akashic
1876–2024
Imperial County, California
Imperial County·California

Imperial County delivered a near-tie in 2024.

California's most competitive border county flipped within a single point in 2024

18762024·38 elections
Imperial County, California · antoine fleitz · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+1
in 2024
Archetype
Tossup
since the recent cycles
Population
180,202
2024 ACS
Most similar
Miami-Dade County
FL · similarity 0.94
134 precincts · 54,025 votes cast
Trump · R+1
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−0.9%
26,08326,54654,025
2020D
+24.4%
34,67820,84756,743
2016D
+41.5%
32,66712,70448,091
2012D
+32.0%
25,13612,77738,565
2008D
+26.2%
24,16214,00838,820
2004D
+6.1%
17,96415,89034,274
2000D
+10.2%
15,48912,52428,937
1996D
+18.5%
14,5919,70526,400
1992D
+5.3%
11,1099,75925,318
1988R
−11.3%
10,24312,88923,365
1984R
−25.1%
8,23713,82922,301
1980R
−19.0%
7,96112,06821,579
1976R
−1.8%
10,24410,61821,262
1972R
−27.1%
7,98214,17822,849
1968R
−16.3%
7,48110,81820,446
1964D
+3.8%
11,14310,33021,492
1960R
−7.5%
9,11910,60619,806
1956R
−12.4%
8,19710,52618,781
1952R
−24.4%
6,33310,46216,903
1948R
−7.8%
5,3016,21711,810
1944R
−8.0%
5,0855,97911,112
1940D
+5.9%
7,7286,85414,712
1936D
+22.4%
7,5604,77112,444
1932D
+38.3%
8,7723,78313,039
1928R
−36.6%
2,4865,4178,012
1924R
−39.2%
7593,4556,872
1920R
−36.8%
2,0224,6997,284
1916D
+8.7%
3,2732,6946,659
1912D
+38.5%
1,29503,367
1908R
−12.3%
6759091,908
1904
No data
1900
No data
1896
No data
1892
No data
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
Polish
0.6%
African American
1.8%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
75.4%
Other Christian
6.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.3%
Baptist
1.5%
Methodist
0.4%
Mainline Protestant
0.4%
Non-Christian
0.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 13.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Imperial County sits along the U.S.-Mexico border with a majority-Latino electorate and an economy anchored by agriculture, yet its presidential margin has narrowed dramatically over the past decade, landing at R+0.9 in 2024.

The county's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached forty-two points in 2016; the Republican margin reached thirty-nine points in 1924. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.

Imperial County's demographics — a population of 180,202, a 20% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $57,681 — situate the county close to national averages on several dimensions. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Miami-Dade County and Passaic County.