Gaffney, SC, South Carolina: Realigner metro. In 2024, voted R+51%. Democratic peak: D+99 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+51MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- RealignerAkashic typology
- Population
- 56,6472024 5-year
- Median household income
- $50,2882024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 70.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 18.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+99 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+56 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Gaffney, SC, SCOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 5,939 | 18,697 | 24,839 | ||
| R | 6,983 | 18,043 | 25,270 | ||
| R | 6,092 | 15,167 | 21,759 | ||
| R | 7,231 | 13,314 | 20,773 | ||
| R | 7,215 | 13,305 | 20,766 | ||
| R | 6,466 | 12,090 | 18,714 | ||
| R | 6,138 | 9,900 | 16,323 | ||
| R | 5,821 | 6,689 | 13,639 | ||
| R | 5,453 | 6,887 | 14,557 | ||
| R | 4,322 | 7,763 | 12,151 | ||
| R | 4,101 | 8,655 | 12,809 | ||
| D | 6,889 | 5,379 | 12,418 | ||
| D | 7,765 | 3,931 | 11,732 | ||
| R | 2,107 | 7,570 | 9,800 | ||
| O | 1,998 | 2,853 | 10,493 | ||
| D | 4,258 | 3,627 | 7,885 | ||
| D | 5,391 | 1,565 | 6,956 | ||
| D | 3,687 | 907 | 4,902 | ||
| D | 5,545 | 1,529 | 7,074 | ||
| O | 605 | 77 | 1,758 | ||
| D | 1,620 | 68 | 1,721 | ||
| D | 2,069 | 36 | 2,105 | ||
| D | 2,280 | 0 | 2,303 | ||
| D | 2,363 | 0 | 2,402 | ||
| D | 1,388 | 89 | 1,477 | ||
| D | 1,186 | 24 | 1,216 | ||
| D | 1,771 | 48 | 1,819 | ||
| D | 1,271 | 13 | 1,319 | ||
| D | 1,259 | 0 | 1,282 | ||
| D | 1,506 | 66 | 1,572 | ||
| D | 1,507 | 31 | 1,538 | ||
| D | 1,084 | 39 | 1,123 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
13.9%
English
9.8%
Irish
8.0%
German
5.7%
Scottish
1.8%
Italian
1.6%
French
0.5%
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: 40.4 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$50,288
Gaffney, SC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Gaffney, SC$50,288
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
18.4%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1828.3%
Working age (18–64)15.3%
Seniors (65+)17.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.7%
speak English only
Spanish4.1%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Other Indo-European0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 37.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Gaffney anchors a small Upstate South Carolina metro where manufacturing employment and a predominantly working-class white electorate have driven consistent double-digit Republican margins in statewide races over the past two decades.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Gaffney, SC peaked at ninety-nine points in 1936; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1984 election delivered the metro to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of thirty-six points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.
The economic and demographic context is severe. The median household income of $50,288 is among the lowest at this geographic scale; 18% of residents live below the federal poverty line.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Gaffney, SC, South Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/23500/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Gaffney, SC, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Gaffney, SC, South Carolina voted Republican by 51.4 points (R+51), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 24,839 votes cast, 5,939 went Democratic and 18,697 went Republican.
What is Gaffney, SC, South Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Gaffney, SC, South Carolina as a "Realigner" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 18 times, Republican 12 times, and other 2 times.
When did Gaffney, SC, South Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Gaffney, SC, South Carolina voted Democratic was 1980.
How many people live in Gaffney, SC, South Carolina?
Gaffney, SC, South Carolina has a population of 56,647 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Gaffney, SC, South Carolina?
Median household income in Gaffney, SC, South Carolina is $50,288 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of Gaffney, SC, South Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Gaffney, SC, South Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 12 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Realigner" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.