Columbus County, North Carolina

2024 results by precinct

21 precincts · 26,402 votes cast

Trump · R+34

Harris +50

Trump +50

Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.

38 presidential elections

Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−33.9%	8,648	17,592	26,402
2020	R	−27.9%	9,446	16,832	26,446
2016	R	−21.9%	9,063	14,272	23,732
2012	R	−7.8%	11,050	12,941	24,243
2008	R	−7.9%	11,076	12,994	24,282
2004	R	−2.0%	10,343	10,773	21,191
2000	R	−8.9%	8,342	9,986	18,425
1996	D	+18.4%	9,019	6,017	16,280
1992	D	+31.8%	11,469	5,462	18,916
1988	D	+15.8%	9,172	6,659	15,882
1984	R	−2.4%	8,728	9,150	17,904
1980	D	+29.4%	10,212	5,522	15,940
1976	D	+55.3%	11,148	3,184	14,401
1972	R	−43.1%	3,305	8,468	11,987
1968	D	+2.4%	4,243	3,881	14,817
1964	D	+33.6%	9,004	4,471	13,475
1960	D	+48.2%	10,455	3,655	14,110
1956	D	+54.5%	7,805	2,300	10,105
1952	D	+39.6%	6,941	3,001	9,942
1948	D	+59.8%	5,511	1,105	7,369
1944	D	+57.3%	5,717	1,552	7,269
1940	D	+72.7%	5,900	934	6,834
1936	D	+67.9%	6,359	1,214	7,573
1932	D	+74.0%	5,098	739	5,890
1928	R	−10.6%	2,854	3,533	6,387
1924	D	+25.6%	2,757	1,629	4,412
1920	D	+27.1%	3,111	1,783	4,894
1916	D	+23.5%	2,143	1,327	3,472
1912	D	+55.7%	1,668	155	2,715
1908	D	+14.4%	1,845	1,381	3,226
1904	D	+24.6%	1,447	876	2,323
1900	D	+13.5%	1,623	1,237	2,860
1896	D	+24.4%	1,918	1,162	3,098
1892	D	+25.6%	1,592	813	3,040
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%

Polish

0.5%

African American

22.5%

Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.

Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.

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.

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 42.6 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.5%

85+

1.6%

2.9%

75–84

3.6%

5.6%

65–74

6.4%

6.5%

55–64

7.4%

6.3%

45–54

6.1%

6.0%

35–44

5.4%

7.0%

25–34

5.5%

4.6%

18–24

3.9%

7.5%

5–17

7.7%

2.2%

3.2%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$49,442

Columbus County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.

Columbus County$49,442

North Carolina$72,388

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

18.2%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1818.0%

Working age (18–64)100.0%

Seniors (65+)18.0%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

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

36.1%

Methodist

8.3%

Other Christian

6.9%

Catholic & Orthodox

1.9%

Pentecostal & Holiness

1.7%

Mainline Protestant

0.9%

Non-Christian

0.7%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 43.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Columbus County sits in North Carolina's southeastern corner, where a majority-minority population and persistently high poverty rates have coexisted with widening Republican presidential margins over the past decade.

The shift began with civil rights. 2000 marked the realignment in Columbus County, by a nine points margin. The Republican margin reached its widest at forty-three points in 1972. The 2024 margin was thirty-four points.

The political shift has tracked, in Columbus County, the political shift of the South more broadly. A 60% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $49,442, and a 18% poverty rate describe the demographic context. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Shoshone County and Iron County.

Most similar counties

Columbus County voted Democratic for a century. The shift began with civil rights.