Data / Employer firms / Charleston County

Employer firms in Charleston County

Employer firms in Charleston County was 11,893 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 3.2% from 2022. That is the 1st highest of 46 counties in 2023.

2023, count11,893
Change on 2022+3.2%
Rank1st of 46Counties in South Carolina ranked
Series high11,8932023
Series low4,6941978

Next release: Sunday, 26 September 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

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Employer firms in Charleston County, 1978 to 2023

4,0006,0008,00010K12K19781985199219992006201320231978: 4,694 count1979: 4,827 count1980: 4,921 count1981: 5,021 count1982: 5,052 count1983: 5,184 count1984: 5,444 count1985: 5,615 count1986: 5,884 count1987: 6,067 count1988: 6,222 count1989: 6,417 count1990: 6,570 count1991: 6,769 count1992: 6,715 count1993: 6,875 count1994: 6,964 count1995: 7,087 count1996: 7,140 count1997: 7,286 count1998: 7,490 count1999: 7,635 count2000: 7,831 count2001: 7,847 count2002: 8,008 count2003: 8,183 count2004: 8,476 count2005: 8,817 count2006: 9,164 count2007: 9,332 count2008: 9,319 count2009: 9,009 count2010: 8,844 count2011: 8,848 count2012: 8,968 count2013: 9,118 count2014: 9,265 count2015: 9,586 count2016: 9,974 count2017: 10,203 count2018: 10,490 count2019: 10,745 count2020: 10,827 count2021: 11,107 count2022: 11,527 count2023: 11,893 count4,0006,0008,00010K12K19781994201020231978: 4,694 count1979: 4,827 count1980: 4,921 count1981: 5,021 count1982: 5,052 count1983: 5,184 count1984: 5,444 count1985: 5,615 count1986: 5,884 count1987: 6,067 count1988: 6,222 count1989: 6,417 count1990: 6,570 count1991: 6,769 count1992: 6,715 count1993: 6,875 count1994: 6,964 count1995: 7,087 count1996: 7,140 count1997: 7,286 count1998: 7,490 count1999: 7,635 count2000: 7,831 count2001: 7,847 count2002: 8,008 count2003: 8,183 count2004: 8,476 count2005: 8,817 count2006: 9,164 count2007: 9,332 count2008: 9,319 count2009: 9,009 count2010: 8,844 count2011: 8,848 count2012: 8,968 count2013: 9,118 count2014: 9,265 count2015: 9,586 count2016: 9,974 count2017: 10,203 count2018: 10,490 count2019: 10,745 count2020: 10,827 count2021: 11,107 count2022: 11,527 count2023: 11,893 count
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11, published 2025-09-25.
All 46 values
Periodcount
202311,893
202211,527
202111,107
202010,827
201910,745
201810,490
201710,203
20169,974
20159,586
20149,265
20139,118
20128,968
20118,848
20108,844
20099,009
20089,319
20079,332
20069,164
20058,817
20048,476
20038,183
20028,008
20017,847
20007,831
19997,635
19987,490
19977,286
19967,140
19957,087
19946,964
19936,875
19926,715
19916,769
19906,570
19896,417
19886,222
19876,067
19865,884
19855,615
19845,444
19835,184
19825,052
19815,021
19804,921
19794,827
19784,694

Compared with South Carolina and United States

Place2023
Charleston County11,893
South Carolina83,764
United States5,593,727

Charleston County compared with nearby places

Abbeville County: 288 countAiken County: 2,316 countAllendale County: 113 countAnderson County: 3,350 countBamberg County: 210 countBarnwell County: 309 countBeaufort County: 4,702 countBerkeley County: 3,179 countCalhoun County: 219 countCharleston County: 11,893 countCherokee County: 808 countChester County: 473 countChesterfield County: 529 countClarendon County: 427 countColleton County: 660 countDarlington County: 911 countDillon County: 388 countDorchester County: 2,355 countEdgefield County: 298 countFairfield County: 262 countFlorence County: 2,613 countGeorgetown County: 1,528 countGreenville County: 11,539 countGreenwood County: 1,137 countHampton County: 254 countHorry County: 7,809 countJasper County: 707 countKershaw County: 1,027 countLancaster County: 1,354 countLaurens County: 820 countLee County: 187 countLexington County: 5,625 countMcCormick County: 91 countMarion County: 402 countMarlboro County: 265 countNewberry County: 674 countOconee County: 1,479 countOrangeburg County: 1,265 countPickens County: 1,844 countRichland County: 6,926 countSaluda County: 220 countSpartanburg County: 5,526 countSumter County: 1,481 countUnion County: 349 countWilliamsburg County: 394 countYork County: 4,933 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 400
  • 400 to 800
  • 800 to 1,500
  • 1,500 to 4,000
  • 4,000 and over
Employer firms, 2023, count. Charleston County is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Rankings

Definition

Number of firms in the private nonfarm sectors covered by the US Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Establishments under common ownership form one firm.

Excludes nonemployer businesses. Differs from active_companies, the INE DIRCE count, which includes businesses without employees.

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How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties (Employer firms, Charleston County, 1978 to 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Employer firms, Charleston County, 1978 to 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/charleston-county-south-carolina. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Employer firms, Charleston County, 1978 to 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/charleston-county-south-carolina.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Employer firms, Charleston County, 1978 to 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/charleston-county-south-carolina (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_employer_firms_charleston_county_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Employer firms, Charleston County, 1978 to 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/charleston-county-south-carolina. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Employer firms, Charleston County, 1978 to 2023
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/charleston-county-south-carolina
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-firms/charleston-county-south-carolina.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the employer firms in Charleston County?

Employer firms in Charleston County was 11,893 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 3.2% from 2022. That is the 1st highest of 46 counties in 2023.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-11.

What was the highest employer firms in Charleston County?

11,893 in 2023, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Related statistics for Charleston County

All statistics for Charleston County | Charleston County in figures