Of the 100 counties most defined by per sq mi, 12 voted Republican and 88 Democratic in 2024 — a median of D+26.9, and as a group they shifted −5.5 points toward Republicans from 2020 to 2024.

Median 2024 margin

D+26.9

top 100 counties

2024 split

12 R · 88 D

of the top counties

Shift since 2020

−5.5 pts

toward R

Link to the vote

r = +0.50

moderate · D

Median income

$87,264

42% college

Does per sq mi move the vote?

Every U.S. county, plotted by how much of the community lives there against its 2024 presidential margin — the demographic dial on one axis, the political one on the other.

how per sq mi tracks the vote

Across every county, the more per sq mi a county is, the more Democratic it votes — a moderate relationship (r = +0.50).

Median 2024 presidential margin by Per sq mi share, across every county.
Per sq mi range	Counties	Median margin
0.9/mi² – 1.5/mi²	110	R+65.2
1.5/mi² – 2.4/mi²	80	R+61.5
2.4/mi² – 3.9/mi²	113	R+63.5
3.9/mi² – 6.3/mi²	129	R+57.8
6.3/mi² – 10/mi²	157	R+56.4
10/mi² – 17/mi²	214	R+49.1
17/mi² – 27/mi²	338	R+47.8
27/mi² – 45/mi²	422	R+45.4
45/mi² – 73/mi²	427	R+45.0
73/mi² – 118/mi²	355	R+43.4
118/mi² – 193/mi²	228	R+31.3
193/mi² – 314/mi²	158	R+27.5
314/mi² – 511/mi²	139	R+14.9
511/mi² – 832/mi²	91	R+5.3
832/mi² – 1,355/mi²	65	D+7.0
1,355/mi² – 2,208/mi²	117	D+25.4

Where per sq mi concentrates

Every county shaded by per sq mi — deep where the community clusters, pale at the other end.

0.9/mi²Per sq mi2,208/mi²+

The leaderboard

Ranked most to least by per sq mi. Filter by region or state, switch the column lens, cap the list, and sort on any figure.

