It's been months since the dust settled, but people are still asking the same question: how many people votes in 2024 and where did they all come from? Honestly, the numbers are a bit of a rollercoaster. If you remember the chaos of 2020, you might expect 2024 to have shattered every record in the book. It didn't. But it came remarkably close.
According to the official data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in April 2025, about 154 million people actually cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential election. To put that in perspective, that’s roughly 65.3% of the citizen voting-age population. Now, compared to 2020, that’s actually a slight dip. Back then, we saw a record-breaking 66.6% turnout.
Still, don't let the small drop-off fool you. This was the second-highest turnout rate since 1960. Basically, Americans are still showing up in huge numbers, even if the "pandemic high" of 2020 has cooled off just a tiny bit.
Breaking Down the 154 Million: Who Showed Up?
When you look at how many people votes in 2024, you start to see some really interesting shifts in who was actually standing in those long lines or dropping envelopes in the mail. It wasn't just a copy-paste of four years ago.
For starters, women continued their decades-long streak of out-voting men. About 66.9% of eligible women voted, compared to 63.7% of men. This isn't exactly a new trend—it’s been this way since 1980—but the gap remains a major factor in how campaigns plan their spending.
Education played a massive role, too. It’s kinda wild when you look at the split. If you had an advanced degree, there was an 82.5% chance you voted. If you only had a high school diploma, that number plummeted to 52.5%. That’s a 30-point gap that tells you a lot about which communities feel the "system" is working for them and which don't.
📖 Related: Typhoon Tip and the Largest Hurricane on Record: Why Size Actually Matters
- White, non-Hispanic voters: 71% turnout (the highest of any racial group).
- Black voters: 59.6% turnout.
- Hispanic voters: 50.6% turnout (this was the biggest drop compared to 2020).
- Asian voters: 57% turnout.
The Hispanic turnout is what really has political scientists scratching their heads. It dropped by over 3 percentage points. Despite the drop in participation, the people from this group who did show up moved toward Donald Trump in significant numbers, showing that lower turnout doesn't always hurt the Republican side like people used to think.
The Battleground Surge
While the national average was 65.3%, the "swing states" were a different story entirely. If you lived in Pennsylvania, Michigan, or Wisconsin, you probably felt like you couldn't breathe without seeing a political ad. That pressure worked.
In the seven key battleground states, the average turnout was roughly 70%. People in these states knew their vote carried extra weight, and they acted like it. Minnesota and Wisconsin actually tied for the highest turnout in the country at a staggering 76.4%.
On the flip side, states that weren't "in play" saw much lower engagement. Hawaii had the lowest turnout in the nation at just 50.3%. It’s sort of a "why bother" effect—if you know exactly how your state is going to go, the motivation to wait in line for three hours starts to vanish pretty quickly.
How We Voted: The Return to In-Person
One of the biggest stories about how many people votes in 2024 is actually how they did it. In 2020, mail-in voting was the king because, well, nobody wanted to get sick. In 2024, we saw a massive "return to normal."
👉 See also: Melissa Calhoun Satellite High Teacher Dismissal: What Really Happened
- In-person on Election Day: 39.6%
- In-person early voting: 30.7%
- Mail-in ballots: 29.0%
Mail-in voting dropped from 43% in 2020 to just 29%. Meanwhile, early in-person voting is becoming the new favorite. It’s convenient, you get the "I Voted" sticker immediately, and you don't have to worry about the post office losing your ballot.
Why 2024 Felt Different Than 2020
Even though 154 million is a massive number, the "vibe" was different. Pew Research found that about 15% of people who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 simply stayed home in 2024. They didn't switch sides; they just "dropped off."
Donald Trump, however, managed to hold onto 89% of his 2020 voters. That 4% difference in "loyalty" or "motivation" is essentially why the popular vote shifted. He also did a much better job of capturing the "new and returning" voters—people who didn't vote in 2020 but decided to jump in this time. Among this group, Trump won by a margin of 54% to 42%.
It turns out that the 2024 campaign's strategy of targeting "low-propensity" voters—people who usually skip elections—actually paid off.
What This Means for the Future
The final certified count shows Donald Trump with 77,303,568 votes and Kamala Harris with 75,019,230 votes. It was the first time a Republican won the popular vote since 2004.
✨ Don't miss: Wisconsin Judicial Elections 2025: Why This Race Broke Every Record
So, what should you take away from all these spreadsheets and percentages?
First, the "Trump Coalition" is getting more diverse, even as it gets slightly smaller in total percentage of the population. Second, the "Blue Wall" states are still high-engagement zones, but that doesn't guarantee a win for Democrats anymore.
If you're looking to dive deeper into your specific local results, the best next step is to visit your State Secretary of State website. Most states provide a "precinct-level" breakdown that shows exactly how your neighbors voted. It's usually a downloadable CSV or PDF file that gives you the rawest data possible without the media spin. You can also check the Federal Election Commission (FEC) website for the final, official federal summaries which are typically finalized in the spring following the election.
Actionable Insights:
- Verify your registration early: Since turnout is highest in battlegrounds, registration deadlines are strictly enforced there.
- Check your voting method: If you're in a state like Colorado or Oregon, you're likely 100% mail-in; elsewhere, early in-person is becoming the fastest-growing trend.
- Download raw data: Use the FEC's "Official Election Results" portal for non-partisan, certified totals rather than relying on exit polls which can be misleading.