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

Counties in South Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits, 2025

Horry County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 46 counties in 2025, at 6,511. Allendale County had the lowest, at 4. The median was 310. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest6,511Horry County
Lowest4Allendale County
Median31046 counties

All counties, 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Horry CountyHorry County: 6,511 count6,511Greenville CountyGreenville County: 4,947 count4,947Spartanburg CountySpartanburg County: 3,986 count3,986Charleston CountyCharleston County: 3,392 count3,392Richland CountyRichland County: 3,382 count3,382York CountyYork County: 2,646 count2,646Berkeley CountyBerkeley County: 2,299 count2,299Lexington CountyLexington County: 2,006 count2,006Aiken CountyAiken County: 1,959 count1,959Jasper CountyJasper County: 1,858 count1,858Dorchester CountyDorchester County: 1,596 count1,596Anderson CountyAnderson County: 1,493 count1,493Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 1,219 count1,219Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 1,110 count1,110Pickens CountyPickens County: 946 count946Laurens CountyLaurens County: 869 count869Oconee CountyOconee County: 753 count753Florence CountyFlorence County: 697 count697Kershaw CountyKershaw County: 509 count509Georgetown CountyGeorgetown County: 377 count377Union CountyUnion County: 373 count373Sumter CountySumter County: 358 count358Chester CountyChester County: 310 count310Greenwood CountyGreenwood County: 310 count310Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 286 count286Darlington CountyDarlington County: 205 count205Edgefield CountyEdgefield County: 194 count194Newberry CountyNewberry County: 160 count160Abbeville CountyAbbeville County: 157 count157McCormick CountyMcCormick County: 119 count119Chesterfield CountyChesterfield County: 117 count117Clarendon CountyClarendon County: 114 count114Orangeburg CountyOrangeburg County: 107 count107Fairfield CountyFairfield County: 74 count74Colleton CountyColleton County: 73 count73Marion CountyMarion County: 71 count71Saluda CountySaluda County: 61 count61Dillon CountyDillon County: 41 count41Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 38 count38Williamsburg CountyWilliamsburg County: 35 count35Barnwell CountyBarnwell County: 31 count31Bamberg CountyBamberg County: 24 count24Lee CountyLee County: 22 count22Hampton CountyHampton County: 17 count17Marlboro CountyMarlboro County: 6 count6Allendale CountyAllendale County: 4 count4
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025
count		Change on 2024
1Horry County Estimated6,511-11.2%
2Greenville County Estimated4,947-11.3%
3Spartanburg County Estimated3,986+27.4%
4Charleston County Estimated3,392-18.3%
5Richland County Estimated3,382-2.5%
6York County Estimated2,646+5.3%
7Berkeley County Estimated2,299-27.5%
8Lexington County Estimated2,006+14.1%
9Aiken County Estimated1,959-21.6%
10Jasper County Estimated1,858+32%
11Dorchester County Estimated1,596+33.9%
12Anderson County Estimated1,493+19%
13Beaufort County Estimated1,219-25.6%
14Lancaster County Estimated1,110+11.3%
15Pickens County Estimated946-33.6%
16Laurens County Estimated869+39.9%
17Oconee County Estimated753+16.2%
18Florence County Estimated697+4.7%
19Kershaw County Estimated509+7.4%
20Georgetown County Estimated377+15.3%
21Union County Estimated373+269.3%
22Sumter County Estimated358-7.3%
23Chester County Estimated310+15.2%
23Greenwood County Estimated310+60.6%
25Cherokee County Estimated286+19.7%
26Darlington County Estimated205+5.1%
27Edgefield County Estimated194+7.2%
28Newberry County Estimated160+3.2%
29Abbeville County Estimated157+8.3%
30McCormick County Estimated119-15.6%
31Chesterfield County Estimated117-20.4%
32Clarendon County Estimated1140%
33Orangeburg County Estimated107+5.9%
34Fairfield County Estimated74-18.7%
35Colleton County Estimated73+52.1%
36Marion County Estimated71-6.6%
37Saluda County Estimated61+17.3%
38Dillon County Estimated410%
39Calhoun County Estimated38-20.8%
40Williamsburg County Estimated35+2.9%
41Barnwell County Estimated31+82.4%
42Bamberg County Estimated24+118.2%
43Lee County Estimated22+22.2%
44Hampton County Estimated17+70%
45Marlboro County Estimated60%
46Allendale County Estimated4-33.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Annual number of new privately owned housing units authorized by building permits, from the US Census Bureau Building Permits Survey.

Final annual county estimates include imputation for missing reports. Counts housing units, not buildings, starts, completions or sales. Covers permit-issuing areas; areas where permits are not required are outside the survey. Not seasonally adjusted or expressed as an annualized monthly rate. The total is the sum of units in the four published structure categories; inputs are retained.

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

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Building Permits Survey: final annual county estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized, including imputation. https://www2.census.gov/econ/bps/County/co2025a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

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Questions

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

Horry County, with 6,511 in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Allendale County, with 4 in 2025.

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 county estimates of new privately owned housing units authorized, including imputation. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Housing units authorized by building permits: other rankings

Counties in South Carolina: more rankings