The United States has never had a president like Donald Trump. And hopefully we will never have a president like him again. Regardless of your political persuasion, this man has neither the experience nor the temperament to be a public servant, and he should never have been elected.
In the map below, you will find the 143 counties (or county equivalents) where Hillary Clinton received at least twice as many votes as Trump in the 2016 Presidential election. Counties in red have a lower population density than Iowa County, Wisconsin, and counties in blue a higher population density. Even though Iowa County, WI did not make the list, I am happy to say there were 1.39 Clinton voters for every Trump voter in this rural county in a state where Trump won (just barely) a majority of the votes.
Let us first look at the rural counties that voted heavily against Trump—by a 2 to 1 margin or better. All but 5 of the 40 rural counties have African-American, Hispanic, or Native American majorities.
The seventeen rural counties with African-American majorities (67.5% to 85.8%) are
Bullock County
Greene County
Lowndes County
Perry County
Sumter County
Wilcox County
Georgia
Hancock County
Claiborne County
Holmes County
Humphreys County
Jefferson County
Noxubee County
Quitman County
Sharkey County
Tunica County
Wilkinson County
Allendale County
The per capita income in these counties with African-American majorities range from a low of $11,972 in Holmes County, Mississippi to $18,429 in Lowndes County, Alabama. The average for all seventeen counties is $14,344.
The twelve rural counties with Hispanic majorities (56.7% to 94.6%) are
Mora County
Rio Arriba County
San Miguel County
Taos County
Brooks County
Dimmit County
Duval County
Jim Hogg County
Presidio County
Willacy County
Zapata County
Zavala County
The per capita income in these counties with Hispanic majorities range from a low of $11,413 in Willacy County, Texas to $22,358 in Taos County, New Mexico. The average for all twelve counties is $17,171.
And the six rural counties with Native American majorities (75.4% to 92.8%) are
Apache County
New Mexico
McKinley County
North Dakota
Sioux County
Oglala Lakota County
Todd County
Wisconsin
Menominee County
The per capita income in these counties with Native American majorities range from a low of $9,150 in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota to $15,557 in Sioux County, North Dakota. The average for all six counties is $12,738.
Now let’s look at the five remaining rural counties that voted heavily against Trump in the 2016 general election.
California
Mendocino County
Colorado
Pitkin County
San Miguel County
Washington
Jefferson County
San Juan County
The per capita income in these counties range from a low of $24,059 in Mendocino County, California to $55,519 in Pitkin County, Colorado. The average for all five counties is $37,517.
Finally, here is a list of counties (and county equivalents) than have a higher population density than Iowa County, Wisconsin, where Hillary Clinton received at least twice as many votes as Donald Trump. These are listed by state, with the largest city in each county in parentheses.
Alabama
Dallas County (Selma)
Macon County (Tuskegee)
Arizona
Santa Cruz County (Nogales)
California
Alameda County (Oakland)
Contra Costa County (Concord)
Imperial County (El Centro)
Los Angeles County (Los Angeles)
Marin County (San Rafael)
Monterey County (Salinas)
Napa County (Napa)
San Francisco County (San Francisco)
San Mateo County (Daly City)
Santa Clara County (San Jose)
Santa Cruz County (Santa Cruz)
Sonoma County (Santa Rosa)
Yolo County (Davis)
Colorado
Boulder County (Boulder)
Denver County (Denver)
District of Columbia
Florida
Broward County (Fort Lauderdale)
Gadsden County (Quincy)
Georgia
Clarke County (Athens)
Clayton County (Forest Park)
DeKalb County (Brookhaven)
Dougherty County (Albany)
Fulton County (Atlanta)
Hawaii
Hawaii County (Hilo)
Kauai County (Kapaʻa)
Maui County (Kahului)
Illinois
Cook County (Chicago)
Iowa
Johnson County (Iowa City)
Kansas
Douglas County (Lawrence)
Louisiana
Orleans Parish (New Orleans)
Maryland
Howard County (Columbia)
Montgomery County (Germantown)
Prince George’s County (Bowie)
Baltimore City (Baltimore)
Massachusetts
Berkshire County (Pittsfield)
Dukes County (Edgartown)
Franklin County (Greenfield)
Hampshire County (Amherst)
Middlesex County (Lowell)
Nantucket County (Nantucket)
Suffolk County (Boston)
Michigan
Washtenaw County (Ann Arbor)
Wayne County (Detroit)
Minnesota
Hennepin County (Minneapolis)
Ramsey County (Saint Paul)
Mississippi
Coahoma County (Clarksdale)
Hinds County (Jackson)
Leflore County (Greenwood)
Sunflower County (Indianola)
Washington County (Greenville)
Missouri
St. Louis City (St. Louis)
New Jersey
Camden County (Camden)
Essex County (Newark)
Hudson County (Jersey City)
