This is part of our series looking at the demographics of North Carolina’s registered voters. Other stories include an in-depth look at North Carolina’s Republican voters and an in-depth look at North Carolina’s unaffiliated voters.
As of October 25th, 2026, North Carolina had 7.8 million registered voters. Of these, 2,336,966 million, or 30%, were registered Democrat.
Older voters are the most likely to register as a Democrat, reflective of the legacy of the “Solid South.” Thirty-five percent of voters aged 66 and older are registered Democrats compared to 24% of 18-25 year-olds, 28% of 26-40 year-olds, and 29% of 41-65-year-olds. Thus, older adults comprise a larger share of the state’s Democratic voters than the overall electorate.
The share of Democrats in each age bracket, however, has dwindled since the 2020 election by around 4-8%, reflecting an increase in the number of unaffiliated voters.
Reflecting this age structure, 20% of North Carolina’s Democrats were registered before 2000— nearly equal to the share of Republicans registered before 2000 (22%). An additional 16% registered in the 2000s, 25% registered in the 2010s, and 38% have registered since 2020.
Democratic voters are more diverse than the statewide electorate. Black voters comprise the largest racial/ethnic group among Democratic voters: 45% versus 19% statewide. White voters are the second largest group among registered Democrats (39% vs. 62% statewide).
Black voters are significantly more likely to register Democrat (70%) compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Thirty-three percent of American Indian voters, 34% of Latino voters, 27% of Asian voters, and 18% of white voters are registered Democrat in North Carolina.
Current North Carolina voters born in Virginia (49%) are the group most likely to be registered Democrat, followed by the District of Columbia (46%), South Carolina (36%) and New York (34%).
More than 892,380 Democrat voters — 38% of the state’s Democrat voter population — were born in North Carolina. New York (136,732), other countries (75,161), Virginia (59,693), South Carolina (52,339), and Pennsylvania (49,438) were the next most common birthplaces outside of North Carolina. Another quarter (573,064) of Democratic voters opted to not share their place of birth.
Most registered Democrats are born in the South (52%). The second largest concentration of Democrats were born in the Northeast (12%). Excluding North Carolina, registered Democrats in North Carolina are still most likely to be born in the South — 14% of registered Democrats not born in North Carolina were still born in the South.
Across North Carolina’s 100 counties, county shares of Democrat voters vary widely, reflecting differences in voter base composition by age, race/ethnicity, and place of birth. Reflecting the inverse of registration patterns for Republican voters, northeastern counties are most likely to register Democrat while many western counties are least likely to register Democrat.
Fifty-seven percent of registered voters in Hertford County are registered Democrat, the highest proportion statewide (Hertford also has the third-lowest share of Republican voters). In contrast, Mitchell County has the lowest share of Democrat voters (8%) and the highest share of Republican voters.
Note: Analysis presented is of the 10/25/2026 voter registration file from NC’s State Board of Elections. Analysis is limited to individuals who are active or active registered voters. Voters with a reported birth age of older than 100 years were excluded from the age analysis.
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