Counties in South Carolina by employer firm births

Charleston County had the highest employer firm births of 46 counties in 2012, at 690. McCormick County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 41 and the figure for South Carolina was 4,987. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median4146 counties
South Carolina4,987History

Map of counties, 2012

Abbeville County: 14 countAiken County: 113 countAllendale County: 11 countAnderson County: 161 countBamberg County: 11 countBarnwell County: 11 countBeaufort County: 271 countBerkeley County: 181 countCalhoun County: 11 countCharleston County: 690 countCherokee County: 36 countChester County: 21 countChesterfield County: 20 countClarendon County: 27 countColleton County: 24 countDarlington County: 52 countDillon County: 18 countDorchester County: 123 countEdgefield County: 15 countFairfield County: 17 countFlorence County: 132 countGeorgetown County: 81 countGreenville County: 625 countGreenwood County: 54 countHampton County: 6 countHorry County: 484 countJasper County: 30 countKershaw County: 46 countLancaster County: 71 countLaurens County: 52 countLee County: 8 countLexington County: 314 countMcCormick County: 3 countMarion County: 23 countMarlboro County: 6 countNewberry County: 21 countOconee County: 70 countOrangeburg County: 57 countPickens County: 115 countRichland County: 375 countSaluda County: 7 countSpartanburg County: 239 countSumter County: 68 countUnion County: 15 countWilliamsburg County: 20 countYork County: 258 count
  • Under 11
  • 11 to 20
  • 20 to 41
  • 41 to 71
  • 71 to 210
  • 210 and over
count, 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2012

Charleston County: 690 countCharleston County690Greenville County: 625 countGreenville County625Horry County: 484 countHorry County484Richland County: 375 countRichland County375Lexington County: 314 countLexington County314Beaufort County: 271 countBeaufort County271York County: 258 countYork County258Spartanburg County: 239 countSpartanburg County239Berkeley County: 181 countBerkeley County181Anderson County: 161 countAnderson County161Florence County: 132 countFlorence County132Dorchester County: 123 countDorchester County123Pickens County: 115 countPickens County115Aiken County: 113 countAiken County113Georgetown County: 81 countGeorgetown County81Lancaster County: 71 countLancaster County71Oconee County: 70 countOconee County70Sumter County: 68 countSumter County68Orangeburg County: 57 countOrangeburg County57Greenwood County: 54 countGreenwood County54Darlington County: 52 countDarlington County52Laurens County: 52 countLaurens County52Kershaw County: 46 countKershaw County46Cherokee County: 36 countCherokee County36Jasper County: 30 countJasper County30Clarendon County: 27 countClarendon County27Colleton County: 24 countColleton County24Marion County: 23 countMarion County23Chester County: 21 countChester County21Newberry County: 21 countNewberry County21Chesterfield County: 20 countChesterfield County20Williamsburg County: 20 countWilliamsburg County20Dillon County: 18 countDillon County18Fairfield County: 17 countFairfield County17Edgefield County: 15 countEdgefield County15Union County: 15 countUnion County15Abbeville County: 14 countAbbeville County14Allendale County: 11 countAllendale County11Bamberg County: 11 countBamberg County11Barnwell County: 11 countBarnwell County11Calhoun County: 11 countCalhoun County11Lee County: 8 countLee County8Saluda County: 7 countSaluda County7Hampton County: 6 countHampton County6Marlboro County: 6 countMarlboro County6McCormick County: 3 countMcCormick County3Charleston County: 690 countCharleston County690Greenville County: 625 countGreenville County625Horry County: 484 countHorry County484Richland County: 375 countRichland County375Lexington County: 314 countLexington County314Beaufort County: 271 countBeaufort County271York County: 258 countYork County258Spartanburg County: 239 countSpartanburg County239Berkeley County: 181 countBerkeley County181Anderson County: 161 countAnderson County161Florence County: 132 countFlorence County132Dorchester County: 123 countDorchester County123Pickens County: 115 countPickens County115Aiken County: 113 countAiken County113Georgetown County: 81 countGeorgetown County81Lancaster County: 71 countLancaster County71Oconee County: 70 countOconee County70Sumter County: 68 countSumter County68Orangeburg County: 57 countOrangeburg County57Greenwood County: 54 countGreenwood County54Darlington County: 52 countDarlington County52Laurens County: 52 countLaurens County52Kershaw County: 46 countKershaw County46Cherokee County: 36 countCherokee County36Jasper County: 30 countJasper County30Clarendon County: 27 countClarendon County27Colleton County: 24 countColleton County24Marion County: 23 countMarion County23Chester County: 21 countChester County21Newberry County: 21 countNewberry County21Chesterfield County: 20 countChesterfield County20Williamsburg County: 20 countWilliamsburg County20Dillon County: 18 countDillon County18Fairfield County: 17 countFairfield County17Edgefield County: 15 countEdgefield County15Union County: 15 countUnion County15Abbeville County: 14 countAbbeville County14Allendale County: 11 countAllendale County11Bamberg County: 11 countBamberg County11Barnwell County: 11 countBarnwell County11Calhoun County: 11 countCalhoun County11Lee County: 8 countLee County8Saluda County: 7 countSaluda County7Hampton County: 6 countHampton County6Marlboro County: 6 countMarlboro County6McCormick County: 3 countMcCormick County3
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Full ranking

