South Carolina, South Carolina: Old Confederacy state. In 2024, voted R+18%. Democratic peak: D+99 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+18MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Old ConfederacyAkashic typology
- Population
- 5,296,2252024 5-year
- Median household income
- $69,3242024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 63.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 24.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+99 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+43 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for South Carolina, 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 | 1,028,452 | 1,483,747 | 2,548,140 | ||
| R | 1,091,541 | 1,385,103 | 2,513,329 | ||
| R | 855,373 | 1,155,389 | 2,103,027 | ||
| R | 865,941 | 1,071,645 | 1,964,118 | ||
| R | 862,449 | 1,034,896 | 1,920,969 | ||
| R | 661,699 | 937,974 | 1,617,730 | ||
| R | 566,039 | 786,426 | 1,383,777 | ||
| R | 504,051 | 573,458 | 1,149,457 | ||
| R | 479,514 | 577,507 | 1,202,527 | ||
| R | 370,554 | 606,443 | 986,009 | ||
| R | 344,470 | 615,539 | 968,540 | ||
| R | 427,559 | 441,206 | 890,105 | ||
| D | 450,825 | 346,140 | 801,913 | ||
| R | 189,270 | 478,427 | 677,863 | ||
| R | 197,486 | 254,062 | 666,982 | ||
| R | 215,699 | 309,048 | 524,755 | ||
| D | 198,129 | 188,558 | 386,688 | ||
| D | 136,372 | 75,700 | 300,583 | ||
| D | 173,004 | 168,082 | 341,086 | ||
| O | 34,423 | 5,386 | 142,571 | ||
| D | 90,601 | 4,617 | 103,382 | ||
| D | 95,470 | 4,360 | 99,832 | ||
| D | 113,791 | 0 | 115,437 | ||
| D | 102,347 | 0 | 104,407 | ||
| D | 62,700 | 5,858 | 68,605 | ||
| D | 49,008 | 1,123 | 50,755 | ||
| D | 64,170 | 2,610 | 66,808 | ||
| D | 61,846 | 1,550 | 63,952 | ||
| D | 48,357 | 0 | 50,405 | ||
| D | 62,290 | 3,963 | 66,405 | ||
| D | 53,304 | 2,570 | 55,874 | ||
| D | 47,233 | 3,559 | 50,792 | ||
| D | 58,799 | 9,313 | 68,940 | ||
| D | 54,698 | 13,384 | 70,489 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
12.1%
German
9.4%
Irish
9.1%
American
8.2%
Italian
3.4%
Scottish
2.1%
Polish
1.0%
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: 40.5 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
$69,324
South Carolina ranks near the middle of US counties.
South Carolina$69,324
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
14.1%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1819.6%
Working age (18–64)12.7%
Seniors (65+)11.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
91.6%
speak English only
Spanish5.2%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.0%
Other languages0.4%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 47.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
South Carolina sits in the Deep South. For nearly a century after Reconstruction, the state voted Democratic — not because of New Deal politics, but because of the long memory of the Civil War. The Democratic party of the Solid South was the party of segregation, and in South Carolina as throughout the former Confederacy, Republican identification was politically untenable until the second half of the twentieth century.
The shift began with civil rights. 1980 marked the realignment in South Carolina, by a two points margin. The Republican margin reached its widest at forty-three points in 1972. The 2024 margin was eighteen points.
The political shift has tracked, in South Carolina, the political shift of the South more broadly. A 63% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $69,324, and a 14% poverty rate describe the demographic context.
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
South Carolina, South Carolina — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/state/sc/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Carolina
Frequently asked questions
How did South Carolina, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, South Carolina, South Carolina voted Republican by 17.9 points (R+18), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 2,548,140 votes cast, 1,028,452 went Democratic and 1,483,747 went Republican.
What is South Carolina, South Carolina's political archetype?
Akashic classifies South Carolina, South Carolina as a "Old Confederacy" state based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the state has voted Democratic 18 times, Republican 15 times, and other 1 times.
When did South Carolina, South Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which South Carolina, South Carolina voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in South Carolina, South Carolina?
South Carolina, South Carolina has a population of 5,296,225 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in South Carolina, South Carolina?
Median household income in South Carolina, South Carolina is $69,324 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of South Carolina, South Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in South Carolina, South Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 15 went Republican. The state's archetype — "Old Confederacy" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.