Columbus County, North Carolina
Precinct data
Results by precinct
21 precincts · 27,110 votes
Precinct boundaries and identifiers are cycle-specific. This table does not join rows across years without a validated crosswalk.
| Precinct -P14P14 | 1,100 | 1,542 | 17 | 2,659 | 41.4% | 58.0% | R+16.6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precinct -P07P07 | 962 | 1,181 | 8 | 2,151 | 44.7% | 54.9% | R+10.2 |
| Precinct -P26BP26B | 772 | 1,356 | 17 | 2,145 | 36.0% | 63.2% | R+27.2 |
| Precinct -P19P19 | 847 | 921 | 22 | 1,790 | 47.3% | 51.5% | R+4.1 |
| Precinct -P15P15 | 593 | 1,055 | 10 | 1,658 | 35.8% | 63.6% | R+27.9 |
| Precinct -P23P23 | 623 | 931 | 15 | 1,569 | 39.7% | 59.3% | R+19.6 |
| Precinct -P24P24 | 140 | 1,420 | 5 | 1,565 | 8.9% | 90.7% | R+81.8 |
| Precinct -P22AP22A | 421 | 1,062 | 4 | 1,487 | 28.3% | 71.4% | R+43.1 |
| Precinct -P16BP16B | 390 | 999 | 8 | 1,397 | 27.9% | 71.5% | R+43.6 |
| Precinct -P82P82 | 403 | 909 | 10 | 1,322 | 30.5% | 68.8% | R+38.3 |
| Precinct -P01AP01A | 396 | 818 | 6 | 1,220 | 32.5% | 67.0% | R+34.6 |
| Precinct -P25BP25B | 99 | 995 | 8 | 1,102 | 9.0% | 90.3% | R+81.3 |
| Precinct -P89P89 | 357 | 708 | 9 | 1,074 | 33.2% | 65.9% | R+32.7 |
| Precinct -P513P513 | 134 | 752 | 3 | 889 | 15.1% | 84.6% | R+69.5 |
| Precinct -P112P112 | 73 | 786 | 4 | 863 | 8.5% | 91.1% | R+82.6 |
| Precinct -P17P17 | 484 | 351 | 3 | 838 | 57.8% | 41.9% | D+15.9 |
| Precinct -P02BP02B | 373 | 379 | 5 | 757 | 49.3% | 50.1% | R+0.8 |
| Precinct -P34P34 | 171 | 546 | 2 | 719 | 23.8% | 75.9% | R+52.2 |
| Precinct -P06P06 | 140 | 536 | 5 | 681 | 20.6% | 78.7% | R+58.1 |
| Precinct -P11P11 | 116 | 548 | 2 | 666 | 17.4% | 82.3% | R+64.9 |
| Precinct -P20AP20A | 354 | 201 | 3 | 558 | 63.4% | 36.0% | D+27.4 |
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 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% |
U.S. Senate
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | R | 36.2%6,888 | 61.6%11,723 | 19,022 |
| 2020 | R | 36.8%9,599 | 59.6%15,563 | 26,102 |
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Columbus County, NC registers Democratic but votes Republican — a 38-point gap between how voters register and how they vote, the signature of ancestral registration that trails realignment.
| Year | Total registered | Democratic | Republican | Unaffiliated | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 38,451 | 26,190 | 6,071 | 6,178 | 12 |
| 2012 | 38,023 | 24,548 | 6,320 | 7,113 | 42 |
| 2016 | 36,625 | 21,468 | 6,709 | 8,395 | 53 |
| 2020 | 37,131 | 16,989 | 9,608 | 10,410 | 124 |
| 2022 | 36,977 | 15,308 | 10,443 | 11,115 | 111 |
| 2024 | 38,088 | 13,429 | 11,689 | 12,786 | 184 |
Who moves in and out
Net migration over time, and who arrivals are — where they came from and what those places vote
+270 net domestic migration · 2025
Net −1,038 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Arrivals reported $45,418 in average income, against $56,202 for residents who stayed — 19% lower. (IRS SOI, 2022–23)
The places arrivals came from lean R+18.0 on average — 16 points more Democratic-leaning than Columbus County, NC itself (R+33.9).
Where arrivals came from lean of each source
- Brunswick County, NC148R+24.8
- Horry County, SC109R+38.5
- New Hanover County, NC71D+0.6
- Bladen County, NC64R+20.4
- Robeson County, NC42R+27.6
- Cumberland County, NC38D+13.4
Where departures went households, 2022–23
- Horry County, SC133
- Brunswick County, NC115
- Bladen County, NC85
- Robeson County, NC64
- New Hanover County, NC60
- Wake County, NC36
Migration is one input to a place’s political change, not its cause — a shift can also come from residents changing their minds, generational turnover, or turnout. These figures describe the places people moved between; they do not measure how any mover voted.
| Year | Net domestic migration |
|---|---|
| 2011 | −267 |
| 2012 | −242 |
| 2013 | −352 |
| 2014 | −85 |
| 2015 | −155 |
| 2016 | −299 |
| 2017 | −168 |
| 2018 | −132 |
| 2019 | −124 |
| 2021 | −240 |
| 2022 | +338 |
| 2023 | +348 |
| 2024 | +70 |
| 2025 | +270 |
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.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 74.0 points in 1932 and a Republican high of 43.1 points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved 5.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 33.9 points.
A population of 50,140, a 59% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $49,442 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Lauderdale County and Chesterfield County.
The counties 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.
Browse places by community — income, education, race & ethnicity, language — all community cuts →
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 →
Columbus County, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/37047/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.