Salem leans heavily Republican by roughly 48 points: about 26% of voters vote Democratic and 74% Republican.
About 86% of adults in Salem typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Salem, ~22% vote Democratic, ~63% Republican, and ~15% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Salem compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Salem leans more Republican than 18 of 41 neighbors.
Salem runs about 30 points more Republican than South Carolina as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Salem. The west side is the most Republican-leaning (R+70) and the southeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+34), a spread of about 35 points.
Why Salem 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 Salem, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Salem votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 26%, about 10 points below the U.S. average of 36%). Here an older population outweighs the Democratic lean that density usually predicts. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 76% of households in Salem are family households, above 79% of cities.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Salem, SC sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Salem looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Salem 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 70%, about 10 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 95% of households in Salem own their home, about 20 points above the U.S. average of 75%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Tamassee, SC R+67
- Six Mile, SC R+64
- West Union, SC R+61
- Sunset, SC R+58
- Nine Times, SC R+70
- Newry, SC R+39
- Walhalla, SC R+58
- Nimmons, SC R+64
- Mountain Rest, SC R+55
- Keowee, SC R+41
Cities with Similar Populations
- Trenton, IL R+39
- Culleoka, TN R+62
- Halethorpe, MD D+12
- Coxsackie, NY D+8
- Freedom, PA R+33
- St. Leonard, MD R+25
- Comanche, TX R+60
- Silver Springs, NV R+49
- Salmon, ID R+59
- Norton, VA R+49
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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.