Charleston, SC, South Carolina: Bellwether market. In 2024, voted R+5%. Democratic peak: D+96 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+5MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- BellwetherAkashic typology
- Population
- 968,1432024 5-year
- Median household income
- $81,5172024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 63.0%2024 5-year
- Black
- 25.4%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.2%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+96 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+36 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Charleston, 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 | 221,307 | 246,427 | 475,479 | ||
| D | 235,245 | 229,066 | 472,529 | ||
| R | 174,949 | 186,361 | 382,391 | ||
| R | 167,447 | 178,428 | 351,112 | ||
| D | 166,353 | 165,275 | 335,674 | ||
| R | 124,978 | 153,072 | 282,187 | ||
| R | 102,012 | 125,585 | 233,505 | ||
| R | 87,474 | 97,091 | 195,027 | ||
| R | 82,814 | 97,159 | 204,120 | ||
| R | 66,913 | 98,592 | 166,822 | ||
| R | 62,786 | 106,102 | 170,273 | ||
| R | 70,395 | 82,814 | 157,303 | ||
| D | 73,163 | 60,343 | 134,575 | ||
| R | 36,993 | 74,869 | 113,776 | ||
| R | 39,154 | 40,779 | 109,499 | ||
| R | 27,427 | 57,870 | 85,297 | ||
| R | 23,195 | 34,622 | 57,817 | ||
| O | 8,958 | 11,068 | 44,187 | ||
| R | 17,114 | 32,564 | 49,678 | ||
| O | 3,907 | 859 | 25,820 | ||
| D | 11,930 | 1,405 | 15,669 | ||
| D | 13,417 | 1,827 | 15,244 | ||
| D | 13,614 | 0 | 14,142 | ||
| D | 12,540 | 0 | 13,118 | ||
| D | 8,212 | 1,963 | 10,194 | ||
| D | 5,358 | 446 | 5,916 | ||
| D | 6,481 | 522 | 7,016 | ||
| D | 5,759 | 269 | 6,037 | ||
| D | 4,590 | 0 | 4,924 | ||
| D | 6,799 | 1,064 | 7,902 | ||
| D | 6,750 | 697 | 7,447 | ||
| D | 5,562 | 1,321 | 6,883 | ||
| D | 5,848 | 2,869 | 9,321 | ||
| D | 5,643 | 3,748 | 9,455 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.0%
German
10.0%
Irish
9.6%
American
7.8%
Italian
4.0%
Scottish
2.3%
French
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: 39.5 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
$81,517
Charleston, SC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Charleston, SC$81,517
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
11.9%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.0%
Working age (18–64)10.6%
Seniors (65+)10.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.8%
speak English only
Spanish5.1%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.1%
Other languages0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 53.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
The Charleston media market anchors South Carolina's Low Country, where rapid in-migration of college-educated professionals has tightened margins in suburbs that were once reliably one-sided by double digits.
The Democratic margin in Charleston, SC has rarely exceeded ninety-six points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded thirty-six points. 2024 delivered the market to the Republican candidate by five points.
Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most markets. A 63% non-Hispanic-white share, a 12% poverty rate, and a median household income of $81,517 — all within the broad national range.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Charleston, SC, South Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/dma/519/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Charleston, SC, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Charleston, SC, South Carolina voted Republican by 5.3 points (R+5), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 475,479 votes cast, 221,307 went Democratic and 246,427 went Republican.
What is Charleston, SC, South Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Charleston, SC, South Carolina as a "Bellwether" market based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the market has voted Democratic 17 times, Republican 15 times, and other 2 times.
When did Charleston, SC, South Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Charleston, SC, South Carolina voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Charleston, SC, South Carolina?
Charleston, SC, South Carolina has a population of 968,143 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Charleston, SC, South Carolina?
Median household income in Charleston, SC, South Carolina is $81,517 — above the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of Charleston, SC, South Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Charleston, SC, South Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 17 went Democratic and 15 went Republican. The market's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.