New Hanover County, North Carolina: Democratic loyalist county. In 2024, voted D+1%. Democratic peak: D+95 in 1900.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+1MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Democratic loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 235,2292024 5-year
- Median household income
- $75,1662024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 76.6%2024 5-year
- Black
- 10.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+95 in 1900MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+51 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Nash County, NC · similarity 0.97
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of New Hanover CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for New Hanover 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 68,814 | 67,949 | 138,734 | ||
| D | 66,138 | 63,331 | 131,830 | ||
| R | 50,979 | 55,344 | 111,905 | ||
| R | 48,668 | 53,385 | 103,628 | ||
| R | 49,145 | 50,544 | 100,665 | ||
| R | 35,572 | 45,351 | 81,247 | ||
| D | 36,503 | 29,292 | 66,319 | ||
| R | 22,839 | 27,889 | 54,769 | ||
| R | 20,291 | 24,338 | 52,154 | ||
| R | 15,401 | 23,807 | 39,313 | ||
| R | 12,591 | 23,771 | 36,452 | ||
| R | 13,670 | 17,243 | 32,244 | ||
| D | 14,504 | 13,687 | 28,477 | ||
| R | 5,894 | 19,060 | 25,615 | ||
| R | 7,750 | 10,020 | 27,061 | ||
| D | 12,584 | 12,140 | 24,724 | ||
| D | 13,182 | 9,775 | 22,957 | ||
| D | 10,247 | 9,470 | 19,717 | ||
| D | 10,330 | 9,330 | 19,660 | ||
| D | 5,364 | 3,162 | 11,193 | ||
| D | 9,467 | 2,829 | 12,296 | ||
| D | 8,600 | 1,635 | 10,235 | ||
| D | 7,379 | 1,306 | 8,685 | ||
| D | 6,030 | 1,430 | 7,601 | ||
| R | 2,760 | 4,248 | 7,008 | ||
| D | 4,735 | 1,190 | 6,330 | ||
| D | 4,102 | 712 | 4,814 | ||
| D | 2,355 | 492 | 2,847 | ||
| D | 2,021 | 140 | 2,268 | ||
| D | 1,857 | 511 | 2,368 | ||
| D | 1,254 | 91 | 1,345 | ||
| D | 2,247 | 60 | 2,307 | ||
| R | 2,100 | 3,183 | 5,472 | ||
| D | 2,408 | 1,500 | 3,946 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
15.8%
Irish
13.1%
German
11.7%
Italian
6.0%
American
5.0%
Scottish
2.9%
Polish
2.4%
African American
8.7%
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. 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: 39.9 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
$75,166
New Hanover County ranks in the top 25% of US counties.
New Hanover County$75,166
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
12.3%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.9%
Working age (18–64)12.1%
Seniors (65+)8.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.9%
speak English only
Spanish5.4%
Other Indo-European1.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.0%
Other languages0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 49.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Home to Wilmington and UNCW, New Hanover has shifted from reliably Republican to a true battleground, with college-educated in-migration and retiree growth pulling the county's presidential margin to within a single point in 2024.
The Democratic margin in New Hanover County reached its widest at ninety-five points in 1900. The margin in 2024 was one points — still decisive.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $75,166, a 77% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 235,229 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 Nash County and Alamance County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
New Hanover County, North Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/37129/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in North Carolina
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Frequently asked questions
How did New Hanover County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, New Hanover County, North Carolina voted Democratic by 0.6 points (D+1), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 138,734 votes cast, 68,814 went Democratic and 67,949 went Republican.
What is New Hanover County, North Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies New Hanover County, North Carolina as a "Democratic loyalist" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 21 times, Republican 13 times, and other 0 times.
When did New Hanover County, North Carolina last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which New Hanover County, North Carolina voted Republican was 2016.
How many people live in New Hanover County, North Carolina?
New Hanover County, North Carolina has a population of 235,229 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in New Hanover County, North Carolina?
Median household income in New Hanover County, North Carolina is $75,166 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of New Hanover County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in New Hanover County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 21 went Democratic and 13 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Democratic loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.