akashic
1876–2024
Perry County, Alabama
Perry County·Alabama

Perry County changed its political identity.

One of Alabama's most reliably Democratic counties by a wide margin

18762024·38 elections
Perry County, Alabama · Calvin Beale · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
D+43
in 2024
Archetype
Realigner
since the recent cycles
Population
8,031
2024 ACS
Most similar
Claiborne County
MS · similarity 1.00
12 precincts · 4,465 votes cast
Harris · D+43
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024D
+42.7%
3,1741,2694,465
2020D
+48.2%
3,8601,3395,230
2016D
+46.0%
3,8241,4075,254
2012D
+50.2%
4,5681,5066,099
2008D
+45.1%
4,4571,6796,159
2004D
+36.7%
3,7671,7385,523
2000D
+39.5%
4,0201,7325,787
1996D
+39.8%
4,0531,7035,903
1992D
+32.4%
3,7121,8295,813
1988D
+25.5%
3,5742,1075,758
1984D
+2.4%
2,7312,6005,408
1980D
+29.8%
4,2082,2626,522
1976D
+34.7%
4,4862,1646,683
1972R
−1.4%
2,7182,8005,699
1968D
+38.7%
2,4573085,553
1964R
−79.7%
02,0462,566
1960D
+12.8%
9737441,792
1956D
+19.9%
9746131,812
1952D
+28.2%
1,3527562,112
1948R
−2.8%
0301,081
1944D
+90.9%
1,004471,053
1940D
+94.7%
1,509391,553
1936D
+96.9%
1,527241,551
1932D
+92.5%
1,382371,454
1928D
+46.0%
1,2424591,702
1924D
+93.6%
92825965
1920D
+93.4%
1,195341,243
1916D
+94.3%
89520928
1912D
+93.5%
7313779
1908D
+96.5%
77612792
1904D
+80.0%
79947940
1900D
+89.9%
1,748801,856
1896D
+69.6%
2,6824633,189
1892D
+80.1%
3,452484,248
1888D
+55.1%
2,7297903,519
1884D
+52.8%
3,5081,0794,602
1880D
+4.5%
2,2782,0824,360
1876R
−41.3%
1,4673,5284,995
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
African American
57.0%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Baptist
24.5%
Methodist
20.0%
Other Christian
6.8%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.3%
Mainline Protestant
1.3%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 45.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Perry County's electorate is roughly 70% Black, anchoring a Democratic presidential margin that has exceeded 40 points in recent cycles and placing it among the most one-sided counties in the state.

The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Perry County peaked at ninety-seven points in 1936; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1976 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of thirty-five points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.

The economic and demographic context is severe. Perry County's median household income of $37,654 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 31% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Claiborne County and Baltimore city.