Columbus County, North Carolina: Evangelical Deep South county. In 2024, voted R+34%. Democratic peak: D+74 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+34MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Evangelical Deep SouthAkashic typology
- Population
- 50,1402024 5-year
- Median household income
- $49,4422024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 59.5%2024 5-year
- Black
- 28.1%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+74 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+43 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Shoshone County, ID · similarity 0.97
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Columbus CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Columbus County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
—
Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1876 | No data |
| 1880 | No data |
| 1884 | No data |
| 1888 | No data |
| 1892 | +25.6% |
| 1896 | +24.4% |
| 1900 | +13.5% |
| 1904 | +24.6% |
| 1908 | +14.4% |
| 1912 | +55.7% |
| 1916 | +23.5% |
| 1920 | +27.1% |
| 1924 | +25.6% |
| 1928 | −10.6% |
| 1932 | +74.0% |
| 1936 | +67.9% |
| 1940 | +72.7% |
| 1944 | +57.3% |
| 1948 | +59.8% |
| 1952 | +39.6% |
| 1956 | +54.5% |
| 1960 | +48.2% |
| 1964 | +33.6% |
| 1968 | +2.4% |
| 1972 | −43.1% |
| 1976 | +55.3% |
| 1980 | +29.4% |
| 1984 | −2.4% |
| 1988 | +15.8% |
| 1992 | +31.8% |
| 1996 | +18.4% |
| 2000 | −8.9% |
| 2004 | −2.0% |
| 2008 | −7.9% |
| 2012 | −7.8% |
| 2016 | −21.9% |
| 2020 | −27.9% |
| 2024 | −33.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 8,648 | 17,592 | 26,402 | ||
| R | 9,446 | 16,832 | 26,446 | ||
| R | 9,063 | 14,272 | 23,732 | ||
| R | 11,050 | 12,941 | 24,243 | ||
| R | 11,076 | 12,994 | 24,282 | ||
| R | 10,343 | 10,773 | 21,191 | ||
| R | 8,342 | 9,986 | 18,425 | ||
| D | 9,019 | 6,017 | 16,280 | ||
| D | 11,469 | 5,462 | 18,916 | ||
| D | 9,172 | 6,659 | 15,882 | ||
| R | 8,728 | 9,150 | 17,904 | ||
| D | 10,212 | 5,522 | 15,940 | ||
| D | 11,148 | 3,184 | 14,401 | ||
| R | 3,305 | 8,468 | 11,987 | ||
| O | 4,243 | 3,881 | 14,817 | ||
| D | 9,004 | 4,471 | 13,475 | ||
| D | 10,455 | 3,655 | 14,110 | ||
| D | 7,805 | 2,300 | 10,105 | ||
| D | 6,941 | 3,001 | 9,942 | ||
| D | 5,511 | 1,105 | 7,369 | ||
| D | 5,717 | 1,552 | 7,269 | ||
| D | 5,900 | 934 | 6,834 | ||
| D | 6,359 | 1,214 | 7,573 | ||
| D | 5,098 | 739 | 5,890 | ||
| R | 2,854 | 3,533 | 6,387 | ||
| D | 2,757 | 1,629 | 4,412 | ||
| D | 3,111 | 1,783 | 4,894 | ||
| D | 2,143 | 1,327 | 3,472 | ||
| D | 1,668 | 155 | 2,715 | ||
| D | 1,845 | 1,381 | 3,226 | ||
| D | 1,447 | 876 | 2,323 | ||
| D | 1,623 | 1,237 | 2,860 | ||
| D | 1,918 | 1,162 | 3,098 | ||
| D | 1,592 | 813 | 3,040 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
15.7%
English
9.2%
Irish
4.5%
German
2.9%
Scottish
1.4%
French
0.9%
Italian
0.6%
African American
22.5%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
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.
2024 ACS
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 42.6 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.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$49,442
Columbus County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Columbus County$49,442
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Columbus County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties by median household income.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
18.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1823.6%
Working age (18–64)17.0%
Seniors (65+)14.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.1%
speak English only
Spanish5.0%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.5%
Other Indo-European0.3%
Other languages0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 43.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Columbus County sits in North Carolina's southeastern corner, where a majority-minority population and persistently high poverty rates have coexisted with widening Republican presidential margins over the past decade.
The Republican margin here reached its widest at forty-three points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved six points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was thirty-four points.
A median household income of $49,442, a 18% poverty rate, and a 60% non-Hispanic-white share describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Shoshone County and Iron County.
Most similar counties
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.
Columbus County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37047/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in North Carolina
More evangelical deep south counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Columbus County, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Columbus County, North Carolina voted Republican by 33.9 points (R+34), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 26,402 votes cast, 8,648 went Democratic and 17,592 went Republican.
What is Columbus County, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Columbus County, North Carolina in the "Evangelical Deep South" typology — Deeply Republican, heavily Baptist counties of the Deep South. The typology is a data-driven cluster built from vote share, vote swing, race and ethnicity, income, language spoken at home, religion, and ancestry. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 23 times, Republican 10 times, and other 1 times.
When did Columbus County, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Columbus County, North Carolina voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Columbus County, North Carolina?
Columbus County, North Carolina has a population of 50,140 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Columbus County, North Carolina?
Median household income in Columbus County, North Carolina is $49,442 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Columbus County, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Columbus County, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 23 went Democratic and 10 went Republican. The county's typology — "Evangelical Deep South" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.