akashic
1876–2024
Benton County, Arkansas
Benton County·Arkansas

Benton County voted Democratic for a century. The shift began with civil rights.

Northwest Arkansas's fastest-growing county tilts heavily Republican

18762024·38 elections
Benton County, Arkansas · Brandonrush · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+27
in 2024
Archetype
Old Confederacy
since the recent cycles
Population
303,632
2024 ACS
Most similar
Knox County
TN · similarity 0.99
422 precincts · 128,595 votes cast
Trump · R+27
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−27.0%
45,23179,907128,595
2020R
−26.4%
42,24973,965119,912
2016R
−35.4%
28,00560,87192,747
2012R
−40.4%
22,63654,64679,257
2008R
−36.5%
23,33151,12476,073
2004R
−37.9%
20,75646,57168,121
2000R
−32.7%
17,27734,83853,646
1996R
−14.3%
17,20523,74845,768
1992R
−12.4%
15,77421,12643,279
1988R
−43.7%
9,39924,29534,110
1984R
−53.1%
7,30624,29632,010
1980R
−32.6%
9,23118,83029,440
1976R
−5.7%
11,28912,67024,020
1972R
−56.1%
4,08314,62118,778
1968R
−24.7%
4,0888,10416,228
1964R
−2.8%
5,6555,97711,662
1960R
−36.4%
3,6197,83211,590
1956R
−26.7%
3,7446,50010,305
1952R
−37.9%
3,5587,91611,500
1948D
+5.7%
3,2812,9116,513
1944R
−7.2%
2,8613,3056,175
1940D
+10.7%
2,4421,9624,473
1936D
+18.1%
2,4181,6724,114
1932D
+48.1%
3,7751,2755,198
1928R
−15.9%
2,3483,2485,669
1924D
+13.5%
2,3131,6944,573
1920D
+18.9%
2,8381,9164,870
1916D
+41.2%
3,1061,2934,399
1912D
+47.1%
2,3535413,850
1908D
+32.0%
3,0671,5274,806
1904D
+22.2%
1,9631,2023,426
1900D
+45.9%
2,9801,0874,123
1896D
+67.1%
3,5486854,267
1892D
+33.2%
2,5871,2124,138
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
African American
1.4%
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. 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
Other Christian
16.0%
Baptist
13.8%
Catholic & Orthodox
10.6%
Pentecostal & Holiness
3.3%
Mainline Protestant
2.3%
Methodist
2.3%
Non-Christian
0.5%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Benton County anchors the booming Bentonville metro, home to Walmart's global headquarters, drawing a wave of corporate transplants that has made it one of Arkansas's most populous and economically dynamic counties while sustaining deep-red margins.

The shift began with civil rights. 1952 marked the realignment in Benton County, by a thirty-eight points margin. The Republican margin reached its widest at fifty-six points in 1972. The 2024 margin was twenty-seven points.

The political shift has tracked, in Benton County, the political shift of the South more broadly. A 60% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $93,506, and a 8% poverty rate describe the demographic context. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Knox County and Woodford County.