Beaufort County, South Carolina: Industrial Catholic Metro county. In 2024, voted R+14%. Democratic peak: D+92 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+14MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
- Population
- 195,2892024 5-year
- Median household income
- $86,5732024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 69.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 15.7%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 12.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+92 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+30 in 1984MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Fauquier County, VA · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Beaufort CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Beaufort 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 | −21.0% |
| 1896 | −21.1% |
| 1900 | −0.9% |
| 1904 | +13.1% |
| 1908 | +31.5% |
| 1912 | +80.6% |
| 1916 | +55.9% |
| 1920 | +28.0% |
| 1924 | +68.7% |
| 1928 | +53.6% |
| 1932 | +88.9% |
| 1936 | +92.1% |
| 1940 | +73.0% |
| 1944 | +61.0% |
| 1948 | +8.2% |
| 1952 | −18.2% |
| 1956 | −12.3% |
| 1960 | −5.8% |
| 1964 | −11.1% |
| 1968 | +9.2% |
| 1972 | −29.1% |
| 1976 | +0.9% |
| 1980 | −7.2% |
| 1984 | −29.9% |
| 1988 | −29.9% |
| 1992 | −10.4% |
| 1996 | −12.2% |
| 2000 | −18.3% |
| 2004 | −21.4% |
| 2008 | −10.8% |
| 2012 | −17.5% |
| 2016 | −13.7% |
| 2020 | −10.0% |
| 2024 | −14.5% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 44,002 | 59,123 | 104,403 | ||
| R | 43,419 | 53,194 | 97,835 | ||
| R | 32,138 | 42,922 | 78,524 | ||
| R | 29,848 | 42,687 | 73,297 | ||
| R | 30,396 | 37,821 | 68,870 | ||
| R | 21,505 | 33,331 | 55,235 | ||
| R | 17,487 | 25,561 | 44,148 | ||
| R | 13,532 | 17,575 | 33,162 | ||
| R | 11,466 | 14,735 | 31,287 | ||
| R | 8,691 | 16,184 | 25,021 | ||
| R | 7,347 | 13,668 | 21,118 | ||
| R | 7,415 | 8,620 | 16,700 | ||
| D | 6,049 | 5,935 | 12,029 | ||
| R | 3,237 | 5,929 | 9,247 | ||
| D | 3,740 | 2,983 | 8,221 | ||
| R | 2,747 | 3,432 | 6,179 | ||
| R | 1,800 | 2,021 | 3,821 | ||
| R | 710 | 1,051 | 2,777 | ||
| R | 1,106 | 1,599 | 2,705 | ||
| O | 253 | 150 | 1,257 | ||
| D | 594 | 108 | 797 | ||
| D | 582 | 91 | 673 | ||
| D | 501 | 0 | 544 | ||
| D | 555 | 0 | 624 | ||
| D | 414 | 124 | 541 | ||
| D | 365 | 64 | 438 | ||
| D | 265 | 149 | 414 | ||
| D | 376 | 105 | 485 | ||
| D | 464 | 0 | 576 | ||
| D | 522 | 272 | 794 | ||
| D | 415 | 319 | 734 | ||
| R | 378 | 385 | 763 | ||
| R | 289 | 444 | 733 | ||
| R | 175 | 268 | 443 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
13.2%
English
13.2%
Irish
12.2%
Italian
6.2%
American
5.9%
Polish
2.7%
French
2.6%
African American
12.6%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
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: 48.1 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
$86,573
Beaufort County ranks in the top 10% of US counties.
Beaufort County$86,573
South Carolina$69,324
United States$80,734
Beaufort County ranks in the top 10% 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
9.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.9%
Working age (18–64)8.6%
Seniors (65+)6.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
88.3%
speak English only
Spanish8.7%
Other Indo-European1.7%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.9%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 55.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Beaufort's combination of military retirees, resort communities, and a steadily expanding professional transplant population has compressed its presidential margin from R+20-plus a decade ago to R+14.5 in 2024, making it one of South Carolina's closer watches.
Its margins are typically close. The Democratic margin reached ninety-two points in 1936; the Republican margin reached thirty points in 1988. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved four points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fourteen points.
Its demographics sit near national norms: a 69% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $86,573, and a 10% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Fauquier County and Escambia 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.
Beaufort County, South Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/45013/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Carolina
More industrial catholic metro counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Beaufort County, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Beaufort County, South Carolina voted Republican by 14.5 points (R+14), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 104,403 votes cast, 44,002 went Democratic and 59,123 went Republican.
What is Beaufort County, South Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Beaufort County, South Carolina in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology — Mid-size industrial metros with Catholic ethnic roots — among the most competitive, swing-prone ground in the country. 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 13 times, Republican 20 times, and other 1 times.
When did Beaufort County, South Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Beaufort County, South Carolina voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in Beaufort County, South Carolina?
Beaufort County, South Carolina has a population of 195,289 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Beaufort County, South Carolina?
Median household income in Beaufort County, South Carolina is $86,573 — above the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of Beaufort County, South Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Beaufort County, South Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 13 went Democratic and 20 went Republican. The county's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.