akashic
1876–2024
Putnam County, Indiana
Putnam County·Indiana

Putnam County has voted Republican for as long as anyone can remember.

One of Indiana's most lopsided rural counties by presidential margin

18762024·38 elections
Putnam County, Indiana · WhisperToMe · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+52
in 2024
Archetype
Republican loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
37,280
2024 ACS
Most similar
Carroll County
IN · similarity 1.00
31 precincts · 16,766 votes cast
Trump · R+52
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−51.9%
3,87112,56616,766
2020R
−50.2%
3,94612,27816,597
2016R
−49.1%
3,35610,63714,818
2012R
−32.5%
4,5079,00513,829
2008R
−12.0%
6,3348,08614,646
2004R
−36.6%
4,1038,90813,136
2000R
−27.2%
4,1237,35211,871
1996R
−17.2%
3,9625,95811,616
1992R
−15.4%
3,4875,34112,048
1988R
−29.7%
3,8507,11911,021
1984R
−39.3%
3,3927,82011,272
1980R
−26.3%
3,9967,09011,748
1976R
−8.4%
5,1166,06311,297
1972R
−40.4%
3,3397,87911,243
1968R
−19.1%
3,6925,87311,410
1964D
+8.1%
6,2755,33111,630
1960R
−15.6%
4,7986,58311,423
1956R
−18.7%
4,5726,68411,280
1952R
−19.7%
4,4466,63211,118
1948R
−2.6%
4,8145,0729,963
1944R
−5.1%
4,8575,38610,283
1940D
+1.6%
6,0205,83211,901
1936D
+10.9%
6,1774,96111,207
1932D
+15.8%
6,1684,43810,968
1928R
−12.2%
4,1775,3519,603
1924R
−1.7%
4,7594,93010,032
1920D
+2.6%
5,4175,14010,746
1916D
+9.0%
2,9652,4535,668
1912D
+28.3%
2,9221,3545,545
1908D
+8.5%
3,1312,6265,926
1904D
+7.2%
3,0052,5865,830
1900D
+10.2%
3,2512,6326,049
1896D
+10.1%
3,2182,6225,909
1892D
+8.6%
2,7542,2895,405
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%
African American
2.6%
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
Other Christian
11.1%
Baptist
6.4%
Mainline Protestant
4.5%
Methodist
2.6%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.1%
Catholic & Orthodox
2.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 71.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Putnam County, anchored by Greencastle and DePauw University, still posts some of the widest Republican presidential margins in the state despite hosting a liberal-arts campus — a pattern common to small Indiana counties where rural precincts dominate the overall tally.

The Republican margin in Putnam County reached its widest at fifty-two points in 2024. The margin in 2024 was fifty-two points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.

Putnam County's loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $78,378, a 91% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 37,280 together describe a community whose political habits are deeply settled. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Carroll County and DeKalb County.