La Plata County, Colorado: Recent convert county. In 2024, voted D+19%. Democratic peak: D+93 in 1896.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+19MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Recent convertAkashic typology
- Population
- 56,3312024 5-year
- Median household income
- $86,0562024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 81.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 12.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+93 in 1896MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+36 in 1984MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Mono County, CA · similarity 0.96
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of La Plata CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for La Plata County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 20,677 | 14,024 | 35,692 | ||
| D | 20,548 | 14,233 | 35,667 | ||
| D | 15,525 | 12,587 | 31,150 | ||
| D | 15,489 | 12,794 | 29,308 | ||
| D | 16,057 | 11,503 | 27,979 | ||
| D | 13,409 | 11,704 | 25,513 | ||
| R | 7,864 | 9,993 | 20,490 | ||
| R | 6,509 | 8,057 | 17,321 | ||
| D | 5,913 | 5,522 | 15,613 | ||
| R | 5,443 | 7,714 | 13,362 | ||
| R | 4,040 | 8,719 | 12,918 | ||
| R | 3,034 | 7,291 | 12,201 | ||
| R | 3,843 | 6,228 | 10,547 | ||
| R | 2,830 | 5,691 | 9,144 | ||
| R | 2,523 | 4,269 | 7,476 | ||
| D | 4,442 | 3,550 | 8,007 | ||
| R | 3,329 | 4,772 | 8,111 | ||
| R | 2,366 | 4,770 | 7,140 | ||
| R | 2,210 | 4,425 | 6,701 | ||
| R | 2,536 | 2,735 | 5,360 | ||
| R | 2,031 | 3,023 | 5,069 | ||
| R | 2,835 | 3,871 | 6,745 | ||
| D | 3,040 | 2,354 | 5,579 | ||
| D | 3,156 | 2,124 | 5,517 | ||
| R | 1,872 | 2,837 | 4,762 | ||
| D | 1,516 | 1,469 | 4,182 | ||
| R | 1,445 | 1,711 | 3,365 | ||
| D | 2,590 | 1,029 | 3,801 | ||
| D | 1,775 | 692 | 3,560 | ||
| D | 2,004 | 1,381 | 3,753 | ||
| R | 1,458 | 1,745 | 3,413 | ||
| D | 1,844 | 900 | 2,769 | ||
| D | 2,729 | 91 | 2,826 | ||
| O | 0 | 545 | 1,623 | ||
| R | 774 | 849 | 1,661 | ||
| R | 629 | 722 | 1,415 | ||
| D | 345 | 259 | 604 | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
19.3%
Irish
15.0%
English
14.8%
Scottish
4.6%
Italian
4.5%
American
3.0%
French
2.5%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
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: 43.2 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.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$86,056
La Plata County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
La Plata County$86,056
Colorado$95,470
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.7%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.9%
Working age (18–64)11.0%
Seniors (65+)8.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
92.5%
speak English only
Spanish4.7%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Other languages1.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 70.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
La Plata County, anchored by Durango and Fort Lewis College, has shifted steadily toward Democratic margins over the past decade, hitting D+18.6 in 2024 despite sitting in a region where surrounding rural counties lean heavily the other way.
The 2004 election was the turning point, when the Democratic candidate carried the county by seven points. The 2024 margin was nineteen points, in line with the county's new direction.
The demographics suggest why. A population of 56,331, a 82% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $86,056 situate the county in the broader realignment patterns of recent cycles. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Mono County and Teton County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
La Plata County, Colorado — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/08067/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More recent convert counties
Frequently asked questions
How did La Plata County, Colorado vote in 2024?
In 2024, La Plata County, Colorado voted Democratic by 18.6 points (D+19), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 35,692 votes cast, 20,677 went Democratic and 14,024 went Republican.
What is La Plata County, Colorado's political archetype?
Akashic classifies La Plata County, Colorado as a "Recent convert" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 17 times, Republican 19 times, and other 1 times.
When did La Plata County, Colorado last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which La Plata County, Colorado voted Republican was 2000.
How many people live in La Plata County, Colorado?
La Plata County, Colorado has a population of 56,331 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in La Plata County, Colorado?
Median household income in La Plata County, Colorado is $86,056 — above the national median of $80,734. The Colorado state median is $95,470.
What is the political history of La Plata County, Colorado?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in La Plata County, Colorado from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 17 went Democratic and 19 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Recent convert" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.