Data / Rankings / Housing units authorized by building permits / Cities in South Carolina

Cities in South Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits

Columbia, SC had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 39 cities in 2024, at 2,148. Newberry, SC had the lowest, at 3. The median was 331 and the figure for South Carolina was 47,072. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest2,148Columbia, SC
Lowest3Newberry, SC
Median33139 cities
South Carolina47,072History

All cities, 2024

Columbia, SC: 2,148 countColumbia, SC2,148North Charleston, SC: 1,698 countNorth Charleston, SC1,698Greer, SC: 1,488 countGreer, SC1,488Hardeeville, SC: 1,345 countHardeeville, SC1,345Charleston, SC: 1,144 countCharleston, SC1,144Fort Mill, SC: 1,066 countFort Mill, SC1,066Aiken, SC: 888 countAiken, SC888Moncks Corner, SC: 796 countMoncks Corner, SC796Mauldin, SC: 760 countMauldin, SC760Beaufort, SC: 750 countBeaufort, SC750North Myrtle Beach, SC: 684 countNorth Myrtle Beach, SC684North Augusta, SC: 518 countNorth Augusta, SC518Goose Creek, SC: 503 countGoose Creek, SC503Conway, SC: 411 countConway, SC411Greenville, SC: 404 countGreenville, SC404Fountain Inn, SC: 402 countFountain Inn, SC402York, SC: 372 countYork, SC372Florence, SC: 365 countFlorence, SC365Easley, SC: 345 countEasley, SC345Bluffton, SC: 331 countBluffton, SC331Rock Hill, SC: 321 countRock Hill, SC321Clemson, SC: 313 countClemson, SC313Summerville, SC: 237 countSummerville, SC237Mount Pleasant, SC: 210 countMount Pleasant, SC210Myrtle Beach, SC: 198 countMyrtle Beach, SC198Lexington, SC: 168 countLexington, SC168Anderson, SC: 166 countAnderson, SC166Simpsonville, SC: 142 countSimpsonville, SC142Hilton Head Island, SC: 116 countHilton Head Island, SC116Tega Cay, SC: 110 countTega Cay, SC110Hanahan, SC: 97 countHanahan, SC97West Columbia, SC: 59 countWest Columbia, SC59Gaffney, SC: 55 countGaffney, SC55Spartanburg, SC: 37 countSpartanburg, SC37Orangeburg, SC: 20 countOrangeburg, SC20Forest Acres, SC: 8 countForest Acres, SC8Port Royal, SC: 7 countPort Royal, SC7Cayce, SC: 6 countCayce, SC6Newberry, SC: 3 countNewberry, SC3Columbia, SC: 2,148 countColumbia, SC2,148North Charleston, SC: 1,698 countNorth Charleston, SC1,698Greer, SC: 1,488 countGreer, SC1,488Hardeeville, SC: 1,345 countHardeeville, SC1,345Charleston, SC: 1,144 countCharleston, SC1,144Fort Mill, SC: 1,066 countFort Mill, SC1,066Aiken, SC: 888 countAiken, SC888Moncks Corner, SC: 796 countMoncks Corner, SC796Mauldin, SC: 760 countMauldin, SC760Beaufort, SC: 750 countBeaufort, SC750North Myrtle Beach, SC: 684 countNorth Myrtle Beach, SC684North Augusta, SC: 518 countNorth Augusta, SC518Goose Creek, SC: 503 countGoose Creek, SC503Conway, SC: 411 countConway, SC411Greenville, SC: 404 countGreenville, SC404Fountain Inn, SC: 402 countFountain Inn, SC402York, SC: 372 countYork, SC372Florence, SC: 365 countFlorence, SC365Easley, SC: 345 countEasley, SC345Bluffton, SC: 331 countBluffton, SC331Rock Hill, SC: 321 countRock Hill, SC321Clemson, SC: 313 countClemson, SC313Summerville, SC: 237 countSummerville, SC237Mount Pleasant, SC: 210 countMount Pleasant, SC210Myrtle Beach, SC: 198 countMyrtle Beach, SC198Lexington, SC: 168 countLexington, SC168Anderson, SC: 166 countAnderson, SC166Simpsonville, SC: 142 countSimpsonville, SC142Hilton Head Island, SC: 116 countHilton Head Island, SC116Tega Cay, SC: 110 countTega Cay, SC110Hanahan, SC: 97 countHanahan, SC97West Columbia, SC: 59 countWest Columbia, SC59Gaffney, SC: 55 countGaffney, SC55Spartanburg, SC: 37 countSpartanburg, SC37Orangeburg, SC: 20 countOrangeburg, SC20Forest Acres, SC: 8 countForest Acres, SC8Port Royal, SC: 7 countPort Royal, SC7Cayce, SC: 6 countCayce, SC6Newberry, SC: 3 countNewberry, SC3
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2024
count		Change on 2023
1Columbia, SC Estimated2,148+34.2%
2North Charleston, SC Estimated1,698-21.2%
3Greer, SC Estimated1,488+109%
4Hardeeville, SC Estimated1,345+14.5%
5Charleston, SC Estimated1,144-8.8%
6Fort Mill, SC Estimated1,066-0.1%
7Aiken, SC Estimated888+465.6%
8Moncks Corner, SC Estimated796+24.2%
