Virginia 17th State Senate District, Virginia: Tossup district. In 2024, voted D+6%. Democratic peak: D+79 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+6MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- TossupAkashic typology
- Population
- 245,2712024 5-year
- Median household income
- $80,3202024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 49.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 40.5%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+79 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+31 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for State Senate District 17, VAOne 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 67,058 | 59,555 | 128,309 | ||
| D | 67,090 | 55,720 | 124,655 | ||
| D | 58,588 | 50,332 | 113,347 | ||
| D | 64,744 | 49,307 | 115,312 | ||
| D | 62,352 | 48,144 | 111,373 | ||
| R | 44,902 | 46,201 | 91,562 | ||
| D | 39,293 | 35,995 | 76,317 | ||
| D | 37,732 | 26,968 | 70,368 | ||
| D | 34,330 | 29,331 | 72,151 | ||
| R | 31,117 | 33,799 | 65,478 | ||
| R | 32,768 | 37,351 | 70,820 | ||
| D | 33,096 | 26,035 | 61,117 | ||
| D | 34,142 | 22,521 | 57,928 | ||
| R | 22,344 | 42,862 | 66,895 | ||
| D | 19,966 | 13,484 | 52,653 | ||
| D | 20,481 | 17,198 | 37,731 | ||
| D | 19,872 | 11,315 | 31,503 | ||
| D | 11,915 | 9,753 | 24,502 | ||
| D | 12,560 | 8,779 | 21,465 | ||
| D | 9,524 | 3,309 | 15,467 | ||
| D | 10,244 | 2,651 | 12,919 | ||
| D | 9,712 | 1,613 | 11,359 | ||
| D | 10,337 | 1,233 | 11,594 | ||
| D | 8,336 | 1,783 | 10,222 | ||
| D | 5,553 | 4,361 | 9,915 | ||
| D | 5,253 | 1,138 | 6,793 | ||
| D | 6,250 | 1,737 | 8,045 | ||
| D | 4,754 | 827 | 5,616 | ||
| D | 4,313 | 443 | 5,354 | ||
| D | 3,604 | 1,096 | 4,741 | ||
| D | 3,734 | 1,007 | 4,783 | ||
| D | 7,290 | 4,571 | 11,907 | ||
| D | 7,242 | 4,283 | 11,617 | ||
| D | 6,688 | 5,275 | 13,117 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
11.1%
German
6.7%
American
6.5%
Irish
5.9%
Italian
2.3%
Scottish
1.3%
Polish
1.0%
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: 40.4 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
$80,320
State Senate District 17 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State Senate District 17$80,320
Virginia$93,170
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
11.2%
Child poverty is below the national average.
Children under 1814.5%
Working age (18–64)10.1%
Seniors (65+)11.9%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.8%
speak English only
Spanish2.8%
Other Indo-European1.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 56.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
With a 2024 presidential margin exceeding 50 points, this district anchors the GOP's rural southwest Virginia base, where population density is low and partisan consistency across cycles has been among the strongest in the state.
The district's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached seventy-nine points in 1936; the Republican margin reached thirty-one points in 1972. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.
Its demographics — a population of 245,271, a 49% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $80,320 — 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 17, Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/51017/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did State Senate District 17, Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, State Senate District 17, Virginia voted Democratic by 5.8 points (D+6), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 128,309 votes cast, 67,058 went Democratic and 59,555 went Republican.
What is State Senate District 17, Virginia's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State Senate District 17, Virginia as a "Tossup" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 30 times, Republican 4 times, and other 0 times.
When did State Senate District 17, Virginia last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which State Senate District 17, Virginia voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in State Senate District 17, Virginia?
State Senate District 17, Virginia has a population of 245,271 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 17, Virginia?
Median household income in State Senate District 17, Virginia is $80,320 — below the national median of $80,734. The Virginia state median is $93,170.
What is the political history of State Senate District 17, Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State Senate District 17, Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 30 went Democratic and 4 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Tossup" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.