Which demographic groups had the highest and lowest voter turnout in the 2024 US presidential election?
Executive summary
Census and multiple research outlets show turnout in the 2024 presidential election was high by modern standards — roughly 65.3% of voting-age citizens voted according to the Census Bureau’s CPS estimate (and USAFacts echoes that 65.3% figure) [1] [2]. Analyses consistently report that older, white, more-educated and higher‑income Americans were the likeliest to vote, while younger adults, Hispanic voters and some people with disabilities had among the lowest participation rates [3] [2] [4].
1. The overall picture: high turnout but uneven across groups
The 2024 turnout level was one of the highest in a century — the Census CPS shows 65.3% of the voting‑age population voted, and analysts describe 2024 as the second‑highest presidential turnout in recent history after 2020 [1] [3] [2]. Yet that headline masks clear demographic differentials: turnout rose and fell unevenly across race, age, education and income, producing a more mixed democratic picture than the aggregate rate suggests [3] [2].
2. Who turned out most: older, white, affluent, and well‑educated voters
Multiple studies point to the same core groups as the most likely to cast ballots: older adults, White voters, higher‑income households and people with more formal education. Pew’s validated‑voter analysis states that “White voters, older voters, more affluent voters and voters with higher levels of formal education typically turn out at higher rates,” and those patterns “persisted in 2024” [3]. Catalist’s voter‑file work also emphasizes a stable core of regular, high‑frequency voters who disproportionately shape outcomes [5].
3. Who turned out least: youth, Hispanic voters, and some disabled citizens
Census and other trackers identify several low‑turnout groups in 2024. The Census‑based reporting and USAFacts note that youth participation was low relative to older cohorts; CIRCLE’s voter‑file estimate put turnout for ages 18–29 at about 47% (down from 2020) [4] [2]. USAFacts and the Census tables show Hispanic turnout was the lowest among major racial/ethnic categories at roughly 50.6% in 2024 [2]. The Census data also flags lower participation among people with certain disability types — for example, substantially lower rates for those with self‑care or cognitive difficulties [2].
4. Geographic variation: states with very high and very low turnout
State‑by‑state turnout also varied sharply. Ballotpedia’s compilation lists Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire and Colorado among the top five states by turnout (mid‑70s percentage points) and places Hawaii, Oklahoma, Arkansas, West Virginia and Texas near the bottom nationally (mid‑50s to mid‑60s) [6]. USAFacts additionally notes Washington, D.C., had the highest turnout of any jurisdiction at 79.5% while some states like Arkansas and Oklahoma were much lower [2].
5. Why these gaps matter: who decides close elections
Pew and Catalist analyses emphasize that turnout differentials are consequential because consistent “regular” voters have outsized influence; shifts in which coalitions show up can change outcomes. Pew highlights that in 2024 a higher share of Trump’s 2020 voters turned out than Biden’s, a dynamic that helped shape the result [3] [5]. Analysts warn that persistent gaps — especially by race, age and education — reconfigure which policy concerns and communities are represented in election results [3] [5].
6. Competing measurements and limits: survey vs. voter‑file counts
Different methods produce different snapshots. The CPS Voting and Registration Supplement (Census) gives the widely cited 65.3% figure and disaggregates turnout by demographic groups [1]. Voter‑file aggregations (Catalist, CIRCLE) and survey panels (AP VoteCast, PRRI) provide alternate perspectives that can vary because of coverage, state data availability, noncitizen adjustments and validation choices [7] [5] [8] [4]. These methodological differences mean exact percentages for a group can differ across sources; the consistent finding across methods is the same directional pattern of higher turnout among older, white, wealthier and more‑educated voters and lower turnout among younger and some minority groups [3] [2] [4].
7. What reporting does not settle or invokes debate
Available sources do not mention a single definitive ranking that combines every demographic (age, race, education, income, disability) into one unanimized “highest” and “lowest” list; instead, sources report the same overall patterns with variation in specific subgroup rates and state coverage [1] [3] [2] [4]. Some outlets emphasize youth declines, others underline Hispanic turnout drops, and still others highlight geographic or disability differences — each framing reflects the data source and its implicit agenda (e.g., voter‑file group advocacy vs. federal survey neutrality) [5] [1].
8. Bottom line for readers
Use the Census CPS figures as the federal baseline (65.3% turnout) and treat Pew, Catalist, CIRCLE, USAFacts and Ballotpedia as complementary lenses that converge on one central conclusion: older, white, more‑educated and higher‑income Americans were the most likely to vote in 2024, while younger adults, Hispanic voters and certain disability groups had among the lowest turnout — but exact rates vary by data source and methodology [1] [3] [2] [4].