metro areaHilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC
presidential margin
2004–2024 · Democratic minus Republican
2004R+17.6
2008R+6.9
2012R+13.5
2016R+11.1
2020R+8.6
2024R+13.8
full record · 1892 → 2024
presidential returns
2024 turnout 69.4% of 176,677 citizens 18+
Year
Democrat
Republican
Others
Total
CVAP
Turnout
2024
52,146
69,023
1,461
122,630
176,677
69.4%
2020
50,604
60,272
1,353
112,229
168,267
66.7%
2016
38,094
48,109
3,748
89,951
150,538
59.8%
2012
35,605
46,856
857
83,318
134,217
62.1%
2008
35,785
41,186
753
77,724
122,453
63.5%
2004
25,345
36,264
472
62,081
110,689†
56.1%
† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
2 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
GroupHilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SCSouth CarolinaUnited States
German12.7%9.4%12.5%
English12.5%12.1%9.5%
Irish11.6%9.1%9.4%
Italian6.0%3.4%4.8%
American5.7%8.2%5.3%
Polish2.5%—2.2%
Scottish2.4%2.1%1.3%
French2.2%1.1%1.6%
African American†16.8%23.4%9.9%
African0.5%0.6%0.5%
Jamaican0.4%0.2%0.4%
Mexican6.5%3.4%11.3%
Puerto Rican1.9%1.0%1.8%
Honduran1.1%0.4%0.3%
Colombian0.5%0.4%0.4%
Salvadoran0.4%—0.7%
Guatemalan0.4%0.3%0.5%
Venezuelan0.3%——
Spanish0.3%——
Filipino0.3%0.3%0.9%
Vietnamese0.3%0.2%0.6%
Chinese0.2%0.2%1.3%
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
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC
South Carolina
United States
Median age
47.7
40.5
39.1
Age 18–24
9.3%
9.1%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
27.6%
18.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC
South Carolina
United States
Median household income
$83,609
$69,324
$84,427
Poverty rate
10.8%
14.1%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
43.2%
32.1%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC
South Carolina
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
12.6%
8.4%
22.3%
Spanish
9.7%
5.2%
13.6%
Religious landscape
Measure
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC
South Carolina
United States
Catholic
19.3%
8.0%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
14.2%
28.6%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
56.4%
47.5%
51.5%
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.
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−21.0%
1896
−21.1%
1900
−0.9%
1904
+13.1%
1908
+31.5%
1912
+85.5%
1916
+70.6%
1920
+52.9%
1924
+68.9%
1928
+59.7%
1932
+92.3%
1936
+95.3%
1940
+76.7%
1944
+55.8%
1948
+9.9%
1952
−15.9%
1956
−13.2%
1960
−5.2%
1964
−14.5%
1968
+13.5%
1972
−25.9%
1976
+11.1%
1980
+2.3%
1984
−20.3%
1988
−22.0%
1992
−4.2%
1996
−5.1%
2000
−13.5%
2004
−17.6%
2008
−6.9%
2012
−13.5%
2016
−11.1%
2020
−8.6%
2024
−13.8%
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
R
42.5%Harris52,146
56.3%Trump69,023
1.2%
R+13.8
R+5.1
R+12.3
122,630
R
45.1%Biden50,604
53.7%Trump60,272
1.2%
R+8.6
D+2.5
R+13.1
112,229
R
42.3%Clinton38,094
53.5%Trump48,109
4.2%
R+11.1
D+2.4
R+13.2
89,951
R
42.7%Obama35,605
56.2%Romney46,856
1.0%
R+13.5
R+6.6
R+17.4
83,318
R
46.0%Obama35,785
53.0%McCain41,186
1.0%
R+6.9
D+10.6
R+14.2
77,724
R
40.8%Kerry25,345
58.4%Bush36,264
0.8%
R+17.6
R+4.1
R+15.1
62,081
R
41.8%Gore21,133
55.3%Bush27,975
3.0%
R+13.5
R+8.4
R+14.0
50,617
R
44.4%Clinton17,585
49.5%Dole19,599
6.2%
R+5.1
R+0.9
R+13.6
39,630
R
40.3%Clinton14,919
44.4%Bush16,460
15.3%
R+4.2
D+17.9
R+9.7
37,050
R
38.7%Dukakis11,585
60.7%Bush18,188
0.6%
R+22.0
R+1.8
R+14.3
29,950
R
39.6%Mondale11,100
59.9%Reagan16,770
0.5%
R+20.3
R+22.5
R+2.0
27,997
D
49.5%Carter10,727
47.2%Reagan10,237
3.3%
D+2.3
R+8.8
D+12.0
21,669
D
55.4%Carter8,952
44.3%Ford7,156
0.4%
D+11.1
D+37.0
D+9.0
16,169
R
36.6%McGovern4,440
62.5%Nixon7,579
0.9%
R+25.9
R+39.3
R+2.7
12,131
D
45.4%Humphrey5,142
31.9%Nixon3,616
22.7%
D+13.5
D+28.0
