akashic
1876–2024
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC·South Carolina

Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC has voted Republican in eleven straight presidential elections — R+14 in 2024.

Lowcountry resort coast where retiree in-migration reshapes the electorate

1876 — 2024·38 elections
SC
LatestR+14in 2024
TypologyIndustrial Catholic Metrocluster typology
Population227,4552024 ACS

Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina: Industrial Catholic Metro metro. In 2024, voted R+14%. Democratic peak: D+95 in 1936.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+14MIT Election Lab
Political typology
Industrial Catholic MetroAkashic typology
Population
227,4552024 5-year
Median household income
$83,6092024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
66.2%2024 5-year
Black
18.1%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
13.1%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+95 in 1936MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+26 in 1972MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC
TrumpR+14
—
2024 presidential margin by county for Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, SCA map of the constituent counties of Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, SC, each outlined and filled by its 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic).Beaufort County, SC · R+14Jasper County, SC · R+10
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
Donald Trump ✓Republican56.3%69,023
Kamala HarrisDemocratic42.5%52,146
OtherAll other candidates1.2%1,461
D+60
R+60
2 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin. Hover any county for its result.
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1876–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over timeDemocratic-minus-Republican presidential margin from 1876 to 2024. Most recent: −13.8% in 2024.flipped R · 1984−13.8%DR18762024
Presidential margin over time
YearMargin (D minus R)
1876No data
1880No data
1884No data
1888No data
1892−21.0%
1896−21.1%
1900−0.9%
1904+13.1%
1908+31.5%
1912+85.5%
1916+70.6%
1920+52.9%
1924+68.9%
1928+59.7%
1932+92.3%
1936+95.3%
1940+76.7%
1944+55.8%
1948+9.9%
1952−15.9%
1956−13.2%
1960−5.2%
1964−14.5%
1968+13.5%
1972−25.9%
1976+11.1%
1980+2.3%
1984−20.3%
1988−22.0%
1992−4.2%
1996−5.1%
2000−13.5%
2004−17.6%
2008−6.9%
2012−13.5%
2016−11.1%
2020−8.6%
2024−13.8%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−13.8%
52,14669,023122,630
R
−8.6%
50,60460,272112,229
R
−11.1%
38,09448,10989,951
R
−13.5%
35,60546,85683,318
R
−6.9%
35,78541,18677,724
R
−17.6%
25,34536,26462,081
R
−13.5%
21,13327,97550,617
R
−5.1%
17,58519,59939,630
R
−4.2%
14,91916,46037,050
R
−22.0%
11,58518,18829,950
R
−20.3%
11,10016,77027,997
D
+2.3%
10,72710,23721,669
D
+11.1%
8,9527,15616,169
R
−25.9%
4,4407,57912,131
D
+13.5%
5,1423,61611,337
R
−14.5%
3,7495,0258,774
R
−5.2%
2,5212,8005,321
O
−13.2%
9201,4544,048
R
−15.9%
1,7422,3994,141
O
+9.9%
3941812,144
D
+55.8%
8241261,251
D
+76.7%
1,0001321,132
D
+95.3%
95301,000
D
+92.3%
95401,034
D
+59.7%
516129648
D
+68.9%
45464566
D
+52.9%
484149633
D
+70.6%
619105728
D
+85.5%
6620774
D
+31.5%
522272794
D
+13.1%
415319734
R
−0.9%
378385763
R
−21.1%
289444733
R
−21.0%
175268443
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Demographics

2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
12.7%
English
12.5%
Irish
11.6%
Italian
6.0%
American
5.7%
Polish
2.5%
French
2.2%
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: 47.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
1.1%
85+
1.3%
4.4%
75–84
4.7%
7.4%
65–74
8.7%
6.7%
55–64
7.8%
5.0%
45–54
5.2%
5.0%
35–44
5.0%
5.4%
25–34
5.3%
5.7%
18–24
3.6%
6.6%
5–17
6.2%
2.3%
<5
2.4%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$83,609
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC$83,609
South Carolina$69,324
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
10.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1817.4%
Working age (18–64)9.7%
Seniors (65+)7.3%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
87.4%
speak English only
Spanish9.7%
Other Indo-European1.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.8%
Other languages0.6%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
19.4%
Other Christian
9.9%
Baptist
6.0%
Mainline Protestant
3.5%
Methodist
2.9%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.2%
Non-Christian
0.8%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 56.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Rapid population growth driven by affluent retirees and second-home buyers has shifted this coastal South Carolina metro's demographic profile steadily over the past decade, making voter composition harder to project from historical baselines.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of ninety-five points in 1936 and a Republican high of twenty-six points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved five points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was fourteen points.

A population of 227,455, a 66% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $83,609 describe the metro.

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.
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/25940/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina voted Republican by 13.8 points (R+14), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 122,630 votes cast, 52,146 went Democratic and 69,023 went Republican.
What is Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina in the "Industrial Catholic Metro" typology. 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 metro has voted Democratic 14 times, Republican 18 times, and other 2 times.
When did Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina voted Democratic was 1980.
How many people live in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina?
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina has a population of 227,455 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina?
Median household income in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina is $83,609 — above the national median of $80,734. The South Carolina state median is $69,324.
What is the political history of Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC, South Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 14 went Democratic and 18 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Industrial Catholic Metro" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.