akashic
1876–2024
State Senate District 21·North Carolina

North Carolina 21st State Senate District delivered R+2 in 2024 — close enough to flip again next time.

One of North Carolina's most Democratic state senate seats by a wide margin

1876 — 2024·38 elections
NC
Latest
R+2
in 2024
Archetype
Tossup
since the recent cycles
Population
377,394
2024 ACS

North Carolina 21st State Senate District, North Carolina: Tossup district. In 2024, voted R+2%. Democratic peak: D+49 in 1936.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+2MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
TossupAkashic typology
Population
377,3942024 5-year
Median household income
$68,1772024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
52.1%2024 5-year
Black
29.7%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
11.3%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+49 in 1936MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+42 in 1972MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
2 counties · 1 D · 1 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−1.7%
84,74687,793174,920
D
+2.1%
88,77685,080176,785
D
+1.5%
73,97171,750151,326
D
+4.9%
77,51870,274149,159
D
+5.7%
77,75269,289148,019
R
−12.0%
50,41364,265115,032
D
+8.8%
50,57142,32593,402
R
−3.2%
36,20138,74979,990
R
−0.3%
34,03234,29278,484
R
−15.1%
26,79136,32063,282
R
−22.7%
25,26740,11865,505
R
−3.0%
25,85227,49655,316
D
+17.1%
26,93119,02746,157
R
−42.4%
11,55829,02741,155
R
−3.1%
11,58312,68135,205
D
+16.9%
17,54312,48130,024
D
+9.5%
14,88612,31127,197
D
+5.5%
11,86210,62922,491
D
+3.1%
12,18011,45723,637
D
+23.1%
7,3624,12014,043
D
+35.7%
9,0354,28313,318
D
+45.0%
9,1993,48612,685
D
+49.2%
9,7013,30413,006
D
+44.1%
8,3203,20711,607
R
−7.4%
5,2926,13411,426
D
+24.7%
5,1233,0788,269
D
+15.5%
5,2813,8669,146
D
+18.0%
2,9232,0264,972
D
+47.6%
2,5174414,362
D
+6.9%
2,5832,2464,849
D
+12.9%
2,7072,0864,821
R
−8.1%
3,1873,7496,957
D
+6.4%
4,2263,7187,985
D
+11.4%
3,4272,5337,826
—
No data
———
—
No data
———
—
No data
———
—
No data
———

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
10.0%
German
9.3%
Irish
7.8%
American
6.7%
Italian
3.3%
Scottish
2.7%
Polish
1.3%
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: 35.1 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.7%
85+
1.1%
2.1%
75–84
2.9%
4.2%
65–74
5.1%
5.0%
55–64
5.9%
4.7%
45–54
5.5%
6.1%
35–44
6.5%
7.8%
25–34
7.4%
6.3%
18–24
4.5%
8.9%
5–17
8.4%
3.5%
<5
3.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$68,177
State Senate District 21 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State Senate District 21$68,177
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
14.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.7%
Working age (18–64)13.3%
Seniors (65+)12.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.9%
speak English only
Spanish6.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.7%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Other languages0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Other Christian
24.3%
Baptist
13.1%
Catholic & Orthodox
8.3%
Methodist
6.9%
Mainline Protestant
2.9%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.4%
Non-Christian
0.6%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 41.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

With a 2024 presidential margin of D+24.7, this district ranks among the state's most reliably left-leaning constituencies, suggesting a dense urban or majority-minority population base that consistently drives lopsided down-ballot results.

The district's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached forty-nine points in 1936; the Republican margin reached forty-two points in 1972. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.

Its demographics — a population of 377,394, a 52% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $68,177 — situate the district close to national averages on several dimensions.

Compare two places, side by side

Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
State Senate District 21, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/37021/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did State Senate District 21, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, State Senate District 21, North Carolina voted Republican by 1.7 points (R+2), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 174,920 votes cast, 84,746 went Democratic and 87,793 went Republican.
What is State Senate District 21, North Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State Senate District 21, North Carolina as a "Tossup" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 23 times, Republican 11 times, and other 0 times.
When did State Senate District 21, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 21, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in State Senate District 21, North Carolina?
State Senate District 21, North Carolina has a population of 377,394 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State Senate District 21, North Carolina?
Median household income in State Senate District 21, North Carolina is $68,177 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of State Senate District 21, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 21, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 23 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Tossup" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.