Beaufort County leans slightly Republican by roughly 8 points: about 46% of voters vote Democratic and 54% Republican.
About 78% of adults in Beaufort County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Beaufort County, ~36% vote Democratic, ~42% Republican, and ~22% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Beaufort County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Beaufort County leans more Republican than 3 of 6 neighbors.
Beaufort County runs about 9 points more Democratic than South Carolina as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Beaufort County. The north side runs the most Democratic (D+9) and the west side runs the most Republican (R+16), a spread of about 25 points.
Why Beaufort County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Beaufort County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 70% of households in Beaufort County are family households, above 79% of counties.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Beaufort County, SC sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Beaufort County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Beaufort County is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 68%, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 94% of adults in Beaufort County have completed high school, above 88% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Jasper County, SC Even
- Chatham County, GA D+26
- Effingham County, GA R+46
- Hampton County, SC D+9
- Bryan County, GA R+35
- Colleton County, SC R+17
- Allendale County, SC D+37
- Screven County, GA R+23
- Liberty County, GA D+16
- Bulloch County, GA R+10
Counties with Similar Populations
- Charlotte County, FL R+33
- Iredell County, NC R+23
- Tippecanoe County, IN D+9
- Newport News City, VA D+38
- Santa Rosa County, FL R+49
- DeSoto County, MS R+15
- Cass County, ND R+5
- Saginaw County, MI D+2
- Sarpy County, NE R+10
- Boone County, MO D+14
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Carolina State Election Commission, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.