Well this has been one heck of a couple of years for the Republican Party. Never in my life time have I see anything like it — given that’s a relatively short lifetime, but who’s counting?
And 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?
In order to do so, we turned our sites on measuring how each city in South Carolina with populations greater than 5,000 voted and contributed to political campaigns in the past several years. The cities with the highest percentage of voters who voted republican and gave the most to conservatives where named the most conservative cities in the state.
If you’re wondering, Orangeburg is the most liberal city in South Carolina of all those we measured.
And to be clear, we didn’t form this list based on our own biases — we relied on the cold hard data. For more on how we ran the numbers, keep on reading. Then we’ll take a closer look at each of our top 10 most conservative cities in South Carolina.
And if you already knew these places were conservative, check out some more reading about South Carolina and the most conservative places in the country:
How we determined the most conservative cities in South Carolina for 2019
We started by making a list of every city in South Carolina over 5,000 people based on the 2013-2017 American Community Survey (The most recent data). That left us with 63 cities and towns.
We then measured the voting record and donation data to determine which places lean the most rightward in their allegiances by:
- Percentage Of Registered Republicans
- # Of Contributions To Republicans Per Capita
- $ Amount Contributed To Republicans Per Capita
Next, we ranked each city from 1 to 63 for each of the criteria where number one was the most conservative.
The winner, Easley, is “The Most Conservative City in South Carolina For 2019”.
Let’s go through these conservative places, shall we?
The 10 Most Conservative Places In South Carolina For 2019
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Cayce is a city in Lexington and Richland counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, along the Congaree River. The population was 12,528 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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 Easley ranking as the least conservative in the entire state.
If you’re curious, here are the least conservative cities in South Carolina:
- Orangeburg
- Irmo
- Columbia
For more South Carolina reading, check out:
- 10 Best Places To Live In South Carolina
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In South Carolina
- 10 Cheapest Places To Live In South Carolina
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In South Carolina
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In South Carolina
- These Are The 10 Richest Cities In South Carolina
- 10 Safest Places In South Carolina
- 10 Worst Places To Live In South Carolina
