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

Counties in South Carolina by housing units authorized by building permits

Horry County had the highest housing units authorized by building permits of 46 counties in 2023, at 6,513. Allendale County had the lowest, at 4. The median was 220. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest6,513Horry County
Lowest4Allendale County
Median22046 counties

All counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Horry CountyHorry County: 6,513 count6,513Greenville CountyGreenville County: 4,774 count4,774Charleston CountyCharleston County: 4,558 count4,558Berkeley CountyBerkeley County: 2,904 count2,904Spartanburg CountySpartanburg County: 2,867 count2,867Richland CountyRichland County: 2,843 count2,843York CountyYork County: 2,289 count2,289Lexington CountyLexington County: 1,815 count1,815Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 1,634 count1,634Aiken CountyAiken County: 1,472 count1,472Anderson CountyAnderson County: 1,401 count1,401Jasper CountyJasper County: 1,320 count1,320Dorchester CountyDorchester County: 1,111 count1,111Pickens CountyPickens County: 1,087 count1,087Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 699 count699Kershaw CountyKershaw County: 661 count661Oconee CountyOconee County: 612 count612Florence CountyFlorence County: 536 count536Laurens CountyLaurens County: 422 count422Sumter CountySumter County: 381 count381Georgetown CountyGeorgetown County: 355 count355Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 270 count270Edgefield CountyEdgefield County: 238 count238Darlington CountyDarlington County: 201 count201Newberry CountyNewberry County: 180 count180Chesterfield CountyChesterfield County: 170 count170Chester CountyChester County: 164 count164Abbeville CountyAbbeville County: 157 count157McCormick CountyMcCormick County: 115 count115Clarendon CountyClarendon County: 92 count92Orangeburg CountyOrangeburg County: 83 count83Fairfield CountyFairfield County: 76 count76Marion CountyMarion County: 73 count73Colleton CountyColleton County: 66 count66Greenwood CountyGreenwood County: 62 count62Union CountyUnion County: 56 count56Saluda CountySaluda County: 47 count47Dillon CountyDillon County: 42 count42Williamsburg CountyWilliamsburg County: 37 count37Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 23 count23Barnwell CountyBarnwell County: 21 count21Lee CountyLee County: 17 count17Hampton CountyHampton County: 10 count10Bamberg CountyBamberg County: 9 count9Marlboro CountyMarlboro County: 7 count7Allendale CountyAllendale County: 4 count4
count. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
count
1Horry County Estimated6,513
2Greenville County Estimated4,774
3Charleston County Estimated4,558
4Berkeley County Estimated2,904
5Spartanburg County Estimated2,867
6Richland County Estimated2,843
7York County Estimated2,289
8Lexington County Estimated1,815
9Beaufort County Estimated1,634
10Aiken County Estimated1,472
11Anderson County Estimated1,401
12Jasper County Estimated1,320
13Dorchester County Estimated1,111
14Pickens County Estimated1,087
15Lancaster County Estimated699
16Kershaw County Estimated661
17Oconee County Estimated612
18Florence County Estimated536
19Laurens County Estimated422
20Sumter County Estimated381
21Georgetown County Estimated355
22Cherokee County Estimated270
23Edgefield County Estimated238
24Darlington County Estimated201
25Newberry County Estimated180
26Chesterfield County Estimated170
27Chester County Estimated164
28Abbeville County Estimated157
29McCormick County Estimated115
30Clarendon County Estimated92
31Orangeburg County Estimated83
32Fairfield County Estimated76
33Marion County Estimated73
34Colleton County Estimated66
35Greenwood County Estimated62
36Union County Estimated56
37Saluda County Estimated47
38Dillon County Estimated42
39Williamsburg County Estimated37
40Calhoun County Estimated23
41Barnwell County Estimated21
42Lee County Estimated17
43Hampton County Estimated10
44Bamberg County Estimated9
45Marlboro County Estimated7
46Allendale County Estimated4

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/co2023a.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-10.

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Questions

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

Horry County, with 6,513 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Allendale County, with 4 in 2023.

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