akashic
1876–2024
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Dauphin County·Pennsylvania

Dauphin County delivered a near-tie in 2024.

Home to the state capital, it swings closer than its urban anchor suggests

18762024·38 elections
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania · Niagara · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
D+6
in 2024
Archetype
Tossup
since the recent cycles
Population
289,593
2024 ACS
Most similar
Hopewell city
VA · similarity 0.97
158 precincts · 150,081 votes cast
Harris · D+6
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024D
+5.9%
78,32769,474150,081
2020D
+8.5%
78,98366,408147,368
2016D
+2.9%
64,70660,863131,783
2012D
+6.0%
64,96557,450124,301
2008D
+9.1%
69,97558,238129,529
2004R
−8.2%
55,29965,296121,208
2000R
−9.2%
44,39053,631100,658
1996R
−3.7%
40,93644,41792,971
1992R
−8.6%
36,99045,47998,910
1988R
−16.3%
35,07948,91784,677
1984R
−23.4%
33,57654,33088,658
1980R
−21.4%
27,25244,03978,387
1976R
−15.0%
34,34246,81983,122
1972R
−40.5%
22,58754,30778,270
1968R
−28.0%
25,48048,39481,788
1964D
+3.8%
46,11942,71889,431
1960R
−28.9%
33,96261,72696,115
1956R
−35.3%
29,22661,34290,943
1952R
−30.6%
30,98558,38589,656
1948R
−25.4%
27,72946,86175,386
1944R
−18.5%
30,68444,72575,742
1940R
−5.0%
38,30542,39480,981
1936D
+4.4%
43,25639,59883,498
1932R
−23.1%
22,41236,27860,152
1928R
−68.2%
9,11549,10858,617
1924R
−46.0%
9,00427,83840,916
1920R
−35.3%
11,99026,09439,923
1916R
−9.2%
11,48313,95426,752
1912D
+5.6%
7,4706,01225,819
1908R
−32.8%
7,54615,63724,671
1904R
−50.4%
5,04016,50822,734
1900R
−31.9%
7,39014,67322,846
1896R
−37.0%
6,58414,75222,069
1892R
−18.2%
7,52011,01019,157
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%
Italian
0.8%
African American
13.8%
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
Catholic & Orthodox
15.2%
Other Christian
9.6%
Mainline Protestant
6.0%
Methodist
5.8%
Non-Christian
3.2%
Baptist
2.9%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.9%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 55.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Harrisburg anchors Dauphin County's Democratic lean, but surrounding townships keep margins tight — the county voted D+5.9 in 2024, a narrower gap than many mid-size Pennsylvania counties with comparable urban cores.

The county's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached nine points in 2008; the Republican margin reached sixty-eight points in 1928. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.

Dauphin County's demographics — a population of 289,593, a 63% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $76,242 — situate the county close to national averages on several dimensions. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Hopewell city and Kane County.