9Mauldin, SC Estimated760+6.1%
10Beaufort, SC Estimated750+81.6%
11North Myrtle Beach, SC Estimated684+48.4%
12North Augusta, SC Estimated518+66%
13Goose Creek, SC Estimated503+47.5%
14Conway, SC Estimated411+63.7%
15Greenville, SC Estimated404-36.8%
16Fountain Inn, SC Estimated402+33.1%
17York, SC Estimated372+16.3%
18Florence, SC Estimated365+52.1%
19Easley, SC Estimated345+13.5%
20Bluffton, SC Estimated331-23.4%
21Rock Hill, SC Estimated321+47.9%
22Clemson, SC Estimated313-20.6%
23Summerville, SC Estimated237-2.5%
24Mount Pleasant, SC Estimated210-33.8%
25Myrtle Beach, SC Estimated198-42.8%
26Lexington, SC Estimated168-17.2%
27Anderson, SC Estimated166+9.2%
28Simpsonville, SC Estimated142-22.4%
29Hilton Head Island, SC Estimated116+30.3%
30Tega Cay, SC Estimated110-6.8%
31Hanahan, SC Estimated97+90.2%
32West Columbia, SC Estimated59+103.4%
33Gaffney, SC Estimated55+266.7%
34Spartanburg, SC Estimated37+8.8%
35Orangeburg, SC Estimated20+300%
36Forest Acres, SC Estimated8-42.9%
37Port Royal, SC Estimated7-92.9%
38Cayce, SC Estimated6+500%
39Newberry, SC Estimated3-25%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of new privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in the year or month, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey. Annual totals for the nation, states and counties; monthly counts for the nation and states.

Counts housing units, not buildings, starts, completions or sales. Monthly counts are not seasonally adjusted and do not add up exactly to the annual total, which includes later corrections; the national seasonally adjusted annual rate in the monthly New Residential Construction release is a different measure.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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). Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation (Cities in South Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt

MLA 9

Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in South Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 1 May 2025, https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/south-carolina-cities?period=2024. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Cities in South Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/south-carolina-cities?period=2024.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation, Cities in South Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/south-carolina-cities?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_south_carolina_2024,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Cities in South Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2024}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/south-carolina-cities?period=2024. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South\%20Region/so2024a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation: Cities in South Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2024
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/05/01
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/south-carolina-cities?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/building-permit-housing-units/south-carolina-cities?period=2024.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/Place/South%20Region/so2024a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Cities in South Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"building_permit_units","level":"municipality","within":"South Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=building_permit_units&level=municipality&within=South%20Carolina&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which city has the highest housing units authorized by building permits?

Columbia, SC, with 2,148 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest housing units authorized by building permits?

Newberry, SC, with 3 in 2024.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey: final annual estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized by permit-issuing place, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Cities in South Carolina: more rankings