Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina: Realigner metro. In 2024, voted D+25%. Democratic peak: D+98 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+25MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- RealignerAkashic typology
- Population
- 83,2532024 5-year
- Median household income
- $45,6752024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 34.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 60.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 2.7%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+98 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+30 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Orangeburg, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 22,832 | 13,750 | 36,970 | ||
| D | 27,295 | 13,603 | 41,205 | ||
| D | 26,318 | 11,931 | 38,910 | ||
| D | 30,720 | 12,022 | 43,041 | ||
| D | 27,263 | 12,115 | 39,754 | ||
| D | 24,698 | 12,695 | 37,564 | ||
| D | 19,802 | 12,657 | 32,734 | ||
| D | 18,610 | 10,494 | 30,315 | ||
| D | 18,440 | 11,328 | 32,234 | ||
| D | 14,655 | 13,281 | 28,049 | ||
| D | 15,121 | 14,286 | 29,636 | ||
| D | 16,178 | 11,313 | 27,733 | ||
| D | 13,652 | 8,794 | 22,604 | ||
| R | 7,652 | 11,711 | 19,745 | ||
| D | 8,971 | 5,144 | 21,259 | ||
| R | 5,607 | 10,456 | 16,063 | ||
| R | 3,890 | 5,233 | 9,123 | ||
| O | 2,511 | 1,467 | 6,921 | ||
| R | 2,829 | 4,695 | 7,524 | ||
| O | 435 | 164 | 3,763 | ||
| D | 2,440 | 87 | 2,693 | ||
| D | 2,356 | 56 | 2,412 | ||
| D | 2,947 | 0 | 3,006 | ||
| D | 2,643 | 0 | 2,757 | ||
| D | 1,545 | 92 | 1,637 | ||
| D | 1,727 | 67 | 1,807 | ||
| D | 2,526 | 304 | 2,831 | ||
| D | 2,641 | 159 | 2,831 | ||
| D | 1,550 | 0 | 1,685 | ||
| D | 2,687 | 405 | 3,093 | ||
| D | 2,941 | 238 | 3,179 | ||
| D | 2,457 | 167 | 2,624 | ||
| D | 2,729 | 282 | 3,011 | ||
| D | 2,792 | 838 | 3,637 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
7.3%
German
4.3%
English
4.1%
Irish
3.2%
Italian
0.8%
French
0.7%
Scottish
0.7%
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: 40.7 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
$45,675
Orangeburg, SC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Orangeburg, SC$45,675
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
22.4%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1830.2%
Working age (18–64)20.1%
Seniors (65+)21.7%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.2%
speak English only
Spanish2.0%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Other languages0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 35.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Orangeburg anchors one of South Carolina's most racially distinctive metros, with South Carolina State University and Claflin University driving unusually high concentrations of young Black voters relative to the region's population size.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Orangeburg, SC peaked at ninety-eight points in 1936; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1976 election delivered the metro to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of twenty-one points. By 2024, the margin had settled into deep Republican territory.
The economic and demographic context is severe. The median household income of $45,675 is among the lowest at this geographic scale; 22% of residents live below the federal poverty line.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/36700/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina voted Democratic by 24.6 points (D+25), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 36,970 votes cast, 22,832 went Democratic and 13,750 went Republican.
What is Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Orangeburg, 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 28 times, Republican 4 times, and other 2 times.
When did Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina voted Republican was 1972.
How many people live in Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina?
Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina has a population of 83,253 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina?
Median household income in Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina is $45,675 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Orangeburg, SC, South Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 28 went Democratic and 4 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Realigner" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.