Sumter County, South Carolina: Black Belt county. In 2024, voted D+5%. Democratic peak: D+97 in 1936.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+5MIT Election Lab
- Political typology
- Black BeltAkashic typology
- Population
- 104,7252024 5-year
- Median household income
- $56,6932024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 44.9%2024 5-year
- Black
- 46.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 4.4%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+97 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+40 in 1952MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Danville city, VA · similarity 0.95
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Sumter CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Sumter 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 | +41.1% |
| 1896 | +64.4% |
| 1900 | +77.8% |
| 1904 | +74.1% |
| 1908 | +74.9% |
| 1912 | +91.6% |
| 1916 | +79.9% |
| 1920 | +71.1% |
| 1924 | +91.9% |
| 1928 | +74.7% |
| 1932 | +96.4% |
| 1936 | +97.3% |
| 1940 | No data |
| 1944 | +84.9% |
| 1948 | +13.0% |
| 1952 | −40.2% |
| 1956 | −6.9% |
| 1960 | −27.8% |
| 1964 | −34.4% |
| 1968 | +4.0% |
| 1972 | −30.3% |
| 1976 | +5.7% |
| 1980 | −6.7% |
| 1984 | −14.8% |
| 1988 | −16.0% |
| 1992 | −2.7% |
| 1996 | +0.5% |
| 2000 | −5.1% |
| 2004 | +1.7% |
| 2008 | +15.4% |
| 2012 | +17.6% |
| 2016 | +12.0% |
| 2020 | +13.0% |
| 2024 | +4.9% |
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D | 23,425 | 21,215 | 45,170 | ||
| D | 27,379 | 21,000 | 48,920 | ||
| D | 24,047 | 18,745 | 44,086 | ||
| D | 27,589 | 19,274 | 47,309 | ||
| D | 25,431 | 18,581 | 44,358 | ||
| D | 18,695 | 18,074 | 37,003 | ||
| R | 14,365 | 15,915 | 30,672 | ||
| D | 12,198 | 12,080 | 25,392 | ||
| R | 11,852 | 12,576 | 26,596 | ||
| R | 9,502 | 13,161 | 22,801 | ||
| R | 9,566 | 12,909 | 22,590 | ||
| R | 9,205 | 10,557 | 20,126 | ||
| D | 10,471 | 9,332 | 19,912 | ||
| R | 5,801 | 10,892 | 16,800 | ||
| D | 6,103 | 5,451 | 16,308 | ||
| R | 3,775 | 7,729 | 11,504 | ||
| R | 2,616 | 4,633 | 7,249 | ||
| O | 937 | 1,356 | 6,034 | ||
| R | 2,014 | 4,726 | 6,740 | ||
| O | 605 | 154 | 3,477 | ||
| D | 2,111 | 73 | 2,401 | ||
| — | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| D | 2,062 | 0 | 2,120 | ||
| D | 1,809 | 0 | 1,876 | ||
| D | 1,202 | 174 | 1,376 | ||
| D | 1,136 | 18 | 1,216 | ||
| D | 1,150 | 194 | 1,344 | ||
| D | 1,357 | 142 | 1,520 | ||
| D | 910 | 0 | 993 | ||
| D | 1,228 | 173 | 1,409 | ||
| D | 919 | 137 | 1,056 | ||
| D | 1,199 | 150 | 1,349 | ||
| D | 1,550 | 326 | 1,900 | ||
| D | 1,535 | 639 | 2,182 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
| — | — | — | — |
Demographics
2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
7.8%
Irish
5.6%
German
5.5%
American
5.4%
Italian
2.4%
Scottish
1.8%
Polish
1.1%
African American
36.8%
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: 38.0 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
$56,693
Sumter County ranks near the middle of US counties.
Sumter County$56,693
South Carolina$69,324
United States$80,734
Sumter 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
16.6%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1820.1%
Working age (18–64)15.3%
Seniors (65+)16.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.9%
speak English only
Spanish3.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.2%
Other Indo-European1.1%
Other languages0.3%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 46.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Sumter County's population is roughly 55% Black, anchoring a modest but durable Democratic lean in presidential races — its 2024 margin of D+4.9 reflects a district where turnout patterns and demographic shifts shape every close contest.
The Democratic margin here reached ninety-seven points in 1936. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved eight points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was five points. The recent movement, modest against a deep Democratic baseline, mirrors a broader rightward drift across the Black Belt.
The economic context is part of the story: a median household income of $56,693 and a 17% poverty rate. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Danville city and Prince Edward 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.
Sumter County, South Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/45085/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More in South Carolina
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Frequently asked questions
How did Sumter County, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Sumter County, South Carolina voted Democratic by 4.9 points (D+5), carried by the Democratic candidate. Out of 45,170 votes cast, 23,425 went Democratic and 21,215 went Republican.
What is Sumter County, South Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Sumter County, South Carolina in the "Black Belt" typology — Black-majority counties of the rural South — long the most Democratic ground in the region, now trending Republican at the margins. 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 22 times, Republican 9 times, and other 2 times.
When did Sumter County, South Carolina last vote Republican?
The most recent presidential election in which Sumter County, South Carolina voted Republican was 2000.
How many people live in Sumter County, South Carolina?
Sumter County, South Carolina has a population of 104,725 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Sumter County, South Carolina?
Median household income in Sumter County, South Carolina is $56,693 — below the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of Sumter County, South Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Sumter County, South Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 22 went Democratic and 9 went Republican. The county's typology — "Black Belt" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.