McLennan County, Texas: Realigner county. In 2024, voted R+31%. Democratic peak: D+83 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+31MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- RealignerAkashic typology
- Population
- 266,0672024 5-year
- Median household income
- $66,6432024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 58.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 13.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 27.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+83 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+35 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Tom Green County, TX · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of McLennan CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for McLennan County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 33,863 | 64,606 | 99,672 | ||
| R | 36,688 | 59,543 | 97,872 | ||
| R | 27,063 | 48,260 | 79,075 | ||
| R | 25,694 | 47,903 | 74,541 | ||
| R | 29,998 | 49,044 | 79,674 | ||
| R | 26,760 | 52,090 | 79,254 | ||
| R | 23,462 | 43,955 | 68,789 | ||
| R | 27,050 | 30,666 | 63,083 | ||
| R | 25,903 | 28,473 | 70,016 | ||
| R | 27,545 | 38,606 | 66,423 | ||
| R | 23,206 | 42,232 | 65,578 | ||
| R | 26,305 | 31,968 | 59,515 | ||
| D | 30,091 | 25,370 | 55,970 | ||
| R | 15,947 | 33,377 | 49,485 | ||
| D | 22,388 | 15,958 | 46,639 | ||
| D | 28,429 | 10,892 | 39,346 | ||
| D | 20,100 | 14,926 | 35,156 | ||
| D | 16,181 | 15,561 | 31,853 | ||
| D | 17,251 | 14,974 | 32,278 | ||
| D | 16,034 | 3,088 | 20,157 | ||
| D | 15,336 | 1,668 | 18,631 | ||
| D | 15,952 | 2,178 | 18,165 | ||
| D | 12,489 | 1,116 | 13,759 | ||
| D | 11,972 | 1,108 | 13,185 | ||
| R | 5,330 | 5,744 | 11,087 | ||
| D | 7,882 | 2,384 | 10,721 | ||
| D | 4,975 | 1,655 | 7,809 | ||
| D | 4,979 | 940 | 6,053 | ||
| D | 3,829 | 295 | 4,631 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
12.6%
English
10.1%
Irish
8.6%
American
3.9%
Italian
1.9%
French
1.6%
Scottish
1.6%
African American
11.1%
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. 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: 34.0 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
$66,643
McLennan County ranks near the middle of US counties.
McLennan County$66,643
Texas$78,476
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
16.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.8%
Working age (18–64)15.5%
Seniors (65+)11.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
80.4%
speak English only
Spanish17.1%
Other Indo-European1.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
Other languages0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 42.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
McLennan County anchors the mid-Brazos corridor around Waco, where a large Hispanic population and a major research university coexist with a rural conservative base that produced a 30-point Republican margin in 2024.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in McLennan County peaked at eighty-three points in 1936; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1980 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of ten points. By 2024, the margin had settled into deep Republican territory.
The economic and demographic context is severe. The median household income of $66,643 is among the lowest at this geographic scale; 17% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Tom Green County and Columbia County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
McLennan County, Texas — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/48309/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More realigner counties
Frequently asked questions
How did McLennan County, Texas vote in 2024?
In 2024, McLennan County, Texas voted Republican by 30.8 points (R+31), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 99,672 votes cast, 33,863 went Democratic and 64,606 went Republican.
What is McLennan County, Texas's political archetype?
Akashic classifies McLennan County, Texas as a "Realigner" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 15 times, Republican 14 times, and other 0 times.
When did McLennan County, Texas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which McLennan County, Texas voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in McLennan County, Texas?
McLennan County, Texas has a population of 266,067 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in McLennan County, Texas?
Median household income in McLennan County, Texas is $66,643 — below the national median of $80,734. The Texas state median is $78,476.
What is the political history of McLennan County, Texas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in McLennan County, Texas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 15 went Democratic and 14 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Realigner" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.