Mercer County (Hamilton Township)
Union County (Elizabeth)
New Mexico
Santa Fe County (Santa Fe)
New York
Bronx County (New York City: The Bronx)
Kings County (New York City: Brooklyn)
New York County (New York City: Manhattan)
Queens County (New York City: Queens)
Tompkins County (Ithaca)
Westchester County (Yonkers)
North Carolina
Durham County (Durham)
Hertford County (Ahoskie)
Orange County (Chapel Hill)
Ohio
Cuyahoga County (Cleveland)
Oregon
Benton County (Corvallis)
Multnomah County (Portland)
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia County (Philadelphia)
South Carolina
Orangeburg County (Orangeburg)
Richland County (Columbia)
Williamsburg County (Kingstree)
Texas
Cameron County (Brownsville)
El Paso County (El Paso)
Hidalgo County (McAllen)
Maverick County (Eagle Pass)
Starr County (Rio Grande City)
Travis County (Austin)
Webb County (Laredo)
Vermont
Addison County (Middlebury)
Chittenden County (Burlington)
Lamoille County (Morristown)
Washington County (Barre)
Windham County (Brattleboro)
Windsor County (Hartford)
Virginia
Arlington County (Arlington)
Fairfax County (Herndon)
Alexandria City (Alexandria)
Charlottesville City (Charlottesville)
Falls Church City (Falls Church)
Hampton City (Hampton)
Norfolk City (Norfolk)
Petersburg City (Petersburg)
Portsmouth City (Portsmouth)
Richmond City (Richmond)
Williamsburg City (Williamsburg)
Washington
King County (Seattle)
Wisconsin
Dane County (Madison)
Milwaukee County (Milwaukee)
References
- Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, 2016 President County v1.0, 6-26-2017
- United States Census Bureau, 2016 Population Estimates
- United States Census Bureau, GCT-PH1 Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 – United States — County by State; and for Puerto Rico
2010 Census Summary File 1 - United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts V2016
The New York Times has published a very detailed interactive map showing how people voted in the 2016 presidential election:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/upshot/election-2016-voting-precinct-maps.html
Wanted to share this insight from Michael Jochum:
I used to wonder how it was possible that Trump could have won in 2016, and then again in 2024, given how emotionally toxic and depraved he is.
I don’t wonder anymore. I think he won for that exact reason. Because he carried at least one broken shard to reflect the broken shards in millions of others.
If you’re a racist, you found your guy. If you’re a misogynist, you found your guy. If money is your only religion, you found your guy. If your heart is armored shut, you found your guy. If you mock the disabled, you found your guy. If intelligence makes you insecure, you found your guy. If you’re a sexual predator, you found your guy. If you trade in humiliation and conspiracy and filth, you found your guy.
If you’ve never done a single hour of emotional inventory, you found your guy. If you cheat, stiff contractors, bankrupt your obligations, and call it savvy, you found your guy. If you lie as easily as you breathe, you found your guy. If cruelty feels like strength, you found your guy. If white grievance is your comfort food, you found your guy. If your ego is a black hole no title can fill, you found your guy. If warmongering fuels your ego, you found your guy, If empathy feels like weakness and dominance feels like oxygen, you found your guy.
If he’d only carried one or two of these pathologies, he might have been dismissed as just another loud, damaged man. But he carried a buffet of them. That was the appeal. Millions could locate themselves somewhere in the wreckage. They didn’t have to agree with all of it. They just had to recognize a piece of themselves in it.
It was never really about him. It was about the validation. The absolution. The permission. He didn’t invent the resentment; he amplified it. He didn’t create the cruelty; he normalized it. He gave millions the intoxicating relief of hearing their ugliest impulses echoed back at rally volume.
Trump is a symptom. The deeper illness is collective. If there’s one sentence that defines his power, it’s this: “He says the things I’m thinking.”
And that’s the part that should chill us.
Because what does it say about us that so many were thinking those things? That tens of millions of Americans harbored resentments so deep, so seething, that they were simply waiting for a demagogue to baptize them as virtue? That after decades of supposed progress on race, gender, and equality, so many white men felt so threatened, so displaced, so furious, that cruelty became a political platform?
Maybe we were living in a fool’s paradise, mistaking silence for healing, politeness for progress.
Now the mask is off. Now we know.
And knowing is a far more dangerous place to stand.