9.8% | 8.2% | 12.6% |
| Other race | 2.2% | 6.4% | 8.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 4.8% | 11.3% | 19.3% |
| Income & Age | |||
| Median household income | $48,376 | $72,388 | $84,427 |
| Poverty rate | 17.6% | 13.1% | 12.5% |
| Median age | 39.3 | 39.5 | 39.1 |
| Age 18–24 | 8.7% | 9.5% | 9.2% |
| Age 65 and older | 18.9% | 17.2% | 17.2% |
| Education & Language | |||
| Bachelor's degree or higher (25+) | 26.6% | 35.7% | 35.7% |
| Speaks a non-English language at home | 4.2% | 13.5% | 22.3% |
| Spanish | 3.0% | 8.7% | 13.6% |
| Ancestry | |||
| Largest ancestry | American 20.9% | English 12.7% | German 12.5% |
| 2nd-largest ancestry | English 11.1% | German 9.4% | English 9.5% |
| 3rd-largest ancestry | German 8.2% | Irish 8.4% | Irish 9.4% |
| Religion | |||
| Catholic | 2.9%County context | 8.9% | 18.6% |
| Evangelical Protestant | 44.2%County context | 26.5% | 16.5% |
| Unaffiliated or unclaimed | 39.4%County context | 48.0% | 51.5% |
| Mainline Protestant | 6.4%County context | 9.1% | 5.2% |
| Black Protestant | 5.4%County context | 3.6% | 2.2% |
ACS values are survey estimates and may include margins of error.
Religion data may be available only at county or larger geographies. Sub-county values are labeled when inherited, modeled, or contextual.
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
20.9%
English
11.1%
German
8.2%
Irish
8.2%
Scottish
2.0%
Italian
1.3%
French
1.2%
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: 39.3 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
$48,376
Shelby$48,376
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
17.6%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1825.0%
Working age (18–64)13.9%
Seniors (65+)16.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
95.8%
speak English only
Spanish3.0%
Other Indo-European0.5%
French (incl. Cajun & Haitian)0.2%
German or other West Germanic0.2%
Chinese (incl. Mandarin & Cantonese)0.1%
Other Asian & Pacific Island0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Unaffiliated or not counted39.4%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. The unaffiliated-or-not-counted share is everyone not claimed as an adherent by any reporting body — uncounted congregations as well as the religiously unaffiliated.
Shelby sits in the Carolinas. In 2024 it voted Republican.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 7.0 points in 2012 and a Republican high of 1.9 points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the city moved 1.4 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 1.9 points.
A population of 22,100, a 56% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $48,376 describe the city.
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.
Shelby, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/city/3761200/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Shelby, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Shelby, North Carolina voted Republican by 1.9 points (R+1.9), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 10,399 votes cast, 5,041 went Democratic and 5,239 went Republican.
What is Shelby, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Shelby, North Carolina in the "" 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 5 elections in the dataset, the city has voted Democratic 3 times, Republican 2 times, and other 0 times.
When did Shelby, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Shelby, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2016.
How many people live in Shelby, North Carolina?
Shelby, North Carolina has a population of 22,100 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Shelby, North Carolina?
Median household income in Shelby, North Carolina is $48,376 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Shelby, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 5 presidential elections in Shelby, North Carolina from 2008 to 2024. Of those, 3 went Democratic and 2 went Republican. The city's typology — "" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.