Now that we’re headed towards the next big election, we wanted to get a better sense of what parts of South Carolina would be the most likely to back Donald Trump again.
Specifically, which cities have the highest number of conservative voters in the Palmetto State?
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to measure how each city in South Carolina with populations greater than 5,000 voted in past elections. The cities with the highest percentage of voters who voted Republican were named the most conservative cities in the state.
74.6% Republican vote · #2 most conservative in South Carolina
Central is a town in Pickens County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,159, roughly 3,000 of which were considered permanent residents. Contrary to its name, it is not near the center of South Carolina. It received its name from its geographic location, being the halfway or central point between Atlanta and Charlotte along the former Atlanta and Richmond Air-Line Railway line. The primary campus of Southern Wesleyan University is located east of the downtown area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
74.6% Republican vote · #2 most conservative in South Carolina
Located in
Pickens County, South Carolina
Easley is a city in Pickens County in the State of South Carolina. It is a principal city of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Most of the city lies in Pickens County, with only a very small portion of the city in Anderson County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
74.6% Republican vote · #2 most conservative in South Carolina
Located in
Pickens County, South Carolina
Clemson is a city in Pickens and Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is home to Clemson University; in 2015, the Princeton Review cited the town of Clemson as ranking #1 in the United States for “town-and-gown” relations with its resident university. The population of the city was 13,905 at the 2010 census.
Clemson is part of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina Combined Statistical Area. Most of the city is in Pickens County, which is part of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. A small portion is in Anderson County, which is part of the Anderson Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
73.0% Republican vote · #4 most conservative in South Carolina
Located in
Oconee County, South Carolina
Seneca is a city in Oconee County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,102 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area, an which includes all of Oconee County and which is further included in the greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina Combined Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
71.4% Republican vote · #5 most conservative in South Carolina
Located in
Cherokee County, South Carolina
Gaffney is a town in and the seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the Upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is known as the “Peach Capital of South Carolina”. The population was 12,539 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 12,597 in 2014. It is the principal city of the Gaffney, South Carolina, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Cherokee County and which is further included in the greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina Combined Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
70.3% Republican vote · #7 most conservative in South Carolina
Located in
Anderson County, South Carolina
Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 26,686 at the 2010 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the principal cities in the Greenville-Anderson–Mauldin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 824,112 at the 2010 census. It is further included in the larger Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina Combined Statistical Area, with a total population of 1,266,995, at the 2010 census. Anderson is just off Interstate 85 and is 120 miles from Atlanta and 140 miles from Charlotte.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
66.1% Republican vote · #10 most conservative in South Carolina
Located in
Horry County, South Carolina
Conway is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 16,317 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Horry County and is part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area. It is the home of Coastal Carolina University.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
66.1% Republican vote · #10 most conservative in South Carolina
Located in
Horry County, South Carolina
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
66.1% Republican vote · #10 most conservative in South Carolina
Located in
Horry County, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers | Compare
65.6% Republican vote · #13 most conservative in South Carolina
Located in
Laurens County, South Carolina
Fountain Inn is a city in Greenville and Laurens counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 7,799 at the 2010 census, up from 6,017 in 2000. It is part of the Greenville-Mauldin-Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is South Carolina’s statewide median.
On the map
Mapping the conservative strongholds in South Carolina
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the most conservative cities in South Carolina for 2026
To find the most conservative places in South Carolina, we used Saturday Night Science – the argument you’d make at a bar – to find the cities with the most conservatives.
We started by making a list of every city in South Carolina over 5,000 people based on the 2020-2024 American Community Survey. That left us with 64 cities and towns.
We then measured the voting record and MIT election data to determine which places rock the most rightward in their allegiances by:
- Percentage Of Votes For The Republican President In 2020
Because no voting data exists at the city level, we used county-level election results from the 2020 election. We assigned every city in a county the percentage of votes that went to the Republicans, effectively extending the county’s results to the city level. In cases where larger cities encompassed an entire county, the election outcomes accurately reflected the city’s political landscape.
Next, we ranked each city from 1 to 64 for each criterion, where number one was the most conservative.
The winner, Central, is “The Most Conservative City in South Carolina For 2026”. The most liberal place in South Carolina was Forest Acres.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the most conservative places to live in South Carolina.