RankCounties2012
count
Change on 2011
1Charleston County690+9.7%
2Greenville County625+4.7%
3Horry County484+0.8%
4Richland County375-8.1%
5Lexington County314+5.7%
6Beaufort County271-10.6%
7York County258-4.4%
8Spartanburg County239+1.7%
9Berkeley County181+17.5%
10Anderson County161-15.7%
11Florence County132-12.6%
12Dorchester County123-9.6%
13Pickens County115+32.2%
14Aiken County113-0.9%
15Georgetown County81+2.5%
16Lancaster County71+42%
17Oconee County70-2.8%
18Sumter County68+1.5%
19Orangeburg County57+1.8%
20Greenwood County54+5.9%
21Darlington County52+23.8%
21Laurens County52+36.8%
23Kershaw County46-6.1%
24Cherokee County36+38.5%
25Jasper County30-6.3%
26Clarendon County27-3.6%
27Colleton County24-29.4%
28Marion County23+43.8%
29Chester County21+16.7%
29Newberry County21-8.7%
31Chesterfield County20-13%
31Williamsburg County20-25.9%
33Dillon County18-28%
34Fairfield County17+30.8%
35Edgefield County15-16.7%
35Union County150%
37Abbeville County14+16.7%
38Allendale County11+83.3%
38Bamberg County11-8.3%
38Barnwell County11-15.4%
38Calhoun County11-8.3%
42Lee County80%
43Saluda County7-68.2%
44Hampton County6-68.4%
44Marlboro County6-25%
46McCormick County3-57.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

New employer firms: firms of age zero in March of the year, meaning that every establishment of the firm had its first employees during the previous twelve months. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics, which calls these firms startups.

A firm counts only when it has employees, so a business without staff is not a birth, and a new branch, merger or change of ownership of an existing firm is not a birth either. Not the same as business_applications (requests for an employer number) or enterprise_births (European business demography). The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

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. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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 by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978 (Counties in South Carolina by employer firm births, 2012) [Data set]. Retrieved October 22, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Counties in South Carolina by employer firm births, 2012. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-carolina-counties?period=2012. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Counties in South Carolina by employer firm births, 2012. Dataset. Accessed October 22, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-carolina-counties?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978, Counties in South Carolina by employer firm births, 2012 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-carolina-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Counties in South Carolina by employer firm births, 2012}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-22},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-carolina-counties?period=2012. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty\_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978: Counties in South Carolina by employer firm births, 2012
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_fac.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-carolina-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-carolina-counties?period=2012.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty_fac.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Charleston County, with 690 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

McCormick County, with 3 in 2012.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics by firm age: employer firms of age zero, all covered industries, nation, states and counties from 1978. Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Employer firm births: other rankings

Counties in South Carolina: more rankings