akashic
1876–2024
Columbia, SC·South Carolina

Columbia, SC votes the way the country votes.

State capital anchors a metro whose suburban ring has shifted markedly since 2008

1876 — 2024·38 elections
SC
Latest
Tied
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
849,181
2024 ACS

Columbia, SC, South Carolina: Bellwether metro. In 2024, voted a near-tie. Democratic peak: D+98 in 1936.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
TiedMIT Election Lab
Political archetype
BellwetherAkashic typology
Population
849,1812024 5-year
Median household income
$68,2752024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
54.5%2024 5-year
Black
33.4%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
7.0%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+98 in 1932MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+42 in 1972MIT Election Lab
2024 results by constituent county
6 counties · 2 D · 4 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
D
+0.2%
192,821191,991390,990
D
+5.5%
208,820186,741401,720
D
+1.0%
166,891163,377347,190
D
+1.7%
164,546158,932328,016
D
+0.9%
165,069162,165330,494
R
−9.7%
122,349149,020274,080
R
−10.8%
104,445130,495240,901
R
−3.7%
87,81495,022193,078
R
−6.3%
88,575101,906212,651
R
−25.5%
60,266102,709166,436
R
−31.1%
53,757103,627160,258
R
−12.8%
59,44277,617142,074
D
+0.6%
66,32865,579132,734
R
−41.7%
32,72480,678115,027
R
−16.1%
30,22246,468101,039
R
−25.1%
30,56351,07681,639
R
−20.8%
22,55334,38156,934
O
+5.2%
12,50510,42639,624
R
−19.9%
18,02126,98845,009
O
+15.8%
3,72185918,164
D
+91.0%
12,77221713,797
D
+95.3%
10,07124210,313
D
+98.3%
13,416013,644
D
+98.0%
8,46508,638
D
+85.2%
7,8146258,439
D
+95.6%
6,8151157,011
D
+89.1%
7,8824558,339
D
+89.1%
7,9503798,496
D
+93.7%
5,39805,762
D
+89.5%
8,0644358,528
D
+93.3%
6,1342146,348
D
+93.3%
4,5961594,755
D
+73.5%
6,1079187,056
D
+64.3%
4,2238185,297
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Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
10.1%
German
9.6%
Irish
7.5%
American
6.1%
Italian
2.6%
Scottish
1.8%
French
0.8%
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: 37.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.6%
85+
1.0%
2.0%
75–84
2.6%
4.5%
65–74
5.4%
5.9%
55–64
6.5%
5.8%
45–54
6.2%
6.2%
35–44
6.7%
6.5%
25–34
6.9%
5.7%
18–24
5.4%
8.4%
5–17
8.1%
2.8%
<5
2.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$68,275
Columbia, SC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Columbia, SC$68,275
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
14.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.2%
Working age (18–64)13.4%
Seniors (65+)11.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.4%
speak English only
Spanish5.0%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.3%
Other languages0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Other Christian
15.4%
Baptist
15.1%
Methodist
8.5%
Catholic & Orthodox
6.7%
Mainline Protestant
5.4%
Pentecostal & Holiness
2.2%
Non-Christian
1.3%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 45.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Columbia's Richland County core votes reliably Democratic while the fast-growing Lexington County suburbs have trended competitive, making the metro a reliable bellwether for statewide margin analysis.

The Democratic margin in Columbia, SC has rarely exceeded ninety-eight points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded forty-two points. 2024 delivered the metro to the Democratic candidate by zero points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most metros. A 55% non-Hispanic-white share, a 15% poverty rate, and a median household income of $68,275 — all within the broad national range.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Columbia, SC, South Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/17900/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Columbia, SC, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Columbia, SC, South Carolina voted a near-tie (Tied), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 390,990 votes cast, 192,821 went Democratic and 191,991 went Republican.
What is Columbia, SC, South Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Columbia, 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 20 times, Republican 12 times, and other 2 times.
When did Columbia, SC, South Carolina last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Columbia, SC, South Carolina voted Republican was 2004.
How many people live in Columbia, SC, South Carolina?
Columbia, SC, South Carolina has a population of 849,181 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Columbia, SC, South Carolina?
Median household income in Columbia, SC, South Carolina is $68,275 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of Columbia, SC, South Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Columbia, SC, South Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 20 went Democratic and 12 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.