† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
6 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupColumbia, SCSouth CarolinaUnited States
English10.1%12.1%9.5%
German9.6%9.4%12.5%
Irish7.5%9.1%9.4%
American6.1%8.2%5.3%
Italian2.6%3.4%4.8%
Scottish1.8%2.1%1.3%
Scotch-Irish1.8%1.4%—
French0.8%1.1%1.6%
African American†30.8%23.4%9.9%
African1.4%0.6%0.5%
Jamaican0.4%0.2%0.4%
Nigerian0.2%—0.2%
Mexican3.0%3.4%11.3%
Puerto Rican1.2%1.0%1.8%
Honduran0.5%0.4%0.3%
Guatemalan0.4%0.3%0.5%
Cuban0.2%0.3%0.7%
Colombian0.2%0.4%0.4%
Asian Indian0.9%0.5%1.4%
Chinese0.4%0.2%1.3%
Filipino0.3%0.3%0.9%
Korean0.2%—0.4%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Columbia, SC
South Carolina
United States
Median age
37.5
40.5
39.1
Age 18–24
11.1%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
16.1%
18.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Columbia, SC
South Carolina
United States
Median household income
$68,275
$69,324
$84,427
Poverty rate
14.6%
14.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
35.6%
32.1%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Columbia, SC
South Carolina
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
8.6%
8.4%
22.3%
Spanish
5.0%
5.2%
13.6%
Other Indo-European
1.0%
0.8%
2.0%
Religious landscape
Measure
Columbia, SC
South Carolina
United States
Catholic
6.6%
8.0%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
25.9%
28.6%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
45.6%
47.5%
51.5%
Mainline Protestant
10.7%
7.4%
5.2%
Black Protestant
7.6%
5.8%
2.2%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Columbia, SC
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
+64.3%
1896
+73.5%
1900
+93.3%
1904
+93.3%
1908
+89.5%
1912
+93.7%
1916
+89.1%
1920
+89.1%
1924
+95.6%
1928
+85.2%
1932
+98.0%
1936
+98.3%
1940
+95.3%
1944
+91.0%
1948
+15.8%
1952
−19.9%
1956
+5.2%
1960
−20.8%
1964
−25.1%
1968
−16.1%
1972
−41.7%
1976
+0.6%
1980
−12.8%
1984
−31.1%
1988
−25.5%
1992
−6.3%
1996
−3.7%
2000
−10.8%
2004
−9.7%
2008
+0.9%
2012
+1.7%
2016
+1.0%
2020
+5.5%
2024
+0.2%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
D
49.3%Harris192,821
49.1%Trump191,991
1.6%
D+0.2
R+5.3
D+1.7
390,990
D
52.0%Biden208,820
46.5%Trump186,741
1.5%
D+5.5
D+4.5
D+1.0
401,720
D
48.1%Clinton166,891
47.1%Trump163,377
4.9%
D+1.0
R+0.7
R+1.1
347,190
D
50.2%Obama164,546
48.5%Romney158,932
1.4%
D+1.7
D+0.8
R+2.1
328,016
D
49.9%Obama165,069
49.1%McCain162,165
1.0%
D+0.9
D+10.6
R+6.4
330,494
R
44.6%Kerry122,349
54.4%Bush149,020
1.0%
R+9.7
D+1.1
R+7.3
274,080
R
43.4%Gore104,445
54.2%Bush130,495
2.5%
R+10.8
R+7.1
R+11.3
240,901
R
45.5%Clinton87,814
49.2%Dole95,022
5.3%
R+3.7
D+2.5
R+12.3
193,078
R
41.7%Clinton88,575
47.9%Bush101,906
10.4%
R+6.3
D+19.2
R+11.8
212,651
R
36.2%Dukakis60,266
61.7%Bush102,709
2.1%
R+25.5
D+5.6
R+17.8
166,436
R
33.5%Mondale53,757
64.7%Reagan103,627
1.8%
R+31.1
R+18.3
R+12.9
160,258
R
41.8%Carter59,442
54.6%Reagan77,617
3.5%
R+12.8
R+13.4
R+3.1
142,074
D
50.0%Carter66,328
49.4%Ford65,579
0.6%
D+0.6
D+42.3
R+1.5
132,734
R
28.4%McGovern32,724
70.1%Nixon80,678
1.4%
R+41.7
R+25.6
R+18.5
115,027
R
29.9%Humphrey30,222
46.0%Nixon46,468
24.1%
R+16.1
D+9.0
R+15.4
101,039
R
37.4%Johnson30,563
62.6%Goldwater51,076
0.0%
R+25.1
R+4.4
