akashic
1876–2024
Hampshire County, Massachusetts
Hampshire County·Massachusetts

Hampshire County was solidly one party for decades. In the last twenty years, it flipped.

Home to five colleges, Hampshire County leans Democratic by historic margins

18762024·38 elections
Hampshire County, Massachusetts · chipmunk_1 · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
D+42
in 2024
Archetype
Populist
since the recent cycles
Population
162,028
2024 ACS
Most similar
Dukes County
MA · similarity 1.00
58 precincts · 84,720 votes cast
Harris · D+42
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024D
+41.7%
58,61723,25684,720
2020D
+46.5%
63,36222,28188,332
2016D
+39.2%
55,36721,79085,624
2012D
+44.0%
57,35921,48081,621
2008D
+45.6%
56,86920,61879,570
2004D
+40.8%
51,68021,31574,422
2000D
+28.2%
38,54319,20268,626
1996D
+41.4%
41,84414,78765,309
1992D
+31.7%
37,87915,69470,071
1988D
+23.9%
39,83424,33164,915
1984D
+11.7%
35,59728,11163,942
1980D
+10.8%
27,61121,11760,355
1976D
+21.2%
34,94722,21960,075
1972D
+7.5%
28,57224,52953,654
1968D
+22.9%
26,66616,27045,412
1964D
+47.4%
32,05811,38543,645
1960D
+14.0%
25,66719,34645,096
1956R
−24.1%
16,11926,36142,564
1952R
−16.6%
17,24724,14141,486
1948D
+1.9%
18,01217,33135,833
1944D
+8.5%
17,67614,90732,680
1940D
+6.4%
17,82315,65133,715
1936D
+4.5%
15,41214,01230,906
1932R
−3.4%
12,33213,24126,869
1928R
−5.2%
12,69514,10127,051
1924R
−42.3%
5,03713,91821,014
1920R
−41.9%
5,30513,17418,793
1916R
−15.1%
4,2025,74810,236
1912R
−14.8%
3,0884,5129,632
1908R
−31.3%
2,6125,3628,795
1904R
−41.7%
2,2925,8928,633
1900R
−38.0%
2,3925,5508,319
1896R
−57.3%
1,6086,4348,423
1892R
−13.5%
3,6784,8878,949
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
2.1%
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
13.5%
Non-Christian
4.8%
Mainline Protestant
3.1%
Other Christian
1.3%
Methodist
0.6%
Baptist
0.6%
Pentecostal & Holiness
0.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 76.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

With UMass Amherst and four neighboring colleges anchoring its population, Hampshire County produces some of the widest Democratic presidential margins in Massachusetts, reaching D+41.7 in 2024.

The Democratic margin in Hampshire County peaked at forty-seven points in 1964. By 1960 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-two points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the county's modern history.

The economic context is the key. Hampshire County's median household income of $87,001 sits well below state and national norms, and 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Dukes County and Claiborne County.