Region

State

Columns

Top

100 of 150 counties shown. Sorted by metric. Sources: U.S. Census ACS 2024 5-year · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) · MIT Election Lab.
#
1	New York County, NY	71,783/mi²	D D+64.2	−10.3	654,372
2	Kings County, NY	37,919/mi²	D D+43.3	−11.5	847,934
3	Bronx County, NY	33,289/mi²	D D+45.1	−22.5	362,890
4	Queens County, NY	21,371/mi²	D D+24.2	−21.0	712,191
5	San Francisco County, CA	17,778/mi²	D D+64.8	−7.7	402,964
6	Hudson County, NJ	15,548/mi²	D D+28.1	−18.5	231,181
7	Suffolk County, MA	13,467/mi²	D D+52.1	−10.8	299,193
8	Philadelphia County, PA	11,763/mi²	D D+58.8	−4.7	721,441
9	District of Columbia, DC	11,150/mi²	D D+83.8	−2.9	325,869
10	Alexandria city, VA	10,535/mi²	D D+57.1	−5.5	80,904
11	Arlington County, VA	9,087/mi²	D D+58.1	−5.5	129,561
12	Richmond County, NY	8,608/mi²	R R+29.5	−14.5	199,620
13	Falls Church city, VA	7,355/mi²	D D+61.6	−2.6	9,062
14	Baltimore city, MD	7,086/mi²	D D+72.4	−4.2	230,754
15	Essex County, NJ	6,844/mi²	D D+44.9	−10.8	313,283
16	Union County, NJ	5,635/mi²	D D+24.2	−11.6	240,632
17	Manassas Park city, VA	5,599/mi²	D D+19.9	−13.2	5,997
18	Cook County, IL	5,484/mi²	D D+41.6	−8.7	2,079,239
19	Nassau County, NY	4,884/mi²	R R+4.2	−13.7	712,299
20	Denver County, CO	4,695/mi²	D D+56.1	−5.3	363,519
21	St. Louis city, MO	4,676/mi²	D D+64.6	−1.3	116,271
22	Charlottesville city, VA	4,455/mi²	D D+68.3	−4.4	23,434
23	Manassas city, VA	4,385/mi²	D D+14.8	−9.4	16,100
24	Norfolk city, VA	4,383/mi²	D D+41.3	−4.3	86,009
25	Bergen County, NJ	4,134/mi²	D D+3.4	−13.1	459,077
26	Fairfax city, VA	4,036/mi²	D D+33.1	−5.2	13,567
27	Orange County, CA	3,993/mi²	D D+2.7	−6.4	1,390,965
28	Milwaukee County, WI	3,836/mi²	D D+38.4	−1.4	464,107
29	Richmond city, VA	3,829/mi²	D D+65.9	−2.1	108,731
30	Ramsey County, MN	3,565/mi²	D D+43.1	−2.2	278,020
31	Pinellas County, FL	3,519/mi²	R R+5.2	−5.4	517,074
32	Delaware County, PA	3,151/mi²	D D+23.7	−3.1	328,172
33	Winchester city, VA	3,034/mi²	D D+9.7	−1.8	11,894
34	Lexington city, VA	3,010/mi²	D D+26.4	−5.6	2,895
35	Dallas County, TX	3,002/mi²	D D+22.2	−9.4	849,872
36	Harrisonburg city, VA	2,971/mi²	D D+25.2	−6.5	17,332
37	Fairfax County, VA	2,936/mi²	D D+34.7	−7.2	589,427
38	Portsmouth city, VA	2,919/mi²	D D+38.5	−2.3	41,353
39	Wayne County, MI	2,897/mi²	D D+29.0	−9.2	856,690
40	DeKalb County, GA	2,859/mi²	D D+64.8	−2.6	366,008
41	DuPage County, IL	2,837/mi²	D D+13.1	−4.8	456,882
42	Harris County, TX	2,834/mi²	D D+5.5	−7.7	1,557,484
43	Middlesex County, NJ	2,817/mi²	D D+8.0	−14.2	365,187
44	Passaic County, NJ	2,800/mi²	R R+2.9	−19.6	202,767
45	Fredericksburg city, VA	2,750/mi²	D D+31.5	−3.3	13,578
46	Cuyahoga County, OH	2,725/mi²	D D+31.4	−2.7	576,520
47	Hampton city, VA	2,671/mi²	D D+39.8	−2.4	62,823
48	Newport News city, VA	2,670/mi²	D D+28.7	−4.2	75,909
49	Tarrant County, TX	2,504/mi²	R R+5.1	−5.3	823,312
50	Franklin County, OH	2,504/mi²	D D+28.4	−3.0	598,225
51	Marion County, IN	2,464/mi²	D D+27.6	−1.5	352,540
52	Colonial Heights city, VA	2,447/mi²	R R+32.4	+0.8	8,964
53	Los Angeles County, CA	2,416/mi²	D D+32.9	−11.0	3,728,427
54	Camden County, NJ	2,381/mi²	D D+27.4	−6.3	246,954
55	Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT	2,348/mi²	D D+19.6	−7.5	153,964
