Owsley County, Kentucky: Republican loyalist county. In 2024, voted R+77%. Republican peak: R+79 in 1928.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+77MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Republican loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 3,9712024 5-year
- Median household income
- $22,1882024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 95.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 0.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 0.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Republican margin
- R+79 in 1928MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Auglaize County, OH · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Owsley CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Owsley County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 203 | 1,625 | 1,839 | ||
| R | 216 | 1,671 | 1,896 | ||
| R | 256 | 1,474 | 1,759 | ||
| R | 283 | 1,279 | 1,580 | ||
| R | 381 | 1,279 | 1,686 | ||
| R | 430 | 1,558 | 1,999 | ||
| R | 339 | 1,466 | 1,826 | ||
| R | 647 | 920 | 1,728 | ||
| R | 678 | 1,437 | 2,342 | ||
| R | 345 | 1,266 | 1,613 | ||
| R | 375 | 1,466 | 1,851 | ||
| R | 437 | 1,250 | 1,699 | ||
| R | 305 | 1,053 | 1,367 | ||
| R | 251 | 1,328 | 1,587 | ||
| R | 303 | 1,417 | 1,877 | ||
| R | 571 | 1,167 | 1,744 | ||
| R | 346 | 2,169 | 2,515 | ||
| R | 331 | 2,013 | 2,347 | ||
| R | 419 | 1,954 | 2,387 | ||
| R | 437 | 1,718 | 2,161 | ||
| R | 325 | 2,033 | 2,361 | ||
| R | 591 | 2,672 | 3,266 | ||
| R | 464 | 2,273 | 2,738 | ||
| R | 520 | 1,985 | 2,510 | ||
| R | 241 | 2,107 | 2,353 | ||
| R | 323 | 1,434 | 1,784 | ||
| R | 257 | 1,914 | 2,180 | ||
| R | 197 | 1,173 | 1,382 | ||
| R | 221 | 711 | 1,290 | ||
| R | 224 | 1,240 | 1,474 | ||
| R | 224 | 1,100 | 1,331 | ||
| R | 255 | 1,115 | 1,376 | ||
| R | 197 | 983 | 1,197 | ||
| R | 229 | 660 | 909 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
36.8%
English
25.1%
Irish
7.1%
German
4.5%
Polish
0.7%
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.
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: 47.7 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
$22,188
Owsley County ranks in the bottom 5% of US counties.
Owsley County$22,188
Kentucky$63,726
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
36.1%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1828.0%
Working age (18–64)37.7%
Seniors (65+)43.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
99.9%
speak English only
Spanish0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 72.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Owsley County, tucked in the Daniel Boone National Forest highlands, posted an R+77.3 margin in 2024 — among the widest presidential gaps of any county in the country — in a population of under 5,000 that has shed residents for decades.
The Republican margin in Owsley County reached its widest at seventy-nine points in 1928. The margin in 2024 was seventy-seven points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $22,188, a 96% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 3,971 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 Auglaize County and Carroll County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Owsley County, Kentucky — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/21189/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More republican loyalist counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Owsley County, Kentucky vote in 2024?
In 2024, Owsley County, Kentucky voted Republican by 77.3 points (R+77), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 1,839 votes cast, 203 went Democratic and 1,625 went Republican.
What is Owsley County, Kentucky's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Owsley County, Kentucky as a "Republican loyalist" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 0 times, Republican 34 times, and other 0 times.
How many people live in Owsley County, Kentucky?
Owsley County, Kentucky has a population of 3,971 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Owsley County, Kentucky?
Median household income in Owsley County, Kentucky is $22,188 — below the national median of $80,734. The Kentucky state median is $63,726.
What is the political history of Owsley County, Kentucky?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Owsley County, Kentucky from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 0 went Democratic and 34 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Republican loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.