R+47.7
81,639
R
39.6%Kennedy22,553
60.4%Nixon34,381
0.0%
R+20.8
R+26.0
R+20.9
56,934
O
31.6%Stevenson12,505
26.3%Eisenhower10,426
42.1%
Other +10.6
D+25.2
D+20.6
39,624
R
40.0%Stevenson18,021
60.0%Eisenhower26,988
0.0%
R+19.9
R+35.7
R+9.2
45,009
O
20.5%Truman3,721
4.7%Dewey859
74.8%
Thurmond +54.3
R+75.2
D+11.3
18,164
D
92.6%Roosevelt12,772
1.6%Dewey217
5.9%
D+91.0
R+4.3
D+83.5
13,797
D
97.7%Roosevelt10,071
2.3%Willkie242
0.0%
D+95.3
R+3.0
D+85.4
10,313
D
98.3%Roosevelt13,416
0.0%Landon0
1.7%
D+98.3
D+0.3
D+74.1
13,644
D
98.0%Roosevelt8,465
0.0%Hoover0
2.0%
D+98.0
D+12.8
D+80.2
8,638
D
92.6%Smith7,814
7.4%Hoover625
0.0%
D+85.2
R+10.4
D+102.7
8,439
D
97.2%Davis6,815
1.6%Coolidge115
1.2%
D+95.6
D+6.5
D+120.7
7,011
D
94.5%Cox7,882
5.5%Harding455
0.0%
D+89.1
±0.0
D+115.3
8,339
D
93.6%Wilson7,950
4.5%Hughes379
2.0%
D+89.1
R+4.6
D+86.0
8,496
D
93.7%Wilson5,398
0.0%Taft0
6.3%
D+93.7
D+4.2
D+74.1
5,762
D
94.6%Bryan8,064
5.1%Taft435
0.3%
D+89.5
R+3.8
D+99.0
8,528
D
96.6%Parker6,134
3.4%Roosevelt214
0.0%
D+93.3
R+0.1
D+112.9
6,348
D
96.7%Bryan4,596
3.3%McKinley159
0.0%
D+93.3
D+19.8
D+100.9
4,755
D
86.6%Bryan6,107
13.0%McKinley918
0.4%
D+73.5
D+9.3
D+79.6
7,056
D
79.7%Cleveland4,223
15.4%Harrison818
4.8%
D+64.3
—
D+62.6
5,297
Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
R
46.1%123,581
53.8%144,288
268,250
2020
D
52.5%211,263
46.2%185,806
402,231
voter registration
Registered voters
Total registered voters, over time
Registered voters
Voter registration in Columbia, SC
Year
Total registered
2016
514,538
2018
572,942
2020
614,208
2022
592,381
2024
599,493
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+5,818 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net +65,942 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Columbia, SC in Columbia, SC: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+2,180
2012
+2,057
2013
+3,407
2014
+3,671
2015
+5,749
2016
+4,058
2017
+3,995
2018
+3,218
2019
+3,473
2021
+6,991
2022
+8,397
2023
+6,532
2024
+6,396
2025
+5,818
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.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 98.3 points in 1936 and a Republican high of 41.7 points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 5.3 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 0.2 points.
A population of 849,181, a 53% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $68,275 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Greensboro-High Point, NC and Memphis, TN-MS-AR.
Akashic
Political twins — metros
The metros whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Columbia, SC, South Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/17900/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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How did Columbia, SC, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Columbia, SC, South Carolina voted a near-tie (D+0.2), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 390,990 votes cast, 192,821 went Democratic and 191,991 went Republican.
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 34 presidential elections in Columbia, SC, South Carolina from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 20 went Democratic and 12 went Republican.
