Counties in South Carolina by employer firm births

Charleston County had the highest employer firm births of 46 counties in 2016, at 972. Saluda County had the lowest, at 5. The median was 41 and the figure for South Carolina was 5,834. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Median4146 counties
South Carolina5,834History

Map of counties, 2016

Abbeville County: 14 countAiken County: 138 countAllendale County: 9 countAnderson County: 193 countBamberg County: 10 countBarnwell County: 19 countBeaufort County: 301 countBerkeley County: 209 countCalhoun County: 14 countCharleston County: 972 countCherokee County: 43 countChester County: 18 countChesterfield County: 26 countClarendon County: 17 countColleton County: 35 countDarlington County: 52 countDillon County: 11 countDorchester County: 154 countEdgefield County: 20 countFairfield County: 19 countFlorence County: 147 countGeorgetown County: 100 countGreenville County: 740 countGreenwood County: 47 countHampton County: 17 countHorry County: 601 countJasper County: 38 countKershaw County: 57 countLancaster County: 69 countLaurens County: 35 countLee County: 8 countLexington County: 346 countMcCormick County: 5 countMarion County: 10 countMarlboro County: 7 countNewberry County: 25 countOconee County: 73 countOrangeburg County: 57 countPickens County: 106 countRichland County: 426 countSaluda County: 5 countSpartanburg County: 246 countSumter County: 62 countUnion County: 10 countWilliamsburg County: 21 countYork County: 315 count
  • Under 11
  • 11 to 19
  • 19 to 41
  • 41 to 73
  • 73 to 230
  • 230 and over
count, 2016. 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, 2016

Charleston County: 972 countCharleston County972Greenville County: 740 countGreenville County740Horry County: 601 countHorry County601Richland County: 426 countRichland County426Lexington County: 346 countLexington County346York County: 315 countYork County315Beaufort County: 301 countBeaufort County301Spartanburg County: 246 countSpartanburg County246Berkeley County: 209 countBerkeley County209Anderson County: 193 countAnderson County193Dorchester County: 154 countDorchester County154Florence County: 147 countFlorence County147Aiken County: 138 countAiken County138Pickens County: 106 countPickens County106Georgetown County: 100 countGeorgetown County100Oconee County: 73 countOconee County73Lancaster County: 69 countLancaster County69Sumter County: 62 countSumter County62Kershaw County: 57 countKershaw County57Orangeburg County: 57 countOrangeburg County57Darlington County: 52 countDarlington County52Greenwood County: 47 countGreenwood County47Cherokee County: 43 countCherokee County43Jasper County: 38 countJasper County38Colleton County: 35 countColleton County35Laurens County: 35 countLaurens County35Chesterfield County: 26 countChesterfield County26Newberry County: 25 countNewberry County25Williamsburg County: 21 countWilliamsburg County21Edgefield County: 20 countEdgefield County20Barnwell County: 19 countBarnwell County19Fairfield County: 19 countFairfield County19Chester County: 18 countChester County18Clarendon County: 17 countClarendon County17Hampton County: 17 countHampton County17Abbeville County: 14 countAbbeville County14Calhoun County: 14 countCalhoun County14Dillon County: 11 countDillon County11Bamberg County: 10 countBamberg County10Marion County: 10 countMarion County10Union County: 10 countUnion County10Allendale County: 9 countAllendale County9Lee County: 8 countLee County8Marlboro County: 7 countMarlboro County7McCormick County: 5 countMcCormick County5Saluda County: 5 countSaluda County5Charleston County: 972 countCharleston County972Greenville County: 740 countGreenville County740Horry County: 601 countHorry County601Richland County: 426 countRichland County426Lexington County: 346 countLexington County346York County: 315 countYork County315Beaufort County: 301 countBeaufort County301Spartanburg County: 246 countSpartanburg County246Berkeley County: 209 countBerkeley County209Anderson County: 193 countAnderson County193Dorchester County: 154 countDorchester County154Florence County: 147 countFlorence County147Aiken County: 138 countAiken County138Pickens County: 106 countPickens County106Georgetown County: 100 countGeorgetown County100Oconee County: 73 countOconee County73Lancaster County: 69 countLancaster County69Sumter County: 62 countSumter County62Kershaw County: 57 countKershaw County57Orangeburg County: 57 countOrangeburg County57Darlington County: 52 countDarlington County52Greenwood County: 47 countGreenwood County47Cherokee County: 43 countCherokee County43Jasper County: 38 countJasper County38Colleton County: 35 countColleton County35Laurens County: 35 countLaurens County35Chesterfield County: 26 countChesterfield County26Newberry County: 25 countNewberry County25Williamsburg County: 21 countWilliamsburg County21Edgefield County: 20 countEdgefield County20Barnwell County: 19 countBarnwell County19Fairfield County: 19 countFairfield County19Chester County: 18 countChester County18Clarendon County: 17 countClarendon County17Hampton County: 17 countHampton County17Abbeville County: 14 countAbbeville County14Calhoun County: 14 countCalhoun County14Dillon County: 11 countDillon County11Bamberg County: 10 countBamberg County10Marion County: 10 countMarion County10Union County: 10 countUnion County10Allendale County: 9 countAllendale County9Lee County: 8 countLee County8Marlboro County: 7 countMarlboro County7McCormick County: 5 countMcCormick County5Saluda County: 5 countSaluda County5
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

RankCounties2016
count
Change on 2015
1Charleston County972+17.7%
2Greenville County740+7.4%
3Horry County601+5.3%
4Richland County426-7.2%
5Lexington County346+8.8%
6York County315+9%
7Beaufort County301-12%
8Spartanburg County246-10.5%
9Berkeley County209+11.2%
10Anderson County193+35.9%
11Dorchester County154+6.2%
12Florence County1470%
13Aiken County138+8.7%
14Pickens County106+24.7%
15Georgetown County100+22%
16Oconee County73-17%
17Lancaster County69-10.4%
18Sumter County62-12.7%
19Kershaw County57+1.8%
19Orangeburg County57-3.4%
21Darlington County52+33.3%
22Greenwood County47-16.1%
23Cherokee County43+22.9%
24Jasper County38-33.3%
25Colleton County35+25%
25Laurens County35-16.7%
27Chesterfield County26+23.8%
28Newberry County25+4.2%
29Williamsburg County210%
30Edgefield County20+53.8%
31Barnwell County19-5%
31Fairfield County19+5.6%
33Chester County18-37.9%
34Clarendon County17-29.2%
34Hampton County17+112.5%
36Abbeville County14+27.3%
36Calhoun County14+55.6%
38Dillon County11-31.3%
39Bamberg County10-33.3%
39Marion County10-23.1%
39Union County10+11.1%
42Allendale County9+28.6%
43Lee County8+33.3%
44Marlboro County7-41.7%
45McCormick County5n/a
45Saluda County5-44.4%

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, 2016) [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, 2016. 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=2016. 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, 2016. 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=2016.

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, 2016 [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=2016 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  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=2016. 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, 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-carolina-counties?period=2016.
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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Rank Counties in South Carolina by employer firm births using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firm births?

Charleston County, with 972 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Saluda County, with 5 in 2016.

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