The full plate
Most Conservative Places In South Carolina
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Conservative Score | Population | % Conservative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Central | 2.00 | 5,320 | 74.6% |
| 2 | Easley | 2.00 | 24,841 | 74.6% |
| 2 | Clemson | 2.00 | 18,072 | 74.6% |
| 4 | Seneca | 4.00 | 8,993 | 73.0% |
| 5 | Gaffney | 5.00 | 12,596 | 71.4% |
| 6 | Anderson | 7.00 | 30,051 | 70.3% |
| 8 | Conway | 10.00 | 27,263 | 66.1% |
| 8 | North Myrtle Beach | 10.00 | 19,855 | 66.1% |
| 8 | Myrtle Beach | 10.00 | 38,371 | 66.1% |
| 11 | Fountain Inn | 13.00 | 12,020 | 65.6% |
| 11 | Laurens | 13.00 | 9,336 | 65.6% |
| 11 | Clinton | 13.00 | 7,676 | 65.6% |
| 15 | Cayce | 17.00 | 13,741 | 64.2% |
| 15 | Lexington | 17.00 | 24,585 | 64.2% |
| 15 | Columbia | 17.00 | 139,643 | 64.2% |
| 15 | Irmo | 17.00 | 11,813 | 64.2% |
| 15 | West Columbia | 17.00 | 17,963 | 64.2% |
| 19 | Spartanburg | 21.00 | 38,910 | 62.9% |
| 19 | Greer | 21.00 | 41,536 | 62.9% |
| 19 | Lyman | 21.00 | 6,547 | 62.9% |
| 21 | Union | 23.00 | 8,079 | 61.7% |
| 22 | North Augusta | 24.00 | 25,653 | 61.5% |
| 23 | Newberry | 25.00 | 10,790 | 61.4% |
| 24 | Camden | 26.00 | 8,267 | 60.9% |
| 25 | Lancaster | 27.00 | 8,921 | 60.8% |
| 26 | Greenwood | 28.00 | 22,536 | 60.7% |
| 27 | Aiken | 29.50 | 32,521 | 60.6% |
| 29 | Travelers Rest | 33.50 | 8,370 | 58.1% |
| 29 | Greenville | 33.50 | 72,935 | 58.1% |
| 29 | Simpsonville | 33.50 | 26,144 | 58.1% |
| 29 | Mauldin | 33.50 | 27,055 | 58.1% |
| 34 | Tega Cay | 39.00 | 13,615 | 57.4% |
| 34 | Fort Mill | 39.00 | 30,775 | 57.4% |
| 34 | Rock Hill | 39.00 | 75,259 | 57.4% |
| 34 | York | 39.00 | 8,969 | 57.4% |
| 34 | Clover | 39.00 | 7,234 | 57.4% |
| 37 | Georgetown | 42.00 | 8,565 | 55.9% |
| 38 | Chester | 43.00 | 5,218 | 55.0% |
| 41 | Goose Creek | 46.50 | 48,078 | 54.9% |
| 41 | Hanahan | 46.50 | 21,452 | 54.9% |
| 41 | Charleston | 46.50 | 154,338 | 54.9% |
| 41 | North Charleston | 46.50 | 119,913 | 54.9% |
| 41 | Moncks Corner | 46.50 | 15,485 | 54.9% |
| 41 | Summerville | 46.50 | 51,654 | 54.9% |
| 47 | Port Royal | 52.00 | 15,579 | 54.4% |
| 47 | Beaufort | 52.00 | 13,747 | 54.4% |
| 47 | Hardeeville | 52.00 | 10,871 | 54.4% |
| 47 | Hilton Head Island | 52.00 | 37,911 | 54.4% |
| 47 | Bluffton | 52.00 | 33,157 | 54.4% |
| 50 | Walterboro | 57.00 | 5,480 | 54.1% |
| 51 | Hartsville | 58.50 | 7,419 | 51.9% |
| 51 | Darlington | 58.50 | 6,120 | 51.9% |
| 53 | Lake City | 60.50 | 5,988 | 50.6% |
| 53 | Florence | 60.50 | 40,408 | 50.6% |
| 55 | Dillon | 62.00 | 6,354 | 50.2% |
| 56 | Bennettsville | 64.00 | 7,751 | 44.1% |
| 57 | Sumter | 65.00 | 43,053 | 42.9% |
| 59 | Hollywood | 69.00 | 5,382 | 42.6% |
| 59 | Mount Pleasant | 69.00 | 93,993 | 42.6% |
| 59 | James Island | 69.00 | 12,198 | 42.6% |
| 61 | Marion | 73.00 | 6,206 | 38.8% |
| 62 | Blythewood | 74.00 | 5,731 | 38.1% |
| 63 | Orangeburg | 75.00 | 13,253 | 33.0% |
| 64 | Forest Acres | 78.00 | 10,530 | 30.1% |
Source: county-level 2020 election results, U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 64 cities with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Summing Up The Conservative Strongholds in South Carolina
Well, there you have it, the places in South Carolina that have the highest number of conservatives per capita, with Central ranking as the most conservative in the entire state.
The most conservative cities in South Carolina are Central, Easley, Clemson, Seneca, Gaffney, Anderson, Conway, North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, and Fountain Inn.
If you’re curious, here are the least conservative cities in South Carolina. Not sold on South Carolina? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
