How did Charleston, SC vote in the 2024 presidential election?

Charleston, SC voted Republican in 2024 with a margin of R+5.3. Kamala D Harris received 221,307 votes and Donald Trump received 246,427 out of 475,479 total votes cast, a 6.6-point shift toward Republicans from 2020.

What is Charleston, SC's political history?

Charleston, SC has 40 presidential elections on record, spanning 1868 to 2024. Democrats have won 22 and Republicans 18 of those contests. The largest single-election swing was 55.4 points in 1948.

What are the demographics of Charleston, SC?

Charleston, SC has a population of 3,273,996 according to the 2020 Census. The racial composition is 61.8% non-Hispanic white, 4.7% Hispanic, 29.5% Black. About 31% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Median household income is $57,199.

Which places are most similar to Charleston, SC?

Based on demographic and electoral similarity analysis, the three most similar media markets to Charleston, SC are Baltimore, Detroit, Rochester, NY. Similarity is computed using a vector embedding of demographic, economic, and electoral characteristics.

Live · Media market

Charleston, SC

A tidewater market where coastal growth reshapes old voting patterns

The Charleston media market anchors South Carolina's Low Country, where rapid in-migration of college-educated professionals has tightened margins in suburbs that were once reliably one-sided by double digits.

Presidential margin · 2024

Data unavailable for this race.

Race data unavailable

Geography

Race data unavailable

No current race for this office.

2024FIPS 519

Population3.3M

Median ageU.S. 38.9y

37.1y▼ 1.8

Bachelor's+U.S. 35%

30.5%▼ 4.5

White61.8%
Black29.5%
Hispanic4.7%
Two or more3.1%
Other1.7%
Asian1.5%

Trajectory · 2008–2024

Charleston, SCBaseline

Cycle2024

Open in Cartographer

Constituent Counties

Open in Cartographer

Similarity Explorer

Similar media markets

Reads like Baltimore, Detroit, and Rochester, NY.

8 visible matches

Baltimore

Educated rural competitive

D+20.2

Similarity score88%

Detroit

Educated rural competitive

D+8.5

Similarity score86%

Rochester, NY

Educated rural competitive

Educated rural competitive

D+9.3

Similarity score82%

Charlottesville

Educated rural competitive

D+17.6

Similarity score80%

Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News

Educated rural competitive

D+8.0

Similarity score78%

Bend, OR

Small-town rural republican 2

D+10.4

Similarity score76%

Constituent Geography

Counties in Charleston, SC

2024 presidential results across the counties that make up this geography.

Sort:

County	Pop.	Margin	Dem	Rep	Total	Share
Charleston	420K	D+5.7	111,427	99,265	214,521	11.3%
Charleston	381K	D+5.7	111,427	99,265	214,521	11.3%
Charleston	346K	D+5.7	111,427	99,265	214,521	11.3%
Charleston	310K	D+5.7	111,427	99,265	214,521	11.3%
Berkeley	247K	R+16.3	46,416	64,777	112,834	5.9%
Berkeley	199K	R+16.3	46,416	64,777	112,834	5.9%
Dorchester	167K	R+14.6	32,489	43,839	77,764	4.1%
Berkeley	163K	R+16.3	46,416	64,777	112,834	5.9%
Dorchester	149K	R+14.6	32,489	43,839	77,764	4.1%
Berkeley	143K	R+16.3	46,416	64,777	112,834	5.9%
Dorchester	122K	R+14.6	32,489	43,839	77,764	4.1%
Dorchester	96K	R+14.6	32,489	43,839	77,764	4.1%
Georgetown	65K	R+19.5	14,965	22,326	37,754	2.0%
Georgetown	61K	R+19.5	14,965	22,326	37,754	2.0%
Georgetown	60K	R+19.5	14,965	22,326	37,754	2.0%
Georgetown	56K	R+19.5	14,965	22,326	37,754	2.0%
Colleton	39K	R+18.2	7,376	10,696	18,276	1.0%
Colleton	39K	R+18.2	7,376	10,696	18,276	1.0%
Colleton	38K	R+18.2	7,376	10,696	18,276	1.0%
Colleton	38K	R+18.2	7,376	10,696	18,276	1.0%
Williamsburg	37K	D+21.7	8,634	5,524	14,330	0.8%
Williamsburg	35K	D+21.7	8,634	5,524	14,330	0.8%
Williamsburg	33K	D+21.7	8,634	5,524	14,330	0.8%
Williamsburg	30K	D+21.7	8,634	5,524	14,330	0.8%

24 countiesTotal votes: 1,901,916

Historian Query

Ask the Historian

Explore Charleston, SC's political evolution with the Historian

“How has the Charleston, SC media market voted in presidential elections?”

Race & Ancestry

Who Lives Here

A race-first Census view with ancestry expansion where source coverage is strong enough to support detail.

Charleston, SCCensus ACS 2024Ancestry detail available

Census race profile

Major Census race and ethnicity groups shown as a share of total population.

