Pickens County, South Carolina: Stable Rural Right county. In 2024, voted R+53%. Democratic peak: D+99 in 1904.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+53MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Stable Rural RightAkashic typology
- Population
- 134,6292024 5-year
- Median household income
- $61,0642024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 84.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 5.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 5.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+99 in 1904MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+67 in 1972MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Baldwin County, AL · similarity 1.00
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Pickens CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Pickens 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 | +39.6% |
| 1896 | +76.2% |
| 1900 | +87.9% |
| 1904 | +98.7% |
| 1908 | +91.4% |
| 1912 | +96.1% |
| 1916 | +94.5% |
| 1920 | +87.6% |
| 1924 | +93.3% |
| 1928 | +70.5% |
| 1932 | +97.9% |
| 1936 | +98.2% |
| 1940 | +93.1% |
| 1944 | +58.8% |
| 1948 | +13.9% |
| 1952 | −3.9% |
| 1956 | +2.3% |
| 1960 | −24.5% |
| 1964 | −25.3% |
| 1968 | −36.5% |
| 1972 | −66.6% |
| 1976 | +2.9% |
| 1980 | −10.0% |
| 1984 | −54.0% |
| 1988 | −47.9% |
| 1992 | −29.6% |
| 1996 | −31.5% |
| 2000 | −45.6% |
| 2004 | −48.1% |
| 2008 | −46.2% |
| 2012 | −49.0% |
| 2016 | −52.8% |
| 2020 | −50.8% |
| 2024 | −52.7% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 13,891 | 45,728 | 60,451 | ||
| R | 13,645 | 42,907 | 57,546 | ||
| R | 10,354 | 36,236 | 49,049 | ||
| R | 11,156 | 33,474 | 45,549 | ||
| R | 11,691 | 32,552 | 45,128 | ||
| R | 10,287 | 29,759 | 40,510 | ||
| R | 8,927 | 24,681 | 34,582 | ||
| R | 8,369 | 17,151 | 27,900 | ||
| R | 8,275 | 17,008 | 29,494 | ||
| R | 6,103 | 17,448 | 23,696 | ||
| R | 4,481 | 15,155 | 19,764 | ||
| R | 7,789 | 9,575 | 17,923 | ||
| D | 8,505 | 8,029 | 16,655 | ||
| R | 2,255 | 11,776 | 14,296 | ||
| R | 2,016 | 6,873 | 13,313 | ||
| R | 3,506 | 5,882 | 9,391 | ||
| R | 2,546 | 4,201 | 6,747 | ||
| D | 1,847 | 1,747 | 4,278 | ||
| R | 2,865 | 3,096 | 5,961 | ||
| O | 435 | 165 | 1,944 | ||
| D | 1,662 | 211 | 2,468 | ||
| D | 2,122 | 76 | 2,198 | ||
| D | 2,678 | 0 | 2,728 | ||
| D | 2,685 | 0 | 2,742 | ||
| D | 1,110 | 192 | 1,302 | ||
| D | 1,044 | 35 | 1,082 | ||
| D | 955 | 63 | 1,018 | ||
| D | 1,139 | 7 | 1,198 | ||
| D | 815 | 0 | 848 | ||
| D | 1,241 | 56 | 1,297 | ||
| D | 914 | 6 | 920 | ||
| D | 933 | 60 | 993 | ||
| D | 1,261 | 170 | 1,431 | ||
| D | 603 | 129 | 1,196 | ||
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Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
16.3%
Irish
12.8%
German
9.6%
American
9.2%
Italian
2.8%
Scottish
2.3%
Polish
1.5%
African American
4.6%
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: 36.2 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
$61,064
Pickens County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Pickens County$61,064
South Carolina$69,324
United States$80,734
Pickens County ranks near the middle 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
17.2%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1815.7%
Working age (18–64)18.3%
Seniors (65+)10.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
94.4%
speak English only
Spanish3.3%
Other Indo-European1.2%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.9%
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 52.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Pickens County sits in the Blue Ridge foothills and has delivered Republican presidential margins above 50 points in recent cycles, driven by a mix of rural townships and the college town of Clemson, whose university presence tempers but doesn't reverse the county's conservative lean.
The Republican margin here reached sixty-seven points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved two points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fifty-three points.
A population of 134,629, a 84% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $61,064 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Baldwin County and Jones 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.
Pickens County, South Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/45077/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
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Frequently asked questions
How did Pickens County, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Pickens County, South Carolina voted Republican by 52.7 points (R+53), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 60,451 votes cast, 13,891 went Democratic and 45,728 went Republican.
What is Pickens County, South Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Pickens County, South Carolina in the "Stable Rural Right" typology — Mountain, Plains, and rural Republican counties already near their ceiling, with little further room to swing. 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 16 times, Republican 17 times, and other 1 times.
When did Pickens County, South Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Pickens County, South Carolina voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in Pickens County, South Carolina?
Pickens County, South Carolina has a population of 134,629 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Pickens County, South Carolina?
Median household income in Pickens County, South Carolina is $61,064 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of Pickens County, South Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Pickens County, South Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The county's typology — "Stable Rural Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.