D+14.2
11,337
R
42.7%Johnson3,749
57.3%Goldwater5,025
0.0%
R+14.5
R+9.3
R+37.1
8,774
R
47.4%Kennedy2,521
52.6%Nixon2,800
0.0%
R+5.2
D+7.9
R+5.4
5,321
O
22.7%Stevenson920
35.9%Eisenhower1,454
41.4%
Other +5.4
D+2.7
D+2.2
4,048
R
42.1%Stevenson1,742
57.9%Eisenhower2,399
0.0%
R+15.9
R+25.8
R+5.1
4,141
O
18.4%Truman394
8.4%Dewey181
73.2%
Thurmond +54.8
R+45.9
D+5.5
2,144
D
65.9%Roosevelt824
10.1%Dewey126
24.1%
D+55.8
R+20.9
D+48.3
1,251
D
88.3%Roosevelt1,000
11.7%Willkie132
0.0%
D+76.7
R+18.6
D+66.7
1,132
D
95.3%Roosevelt953
0.0%Landon0
4.7%
D+95.3
D+3.0
D+71.0
1,000
D
92.3%Roosevelt954
0.0%Hoover0
7.7%
D+92.3
D+32.5
D+74.5
1,034
D
79.6%Smith516
19.9%Hoover129
0.5%
D+59.7
R+9.2
D+77.2
648
D
80.2%Davis454
11.3%Coolidge64
8.5%
D+68.9
D+16.0
D+94.1
566
D
76.5%Cox484
23.5%Harding149
0.0%
D+52.9
R+17.7
D+79.1
633
D
85.0%Wilson619
14.4%Hughes105
0.5%
D+70.6
R+14.9
D+67.5
728
D
85.5%Wilson662
0.0%Taft0
14.5%
D+85.5
D+54.0
D+66.0
774
D
65.7%Bryan522
34.3%Taft272
0.0%
D+31.5
D+18.4
D+41.0
794
D
56.5%Parker415
43.5%Roosevelt319
0.0%
D+13.1
D+14.0
D+32.7
734
R
49.5%Bryan378
50.5%McKinley385
0.0%
R+0.9
D+20.2
D+6.6
763
R
39.4%Bryan289
60.6%McKinley444
0.0%
R+21.1
R+0.2
R+15.1
733
R
39.5%Cleveland175
60.5%Harrison268
0.0%
R+21.0
—
R+22.7
443
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
37.4%30,869
62.5%51,577
82,495
2020
R
45.2%50,791
53.8%60,514
112,393
voter registration
Registered voters
Total registered voters, over time
Registered voters
Voter registration in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC
Year
Total registered
2016
131,151
2018
161,404
2020
171,622
2022
177,745
2024
183,239
domestic migration
Who moves in and out
Net domestic migration over time
+3,196 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net +46,365 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Domestic migration in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
+530
2012
+1,975
2013
+2,896
2014
+3,287
2015
+4,163
2016
+3,114
2017
+3,029
2018
+2,505
2019
+3,640
2021
+5,802
2022
+4,932
2023
+3,695
2024
+3,601
2025
+3,196
Rapid population growth driven by affluent retirees and second-home buyers has shifted this coastal South Carolina metro's demographic profile steadily over the past decade, making voter composition harder to project from historical baselines.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 95.3 points in 1936 and a Republican high of 25.9 points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 5.1 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 13.8 points.
A population of 227,455, a 64% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $83,609 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Wilmington, NC and Easton, MD.
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.
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/25940/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Embed this page
A live widget for your site — no API key, attribution built in, CC BY 4.0. All widgets & sizes →
How did Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina voted Republican by 13.8 points (R+13.8), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 122,630 votes cast, 52,146 went Democratic and 69,023 went Republican.
When did Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina voted Democratic was 1980.
How many people live in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina?
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina has a population of 227,455 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina?
Median household income in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina is $83,609 — above the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 14 went Democratic and 18 went Republican.
