akashic
1876–2024
Spartanburg County, South Carolina
Spartanburg County·South Carolina

Spartanburg County changed its political identity.

Upstate manufacturing hub where Republican margins top a third

18762024·38 elections
Spartanburg County, South Carolina · PegasusRacer28 · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+34
in 2024
Archetype
Realigner
since the recent cycles
Population
347,852
2024 ACS
Most similar
Mathews County
VA · similarity 1.00
112 precincts · 155,597 votes cast
Trump · R+34
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−33.6%
50,710103,032155,597
2020R
−27.3%
52,92693,560148,655
2016R
−30.0%
39,99776,277121,090
2012R
−23.2%
41,46166,969109,906
2008R
−21.6%
41,63265,042108,328
2004R
−29.3%
33,63362,00496,758
2000R
−27.0%
29,55952,11483,553
1996R
−13.6%
26,81435,97267,196
1992R
−16.8%
25,48837,70772,635
1988R
−27.6%
22,96440,80164,568
1984R
−34.2%
20,13041,55362,575
1980R
−4.8%
27,24530,09258,869
1976D
+15.3%
27,92520,45648,717
1972R
−52.3%
9,58631,30841,556
1968R
−14.3%
11,46718,18346,996
1964D
+4.2%
20,03418,41138,445
1960D
+29.6%
20,13410,94031,074
1956D
+38.4%
16,6376,82225,583
1952D
+37.2%
21,88310,02831,911
1948D
+50.8%
6,74162712,041
1944D
+88.0%
8,0924028,738
1940D
+94.7%
9,1192489,367
1936D
+98.4%
10,739010,912
1932D
+97.6%
9,21609,444
1928D
+67.1%
3,8597604,620
1924
No data
000
1920D
+92.4%
4,5841824,766
1916D
+93.9%
4,5031124,675
1912D
+94.1%
3,61603,844
1908D
+89.6%
4,1622254,392
1904D
+93.8%
2,621842,705
1900D
+92.1%
2,4671012,568
1896D
+89.0%
4,2342474,481
1892D
+70.7%
3,5155514,195
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
African American
15.5%
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. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Baptist
27.8%
Other Christian
9.8%
Methodist
4.6%
Catholic & Orthodox
4.4%
Mainline Protestant
2.5%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.9%
Non-Christian
0.6%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 48.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Spartanburg County anchors South Carolina's Upstate industrial corridor, home to a major BMW plant and a workforce that has voted Republican by roughly 30-plus points in every recent presidential cycle.

The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Spartanburg County peaked at ninety-eight points in 1936; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1980 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of five points. By 2024, the margin had settled into deep Republican territory.

The economic and demographic context is severe. Spartanburg County's median household income of $66,234 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Mathews County and Churchill County.