North Carolina 47th State Senate District, North Carolina: Populist district. In 2024, voted R+32%. Republican peak: R+36 in 1972.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+32MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- PopulistAkashic typology
- Population
- 241,3762024 5-year
- Median household income
- $56,1452024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 89.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 2.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 6.1%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+30 in 1912MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+36 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for State Senate District 47, NCOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 47,038 | 91,650 | 140,548 | ||
| R | 46,276 | 89,449 | 137,642 | ||
| R | 38,191 | 76,924 | 120,661 | ||
| R | 41,877 | 68,678 | 112,932 | ||
| R | 47,461 | 66,034 | 115,413 | ||
| R | 40,368 | 63,479 | 104,424 | ||
| D | 54,513 | 32,917 | 88,492 | ||
| R | 31,626 | 41,375 | 81,089 | ||
| R | 36,166 | 41,367 | 90,057 | ||
| R | 29,803 | 46,710 | 76,769 | ||
| R | 27,648 | 50,968 | 78,837 | ||
| R | 31,084 | 38,871 | 72,291 | ||
| D | 35,785 | 32,513 | 68,591 | ||
| R | 18,532 | 39,825 | 59,095 | ||
| R | 18,275 | 33,410 | 62,332 | ||
| D | 32,816 | 28,744 | 61,561 | ||
| R | 28,538 | 39,155 | 67,692 | ||
| R | 24,527 | 35,945 | 60,472 | ||
| R | 27,252 | 34,558 | 61,810 | ||
| R | 23,041 | 25,329 | 49,906 | ||
| R | 22,794 | 27,054 | 49,847 | ||
| D | 26,431 | 25,284 | 51,715 | ||
| D | 28,107 | 26,948 | 55,055 | ||
| R | 24,862 | 24,942 | 50,009 | ||
| R | 14,997 | 27,273 | 42,270 | ||
| R | 17,071 | 19,437 | 36,663 | ||
| R | 14,503 | 21,681 | 36,184 | ||
| R | 8,779 | 11,034 | 19,815 | ||
| D | 7,558 | 2,380 | 17,360 | ||
| R | 7,157 | 9,951 | 17,110 | ||
| R | 6,413 | 8,865 | 15,351 | ||
| R | 7,115 | 10,735 | 17,884 | ||
| R | 7,947 | 9,615 | 17,637 | ||
| D | 7,118 | 7,046 | 14,992 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
17.2%
American
15.5%
German
12.0%
Irish
11.6%
Scottish
3.9%
Italian
2.5%
French
1.1%
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: 43.7 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
$56,145
State Senate District 47 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State Senate District 47$56,145
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
16.0%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.9%
Working age (18–64)16.2%
Seniors (65+)12.0%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.8%
speak English only
Spanish4.0%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.3%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 48.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
With a 2024 presidential margin of R+33.9, this western North Carolina district ranks among the state's most one-sided, where statewide competitive races tend to be decided well before votes here are counted.
The Democratic margin in North Carolina 47th State Senate District peaked at thirty points in 1912. By 2004 the district had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-two points, the most Republican-leaning result in the district's modern history.
The economic context is the key. The median household income of $56,145 sits well below state and national norms, and 16% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.
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 47, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/37047/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did State Senate District 47, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, State Senate District 47, North Carolina voted Republican by 31.7 points (R+32), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 140,548 votes cast, 47,038 went Democratic and 91,650 went Republican.
What is State Senate District 47, North Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State Senate District 47, North Carolina as a "Populist" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 7 times, Republican 27 times, and other 0 times.
When did State Senate District 47, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 47, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in State Senate District 47, North Carolina?
State Senate District 47, North Carolina has a population of 241,376 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 47, North Carolina?
Median household income in State Senate District 47, North Carolina is $56,145 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of State Senate District 47, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 47, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 7 went Democratic and 27 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.