akashic
1876–2024
Charleston-North Charleston, SC·South Carolina

Charleston-North Charleston, SC votes the way the country votes.

A port metro where suburban growth reshapes a historically decisive region

1876 — 2024·38 elections
SC
Latest
R+4
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
834,267
2024 ACS

Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted R+4%. Democratic peak: D+95 in 1936.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+4MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
BellwetherAkashic typology
Population
834,2672024 5-year
Median household income
$85,2072024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
64.1%2024 5-year
Black
23.4%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
7.8%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+95 in 1936MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+39 in 1972MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
3 counties · 1 D · 2 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−4.3%
190,332207,881405,119
D
+2.0%
200,532192,607400,593
R
−3.4%
144,059155,017318,429
R
−5.3%
133,474148,635286,757
R
−1.4%
132,259135,956271,620
R
−12.9%
98,633128,407230,570
R
−12.9%
79,395103,759188,433
R
−9.4%
66,86081,649156,917
R
−11.5%
61,78880,455162,257
R
−23.6%
49,66080,684131,445
R
−32.1%
43,89886,040131,170
R
−14.8%
49,81467,834121,374
D
+4.4%
52,11547,686100,715
R
−38.6%
24,95857,30383,852
R
−5.4%
27,28731,65780,546
R
−37.9%
19,70543,71863,423
R
−23.3%
16,90927,17044,079
O
−10.2%
5,7929,04632,026
R
−33.1%
12,51924,88837,407
O
+12.9%
3,12670518,762
D
+60.9%
7,9621,28110,973
D
+71.9%
9,6281,57311,201
D
+95.5%
9,594010,047
D
+93.6%
7,70408,234
D
+50.8%
5,6791,8457,542
D
+78.4%
3,7524074,267
D
+80.8%
4,3514574,821
D
+89.0%
3,1021793,285
D
+91.8%
2,65902,896
D
+65.1%
3,3066854,029
D
+78.4%
3,1253793,504
D
+74.9%
2,9714263,397
D
+17.4%
2,1731,4454,176
D
+23.6%
2,6011,6014,234
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Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.5%
German
10.5%
Irish
9.9%
American
7.5%
Italian
4.2%
Scottish
2.4%
Polish
1.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 38.3 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.7%
85+
0.9%
2.1%
75–84
2.6%
4.7%
65–74
5.5%
6.0%
55–64
6.6%
5.8%
45–54
6.1%
7.1%
35–44
7.3%
7.3%
25–34
7.5%
4.5%
18–24
4.0%
8.1%
5–17
7.7%
3.0%
<5
2.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$85,207
Charleston-North Charleston, SC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Charleston-North Charleston, SC$85,207
South Carolina$69,324
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.3%
Working age (18–64)9.7%
Seniors (65+)9.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.0%
speak English only
Spanish5.5%
Other Indo-European1.9%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.3%
Other languages0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
11.7%
Other Christian
10.9%
Methodist
7.9%
Baptist
7.6%
Mainline Protestant
3.4%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.2%
Non-Christian
0.7%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 55.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Charleston-North Charleston has shifted from a reliably one-sided coastal enclave into a more competitive metro as in-migration from northeastern and midwestern states accelerates population growth and diversifies the electorate.

The Democratic margin in Charleston-North Charleston, SC has rarely exceeded ninety-five points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded thirty-nine points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Republican candidate by four points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 64% non-Hispanic-white share, a 11% poverty rate, and a median household income of $85,207 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/16700/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina voted Republican by 4.3 points (R+4), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 405,119 votes cast, 190,332 went Democratic and 207,881 went Republican.
What is Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina as a "Bellwether" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 16 times, Republican 16 times, and other 2 times.
When did Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina?
Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina has a population of 834,267 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina?
Median household income in Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina is $85,207 — above the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Charleston-North Charleston, SC, South Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.