Counties in South Carolina by employer firm births

Charleston County had the highest employer firm births of 46 counties in 2019, at 975. Allendale County had the lowest, at 3. The median was 44 and the figure for South Carolina was 6,315. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Median4446 counties
South Carolina6,315History

Map of counties, 2019

Abbeville County: 17 countAiken County: 134 countAllendale County: 3 countAnderson County: 180 countBamberg County: 5 countBarnwell County: 14 countBeaufort County: 355 countBerkeley County: 284 countCalhoun County: 15 countCharleston County: 975 countCherokee County: 30 countChester County: 18 countChesterfield County: 12 countClarendon County: 28 countColleton County: 35 countDarlington County: 45 countDillon County: 19 countDorchester County: 178 countEdgefield County: 22 countFairfield County: 16 countFlorence County: 116 countGeorgetown County: 90 countGreenville County: 819 countGreenwood County: 43 countHampton County: 18 countHorry County: 607 countJasper County: 53 countKershaw County: 58 countLancaster County: 95 countLaurens County: 46 countLee County: 13 countLexington County: 389 countMcCormick County: 4 countMarion County: 13 countMarlboro County: 9 countNewberry County: 31 countOconee County: 81 countOrangeburg County: 73 countPickens County: 145 countRichland County: 450 countSaluda County: 12 countSpartanburg County: 310 countSumter County: 80 countUnion County: 17 countWilliamsburg County: 21 countYork County: 359 count
  • Under 14
  • 14 to 19
  • 19 to 44
  • 44 to 90
  • 90 to 300
  • 300 and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

Charleston County: 975 countCharleston County975Greenville County: 819 countGreenville County819Horry County: 607 countHorry County607Richland County: 450 countRichland County450Lexington County: 389 countLexington County389York County: 359 countYork County359Beaufort County: 355 countBeaufort County355Spartanburg County: 310 countSpartanburg County310Berkeley County: 284 countBerkeley County284Anderson County: 180 countAnderson County180Dorchester County: 178 countDorchester County178Pickens County: 145 countPickens County145Aiken County: 134 countAiken County134Florence County: 116 countFlorence County116Lancaster County: 95 countLancaster County95Georgetown County: 90 countGeorgetown County90Oconee County: 81 countOconee County81Sumter County: 80 countSumter County80Orangeburg County: 73 countOrangeburg County73Kershaw County: 58 countKershaw County58Jasper County: 53 countJasper County53Laurens County: 46 countLaurens County46Darlington County: 45 countDarlington County45Greenwood County: 43 countGreenwood County43Colleton County: 35 countColleton County35Newberry County: 31 countNewberry County31Cherokee County: 30 countCherokee County30Clarendon County: 28 countClarendon County28Edgefield County: 22 countEdgefield County22Williamsburg County: 21 countWilliamsburg County21Dillon County: 19 countDillon County19Chester County: 18 countChester County18Hampton County: 18 countHampton County18Abbeville County: 17 countAbbeville County17Union County: 17 countUnion County17Fairfield County: 16 countFairfield County16Calhoun County: 15 countCalhoun County15Barnwell County: 14 countBarnwell County14Lee County: 13 countLee County13Marion County: 13 countMarion County13Chesterfield County: 12 countChesterfield County12Saluda County: 12 countSaluda County12Marlboro County: 9 countMarlboro County9Bamberg County: 5 countBamberg County5McCormick County: 4 countMcCormick County4Allendale County: 3 countAllendale County3Charleston County: 975 countCharleston County975Greenville County: 819 countGreenville County819Horry County: 607 countHorry County607Richland County: 450 countRichland County450Lexington County: 389 countLexington County389York County: 359 countYork County359Beaufort County: 355 countBeaufort County355Spartanburg County: 310 countSpartanburg County310Berkeley County: 284 countBerkeley County284Anderson County: 180 countAnderson County180Dorchester County: 178 countDorchester County178Pickens County: 145 countPickens County145Aiken County: 134 countAiken County134Florence County: 116 countFlorence County116Lancaster County: 95 countLancaster County95Georgetown County: 90 countGeorgetown County90Oconee County: 81 countOconee County81Sumter County: 80 countSumter County80Orangeburg County: 73 countOrangeburg County73Kershaw County: 58 countKershaw County58Jasper County: 53 countJasper County53Laurens County: 46 countLaurens County46Darlington County: 45 countDarlington County45Greenwood County: 43 countGreenwood County43Colleton County: 35 countColleton County35Newberry County: 31 countNewberry County31Cherokee County: 30 countCherokee County30Clarendon County: 28 countClarendon County28Edgefield County: 22 countEdgefield County22Williamsburg County: 21 countWilliamsburg County21Dillon County: 19 countDillon County19Chester County: 18 countChester County18Hampton County: 18 countHampton County18Abbeville County: 17 countAbbeville County17Union County: 17 countUnion County17Fairfield County: 16 countFairfield County16Calhoun County: 15 countCalhoun County15Barnwell County: 14 countBarnwell County14Lee County: 13 countLee County13Marion County: 13 countMarion County13Chesterfield County: 12 countChesterfield County12Saluda County: 12 countSaluda County12Marlboro County: 9 countMarlboro County9Bamberg County: 5 countBamberg County5McCormick County: 4 countMcCormick County4Allendale County: 3 countAllendale 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

RankCounties2019
count
Change on 2018
1Charleston County975+6.1%
2Greenville County819-3.4%
3Horry County607-4.1%
4Richland County450+10.8%
5Lexington County389+3.7%
6York County359-6.8%
7Beaufort County355+7.3%
8Spartanburg County310-5.8%
9Berkeley County284+32.7%
10Anderson County180-4.3%
11Dorchester County178+15.6%
12Pickens County145+5.1%
13Aiken County134+6.3%
14Florence County116-9.4%
15Lancaster County95+21.8%
16Georgetown County90+8.4%
17Oconee County81-14.7%
18Sumter County80+19.4%
19Orangeburg County73+12.3%
20Kershaw County58+1.8%
21Jasper County53+12.8%
22Laurens County46+21.1%
23Darlington County45+21.6%
24Greenwood County43-21.8%
25Colleton County35-2.8%
26Newberry County31-22.5%
27Cherokee County30-16.7%
28Clarendon County28+3.7%
29Edgefield County22+57.1%
30Williamsburg County21+40%
31Dillon County19-26.9%
32Chester County18-33.3%
32Hampton County18+38.5%
34Abbeville County170%
34Union County17-10.5%
36Fairfield County16+77.8%
37Calhoun County15+66.7%
38Barnwell County14+7.7%
39Lee County13+62.5%
39Marion County13-23.5%
41Chesterfield County12-42.9%
41Saluda County120%
43Marlboro County9-35.7%
44Bamberg County5-37.5%
45McCormick County4-33.3%
46Allendale County3-40%

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, 2019) [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, 2019. 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=2019. 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, 2019. 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=2019.

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, 2019 [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=2019 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  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=2019. 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, 2019
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=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-carolina-counties?period=2019.
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 975 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

Allendale County, with 3 in 2019.

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