akashic
1876–2024
Outline of Pike County, Kentucky
Pike County·Kentucky

Pike County changed direction in the last decade.

One of Appalachia's sharpest Republican pivots over two decades

18762024·38 elections
KY
Latest
R+65
in 2024
Archetype
Recent convert
since the recent cycles
Population
56,727
2024 ACS
Most similar
Lincoln County
WV · similarity 0.99
57 precincts · 23,950 votes cast
Trump · R+65
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−65.4%
4,02519,68423,950
2020R
−60.7%
4,86620,28425,395
2016R
−62.7%
4,28019,74724,665
2012R
−50.5%
5,64617,59023,636
2008R
−13.8%
9,52512,65522,643
2004D
+5.2%
14,00212,61126,770
2000D
+10.5%
13,61111,00524,935
1996D
+29.6%
14,1267,16023,495
1992D
+32.6%
17,3588,21228,082
1988D
+24.1%
16,3399,97626,416
1984D
+14.2%
15,81711,86927,812
1980D
+16.8%
14,87810,55025,720
1976D
+21.7%
14,3209,17823,691
1972R
−13.6%
9,51312,53522,200
1968D
+12.2%
11,6638,91122,526
1964D
+33.2%
14,1407,07821,253
1960D
+13.4%
13,0399,95622,995
1956R
−0.9%
11,46611,67823,185
1952D
+13.2%
12,7619,77822,576
1948D
+16.9%
11,4238,09719,642
1944D
+9.3%
9,7578,09217,897
1940D
+15.0%
12,1608,98521,161
1936D
+16.2%
11,3828,21019,603
1932D
+23.1%
12,6867,91420,674
1928R
−8.4%
7,9309,38617,335
1924R
−9.0%
5,8357,05913,540
1920R
−16.8%
5,6197,91113,622
1916R
−10.4%
3,4144,2127,699
1912R
−3.1%
2,5832,7776,192
1908R
−21.8%
2,2083,4675,769
1904R
−12.3%
1,9352,4864,495
1900R
−7.2%
1,9792,2904,300
1896R
−5.9%
1,9002,1414,073
1892D
+6.9%
1,5341,3332,895
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%
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. 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
Baptist
19.9%
Other Christian
8.0%
Methodist
2.6%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.0%
Catholic & Orthodox
0.4%
Mainline Protestant
0.3%
Non-Christian
0.2%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 66.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Pike County, anchored by Pikeville in eastern Kentucky's coalfields, swung from a reliably Democratic stronghold in the early 2000s to an R+65 margin in 2024, tracking the broader realignment of white working-class Appalachian voters.

The 2008 election was the turning point, when the Republican candidate carried the county by fourteen points. The 2024 margin was sixty-five points, in line with the county's new direction.

The demographics suggest why. A population of 56,727, a 94% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $44,312 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 Lincoln County and Wyoming County.