Kiawah Island, SC Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Kiawah Island

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Kiawah Island leans slightly Republican by roughly 6 points: about 47% of voters vote Democratic and 53% Republican.

 

About 74% of adults in Kiawah Island typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Kiawah Island, ~35% vote Democratic, ~39% Republican, and ~26% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Kiawah Island compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Kiawah Island leans more Republican than 19 of 27 neighbors.

Kiawah Island runs about 12 points more Democratic than South Carolina as a whole.

Why Kiawah Island leans the way it does

This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Kiawah Island, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Kiawah Island votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 30%, modestly above the South Carolina average of 24%). Here an older population outweighs the Democratic lean that density usually predicts. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 86% of households in Kiawah Island are family households, above 97% of cities.

Park access and Republican lean

Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Kiawah Island, SC sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.

Why turnout in Kiawah Island looks the way it does

Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Kiawah Island 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 84%, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 99% of households in Kiawah Island own their home, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 75%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 99% of adults in Kiawah Island have completed high school, above 98% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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.