How did Sanford, NC vote in the 2024 presidential election?

Sanford, NC voted Republican in 2024 with a margin of R+17.4. Kamala D Harris received 12,245 votes and Donald Trump received 17,489 out of 30,081 total votes cast, a 2.5-point shift toward Republicans from 2020.

What is Sanford, NC's political history?

Sanford, NC has 30 presidential elections on record, spanning 1908 to 2024. It has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1984. The largest single-election swing was 63.5 points in 1976.

What are the demographics of Sanford, NC?

Sanford, NC has a population of 65,816 according to the 2020 Census. The racial composition is 55.8% non-Hispanic white, 21.7% Hispanic, 17.8% Black. About 21% of residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Median household income is $65,387.

Which places are most similar to Sanford, NC?

Based on demographic and electoral similarity analysis, the three most similar metro areas to Sanford, NC are Wilson, NC, Goldsboro, NC, Kinston, NC. Similarity is computed using a vector embedding of demographic, economic, and electoral characteristics.

Sanford, NC

Latest: 2024↓ R+2.5 vs 2020

Safe Republican — 66K residents — 1 counties

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POPULATION
66K
COUNTIES
1
PRES MARGIN
R+17.4
2024
TURNOUT
61.0%
MEDIAN INCOME
$65K

Place Story

What defines Sanford, NC

Methodology

Reliably Republican since 1984
- Safe R
- 11 straight R wins
Mobilization target, not persuasion target.
Biggest swing: D+63.5 in 1976
- 1972 → 1976
Volatile behavior — treat historical margins with caution.
Ticket-splitting: President ran 36.3pp behind Governor
- Divergence 36.3pp in 2004
Persuadable voters present — downballot races can run independent of presidential.
Evangelical edge: 23pp over Catholics
- 22% Catholic / 46% Evangelical
Correlates nationally with Republican-leaning behavior.
Demographically distinctive: 21% college+ (-14pp vs national)
- 21% college+ (-14pp vs national)

Constituent Counties

Open in Cartographer

Similarity Explorer

Similar metro areas

Nearest neighbors matched on the same place-page feature set used across the dossier system.

8 visible matches

Constituent Geography

Counties in Sanford, NC

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

Sort:

County	Pop.	Margin	Dem	Rep	Total	Share
Lee	66K	R+17.4	12,245	17,489	30,081	100.0%

1 countiesTotal votes: 30,081

Historian Query

Ask the Historian

Explore Sanford, NC's political evolution with the Historian

“How has the Sanford, NC metro area 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.

Sanford, NCCensus 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) 55.8%Hispanic 21.7%Black 17.8%Multiracial 3.7%Asian 0.9%

Group	Sanford, NC	National
▶White (Non-Hispanic)(13)	55.8%	57.4%
▶Hispanic / Latino(16)	21.7%	19.3%
▶Black / African American(7)	17.8%	12.2%
Multiracial / Other	3.7%	4.0%
▶Asian(5)	0.9%	6.0%
▶Middle Eastern / North African(4)	0.4%	0.9%
▶Native American / Alaska Native(3)	0.2%	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:

46.7%(30.8K people)

U.S. Religion Census 2020

Browse all religions

Catholic-Evangelical edge: -27.7pp (vs national 4.5pp). A strongly Evangelical-leaning religious profile, which nationally correlates with Republican-leaning rural and exurban communities.

Tradition	% Pop	% Adherents	US Pop	US Adherents
Evangelical Protestant	21.3%	45.6%	—	—
Catholic	10.5%	22.4%	—	—
Mainline Protestant	8.4%	17.9%	—	—
Black Protestant	3.6%	7.7%	—	—
Other	3.0%	6.4%	—	—
LDS (Mormon)	1.5%	3.2%	—	—
Non-religiousPopulation	53.3%	—	—	—

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 Sanford, NC metro area? 65,816 residents across 1 counties.

Demographic Comparison

Demographics

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

Sanford, NC vs National66K residents

21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree — 12pp below the national average. Places with similar education levels vote R+15 on average nationally.

Population & electorate

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

Total population

Local vs state vs U.S.

66K

local

66KNational 334.9M

Share of U.S. population

Local vs state vs U.S.

0.02%

local

0.02%National 100%

Voting-age population

Local vs state vs U.S.

74.9%

local

74.9%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.

$65,387

local

$65,387National $83,960

Poverty rate

Local vs state vs U.S.

16.5%

local

16.5%National 12.5%

College degree

Local vs state vs U.S.

21.3%

local

21.3%National 35.6%

Homeownership

Local vs state vs U.S.

67.3%

local

67.3%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.

39.5 yrs

local

39.5 yrsNational 39.1 yrs

Age 18–29

Local vs state vs U.S.

14.4%

local

14.4%National 15.7%

Age 65+

Local vs state vs U.S.

17.1%

local

17.1%National 17.0%

Foreign born

Local vs state vs U.S.

9.9%

local

9.9%National 14.1%

Non-English at home

Local vs state vs U.S.

20.6%

local

20.6%National 22.2%

English only

Local vs state vs U.S.

79.4%

local

79.4%National 77.8%

Voter Turnout

Turnout in Sanford, NC

Estimated using 2020 Census voting-age population.

2024 Turnout

61.0%

vs Previous

+2.2pp

Voting-Age Pop

49,321

History

1988–2024

Competitiveness

How competitive is Sanford, NC?

Safe RAvg margin: R+15.1 (last 3 elections)

2008

R+8.4

2012

R+9.7

2016

R+12.9

2020

R+14.9

2024

R+17.4

Elasticity

9.1pp

margin range

Party Flips

last 30 years

5-Elec Avg

R+12.7

Ticket-Splitting

Do voters in Sanford, NC split their tickets?

Divergence between offices in the same election reveals persuadable voters.

ConsistencyHeavy splitting (37/100)

2024 Office Comparisons

Offices	Margin A	Margin B	Split
President vs Governor	R+17.4	D+3.7	21.1pp

Average divergence across office pairs: 11.9pp

Containing Geography

Located In

Sanford, NC sits inside these higher-level geographies.

North Carolina(State)

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