Expand rows for ancestry detail

White (Non-Hispanic) 61.8%Black 29.5%Hispanic 4.7%Multiracial 2.1%Asian 1.5%Native American 0.4%

Group	Charleston, SC	National
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13)	61.8%	57.4%
▶Black / African American(13)	29.5%	12.2%
▶Hispanic / Latino(19)	4.7%	19.3%
Multiracial / Other	2.1%	4.0%
▶Asian(6)	1.5%	6.0%
▶Middle Eastern / North African(10)	0.6%	0.9%
▶Native American / Alaska Native(1)	0.4%	0.9%

Method notes

Census treats race and Hispanic/Latino origin as separate questions. Race categories other than Hispanic reflect total populations (small Hispanic overlap in Black, Asian, AIAN, NHPI). “Multiracial / Other” is derived as a non-overlapping remainder.

Click rows to expand ancestry detail. Ancestry from ACS B04006, B03001, B02020, B02016. Totals may differ from race — individuals can report multiple ancestries.

Black / African American (estimated remainder) is derived as Black population share minus reported Sub-Saharan African and West Indian ancestry. It is shown as an estimated ancestry detail, not a standalone Census ancestry category.

MENA estimated from ancestry reporting — Census does not have a separate MENA race category. Not shown in bar (overlaps with other race groups).

Religious Adherents

Population that are religious adherents:

44.8%(433.6K people)

U.S. Religion Census 2020

Browse all religions

Catholic-Evangelical edge: -20.1pp (vs national 4.5pp). A strongly Evangelical-leaning religious profile, which nationally correlates with Republican-leaning rural and exurban communities.

Ecological pattern — how to read this

Reflects patterns in counties where this religious tradition concentrates — not a claim about individual voters.

Values are derived by joining Religion Census 2020 (U.S. Religion Data Archive) with certified election results at the county level. That means we know what counties with more or fewer of this group did — not how any individual voted.

This is known as ecological inference. It is a valid way to surface geographic correlation but must not be read as a personal-vote claim about anyone in the group.

Tradition	% Pop	% Adherents	US Pop	US Adherents
Evangelical Protestant	17.2%	38.5%	—	—
Catholic	10.2%	22.8%	—	—
Mainline Protestant	7.4%	16.5%	—	—
Black Protestant	7.3%	16.2%	—	—
Other	2.5%	5.6%	—	—
LDS (Mormon)	0.8%	1.7%	—	—
Orthodox Christian	0.2%	0.4%	—	—
Non-religiousPopulation	55.2%	—	—	—

Click the chevron to expand denominations. Tradition and denomination rows label both share of total population and share of all religious adherents. Non-religious is shown as a share of total population only.

Explore Evangelical Protestant adherence nationally

Who lives in the Charleston, SC media market? 3,273,996 residents across 24 counties.

Demographic Comparison

Demographics

Read this geography's profile in three layers: local, state (where available), and national baseline.

Export CSVPro

Charleston, SC vs National3.3M residents

Population & electorate

Scale, voting-age share, and this geography's footprint inside the national electorate.

Total population

Local vs state vs U.S.

3.3M

local

3.3MNational 334.9M

Share of U.S. population

Local vs state vs U.S.

0.98%

local

0.98%National 100%

Voting-age population

Local vs state vs U.S.

42.5%

local

42.5%National 75.7%

Economic profile

Income, attainment, and ownership indicators that often shape coalition structure and turnout behavior.

Median household income

Local vs state vs U.S.

$57,199

local

$57,199National $83,960

Poverty rate

Local vs state vs U.S.

14.5%

local

14.5%National 12.5%

College degree

Local vs state vs U.S.

30.5%

local

30.5%National 35.6%

Homeownership

Local vs state vs U.S.

68.3%

local

68.3%National 65.2%

Community profile

Age structure, language use, and nativity signals that explain how this geography differs from state and nation.

Median age

Local vs state vs U.S.

37.1 yrs

local

37.1 yrsNational 39.1 yrs

Age 18–29

Local vs state vs U.S.

13.3%

local

13.3%National 15.7%

Age 65+

Local vs state vs U.S.

11.8%

local

11.8%National 17.0%

Foreign born

Local vs state vs U.S.

4.5%

local

4.5%National 14.1%

Non-English at home

Local vs state vs U.S.

6.5%

local

6.5%National 22.2%

English only

Local vs state vs U.S.

93.5%

local

93.5%National 77.8%

Voter Turnout

Turnout in Charleston, SC

Turnout % = votes cast ÷ citizen voting-age population (CVAP). Source: CVAP Special Tab 2020-2024.

2024 Turnout

64.8%

vs Previous

+0.4pp

Eligible Non-Voters

259K · 35.2%

Citizen VAP

734,039

History

1988–2024

Ticket-Splitting

Do voters in Charleston, SC split their tickets?

Divergence between offices in the same election reveals persuadable voters.

ConsistencyHeavy splitting (45/100)

2022 Office Comparisons

Offices	Margin A	Margin B	Split
Senate vs Governor	R+14.4	R+0.4	14.0pp

Average divergence across office pairs: 10.8pp

Containing Geography

Located In

Charleston, SC sits inside these higher-level geographies.

South Carolina(State)

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