56	Westchester County, NY	2,321/mi²	D D+26.1	−10.1	457,838
57	Roanoke city, VA	2,314/mi²	D D+23.5	−2.3	42,314
58	Broomfield County, CO	2,312/mi²	D D+28.5	+1.1	46,848
59	Hennepin County, MN	2,292/mi²	D D+42.4	−0.8	720,166
60	Cobb County, GA	2,282/mi²	D D+14.9	+0.6	401,369
61	Gwinnett County, GA	2,273/mi²	D D+16.5	−1.7	420,681
62	Alameda County, CA	2,237/mi²	D D+53.6	−8.6	669,800
63	Hopewell city, VA	2,208/mi²	D D+13.7	−0.9	9,026
64	Mecklenburg County, NC	2,205/mi²	D D+32.7	−2.4	577,527
65	Orleans Parish, LA	2,194/mi²	D D+67.0	−1.1	159,130
66	Montgomery County, MD	2,162/mi²	D D+52.8	−6.9	519,221
67	Clayton County, GA	2,110/mi²	D D+69.2	−1.7	111,729
68	Bristol County, RI	2,095/mi²	D D+26.4	−2.9	28,117
69	Jefferson County, KY	2,056/mi²	D D+16.5	−3.6	354,094
70	Hamilton County, OH	2,049/mi²	D D+14.9	−1.0	410,085
71	Fulton County, GA	2,044/mi²	D D+44.9	−1.6	535,238
72	Middlesex County, MA	2,003/mi²	D D+39.2	−5.7	814,832
73	Prince George's County, MD	1,989/mi²	D D+74.8	−5.8	404,009
74	Rockland County, NY	1,968/mi²	R R+11.8	−13.5	150,072
75	St. Louis County, MO	1,960/mi²	D D+23.4	−0.6	502,738
76	Virginia Beach city, VA	1,865/mi²	D D+2.6	−2.8	228,771
77	Multnomah County, OR	1,860/mi²	D D+61.6	+0.3	414,250
78	Norfolk County, MA	1,843/mi²	D D+28.5	−7.5	386,447
79	Macomb County, MI	1,835/mi²	R R+13.7	−5.6	509,152
80	Douglas County, NE	1,809/mi²	D D+10.1	−1.2	275,145
81	Montgomery County, PA	1,797/mi²	D D+22.8	−3.5	520,906
82	Williamsburg city, VA	1,775/mi²	D D+44.3	+3.2	7,894
83	Salem city, VA	1,767/mi²	R R+19.2	+0.3	13,207
84	Radford city, VA	1,724/mi²	D D+0.5	−8.5	6,583
85	Mercer County, NJ	1,719/mi²	D D+33.9	−6.5	163,270
86	Allegheny County, PA	1,696/mi²	D D+20.3	−0.1	720,504
87	Suffolk County, NY	1,680/mi²	R R+9.9	−9.9	762,849
88	Bexar County, TX	1,667/mi²	D D+9.7	−8.4	758,323
89	Honolulu County, HI	1,666/mi²	D D+21.7	−5.2	340,921
90	San Mateo County, CA	1,655/mi²	D D+50.3	−7.4	330,510
91	Sacramento County, CA	1,651/mi²	D D+19.7	−5.5	656,626
92	Essex County, MA	1,651/mi²	D D+20.2	−8.6	401,851
93	Broward County, FL	1,644/mi²	D D+17.0	−12.8	874,539
94	Orange County, FL	1,630/mi²	D D+13.6	−9.5	607,199
95	Lynchburg city, VA	1,626/mi²	R R+7.9	−10.5	37,023
96	Contra Costa County, CA	1,625/mi²	D D+37.9	−7.4	528,904
97	Providence County, RI	1,624/mi²	D D+14.4	−8.5	269,989
98	Lake County, IL	1,610/mi²	D D+20.7	−3.3	310,913
99	Salt Lake County, UT	1,589/mi²	D D+10.2	−0.7	509,637
100	Seminole County, FL	1,556/mi²	R R+3.6	−6.3	253,727

Source. Demographics — U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year (ancestry B04006, language C16001, income B19013/B19001, education S1501, poverty S1701); adherence — 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB); density — Census TIGER land area · counties and cities ≥ 5,000 population, ranked by per sq mi; the medians are taken across the 100 top counties; the correlation is over all 3,143 eligible counties. Presidential results are two-party margins (MIT Election Lab); city results are precinct-derived for 2008–2024. A place can be demographically homogeneous and politically split — which is exactly what these tables are built to show. Real returns — nothing estimated.