akashic
1876–2024
Sanford, NC·North Carolina

Sanford, NC has voted Republican in six straight presidential elections — R+17 in 2024.

Lee County's mid-state crossroads where manufacturing history meets shifting suburbs

1876 — 2024·38 elections
NC
LatestR+17in 2024
TypologyTexan Rightcluster typology
Population65,8162024 ACS

Sanford, NC, North Carolina: Texan Right metro. In 2024, voted R+17%. Democratic peak: D+75 in 1940.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+17MIT Election Lab
Political typology
Texan RightAkashic typology
Population
65,8162024 5-year
Median household income
$65,3872024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
63.6%2024 5-year
Black
17.8%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
21.7%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+75 in 1940MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+47 in 1972MIT Election Lab
2024 presidential election
Sanford, NC
TrumpR+17
—
How it voted
Share of the 2024 vote
Donald Trump ✓Republican58.1%17,489
Kamala HarrisDemocratic40.7%12,245
OtherAll other candidates1.2%347
D+60
R+60
1 counties, each filled by 2024 D-vs-R margin.
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: −17.4% in 2024.flipped R · 2004−17.4%DR18762024
Presidential margin over time
YearMargin (D minus R)
1876No data
1880No data
1884No data
1888No data
1892No data
1896No data
1900No data
1904No data
1908+19.4%
1912+29.9%
1916+29.6%
1920+34.1%
1924+44.0%
1928+9.5%
1932+63.4%
1936+69.5%
1940+75.0%
1944+62.0%
1948+54.3%
1952+38.0%
1956+36.2%
1960+29.2%
1964+26.4%
1968−0.7%
1972−47.5%
1976+16.0%
1980+5.5%
1984−35.2%
1988−25.3%
1992−5.5%
1996−7.0%
2000+16.1%
2004−21.4%
2008−8.4%
2012−9.7%
2016−12.9%
2020−14.9%
2024−17.4%
DemocraticRepublican
38 presidential elections
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−17.4%
12,24517,48930,081
R
−14.9%
12,14316,46929,008
R
−12.9%
10,46913,71225,084
R
−9.7%
10,80113,15824,239
R
−8.4%
10,78412,77523,788
R
−21.4%
7,65711,83419,543
D
+16.1%
9,4066,78516,283
R
−7.0%
6,2907,32114,630
R
−5.5%
5,8526,65814,659
R
−25.3%
4,2317,10411,371
R
−35.2%
3,9258,19812,151
D
+5.5%
5,4264,84710,574
D
+16.0%
5,1043,6918,831
R
−47.5%
2,0245,8368,026
O
−0.7%
2,5242,5868,821
D
+26.4%
4,7302,7537,483
D
+29.2%
4,6732,5637,236
D
+36.2%
4,1631,9486,111
D
+38.0%
4,6882,1056,793
D
+54.3%
3,2348714,348
D
+62.0%
3,4488084,256
D
+75.0%
3,6825274,209
D
+69.5%
3,7236704,393
D
+63.4%
3,0586813,752
D
+9.5%
1,7151,4163,131
D
+44.0%
1,8347102,554
D
+34.1%
2,3271,1433,470
D
+29.6%
1,0545731,627
D
+29.9%
8624511,373
D
+19.4%
8325621,394
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Demographics

2024 ACS
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
11.2%
German
7.5%
Irish
7.0%
American
4.5%
Italian
2.6%
Scottish
2.6%
Polish
1.4%
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: 39.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
0.6%
85+
1.2%
2.2%
75–84
2.8%
4.9%
65–74
5.5%
6.5%
55–64
6.7%
6.1%
45–54
6.3%
6.2%
35–44
6.3%
6.5%
25–34
6.3%
4.2%
18–24
4.1%
9.0%
5–17
8.6%
3.3%
<5
2.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Median household income
Inflation-adjusted dollars
$65,387
Sanford, NC ranks near the middle of US counties.
Sanford, NC$65,387
North Carolina$72,388
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
16.5%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1826.1%
Working age (18–64)13.7%
Seniors (65+)11.8%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
2024 ACS
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
79.4%
speak English only
Spanish18.7%
Other Indo-European0.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.5%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
2020 religion census
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Other Christian
12.4%
Baptist
11.5%
Catholic & Orthodox
10.9%
Methodist
8.1%
Mainline Protestant
4.0%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.8%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.3% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Sanford anchors Lee County, a historically tobacco-and-textiles economy now courting industrial diversification. The metro has trended competitive in recent cycles as in-migration from the Raleigh corridor reshapes its traditionally conservative voter base.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of seventy-five points in 1940 and a Republican high of forty-seven points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved three points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was seventeen points.

A population of 65,816, a 64% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $65,387 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.
Sanford, NC, North Carolina. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/41820/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Sanford, NC, North Carolina vote in 2024?
In 2024, Sanford, NC, North Carolina voted Republican by 17.4 points (R+17), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 30,081 votes cast, 12,245 went Democratic and 17,489 went Republican.
What is Sanford, NC, North Carolina's political typology?
Akashic places Sanford, NC, North Carolina in the "Texan Right" 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 18 times, Republican 11 times, and other 1 times.
When did Sanford, NC, North Carolina last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Sanford, NC, North Carolina voted Democratic was 2000.
How many people live in Sanford, NC, North Carolina?
Sanford, NC, North Carolina has a population of 65,816 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Sanford, NC, North Carolina?
Median household income in Sanford, NC, North Carolina is $65,387 — below the national median of $80,734. The North Carolina state median is $72,388.
What is the political history of Sanford, NC, North Carolina?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Sanford, NC, North Carolina from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 11 went Republican. The metro's typology — "Texan Right" — captures where that record, its demographics, and its recent swing place it among American communities.