Counties in South Carolina by employer firm births

Greenville County had the highest employer firm births of 46 counties in 2021, at 955. McCormick County had the lowest, at 5. The median was 49 and the figure for South Carolina was 7,115. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Median4946 counties
South Carolina7,115History

Map of counties, 2021

Abbeville County: 19 countAiken County: 146 countAllendale County: 5 countAnderson County: 224 countBamberg County: 8 countBarnwell County: 12 countBeaufort County: 354 countBerkeley County: 321 countCalhoun County: 12 countCharleston County: 936 countCherokee County: 41 countChester County: 19 countChesterfield County: 28 countClarendon County: 25 countColleton County: 42 countDarlington County: 44 countDillon County: 26 countDorchester County: 223 countEdgefield County: 19 countFairfield County: 16 countFlorence County: 191 countGeorgetown County: 103 countGreenville County: 955 countGreenwood County: 58 countHampton County: 18 countHorry County: 650 countJasper County: 64 countKershaw County: 72 countLancaster County: 121 countLaurens County: 53 countLee County: 14 countLexington County: 421 countMcCormick County: 5 countMarion County: 24 countMarlboro County: 9 countNewberry County: 37 countOconee County: 105 countOrangeburg County: 67 countPickens County: 114 countRichland County: 538 countSaluda County: 11 countSpartanburg County: 397 countSumter County: 108 countUnion County: 20 countWilliamsburg County: 30 countYork County: 429 count
  • Under 15
  • 15 to 25
  • 25 to 49
  • 49 to 110
  • 110 to 340
  • 340 and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

Greenville County: 955 countGreenville County955Charleston County: 936 countCharleston County936Horry County: 650 countHorry County650Richland County: 538 countRichland County538York County: 429 countYork County429Lexington County: 421 countLexington County421Spartanburg County: 397 countSpartanburg County397Beaufort County: 354 countBeaufort County354Berkeley County: 321 countBerkeley County321Anderson County: 224 countAnderson County224Dorchester County: 223 countDorchester County223Florence County: 191 countFlorence County191Aiken County: 146 countAiken County146Lancaster County: 121 countLancaster County121Pickens County: 114 countPickens County114Sumter County: 108 countSumter County108Oconee County: 105 countOconee County105Georgetown County: 103 countGeorgetown County103Kershaw County: 72 countKershaw County72Orangeburg County: 67 countOrangeburg County67Jasper County: 64 countJasper County64Greenwood County: 58 countGreenwood County58Laurens County: 53 countLaurens County53Darlington County: 44 countDarlington County44Colleton County: 42 countColleton County42Cherokee County: 41 countCherokee County41Newberry County: 37 countNewberry County37Williamsburg County: 30 countWilliamsburg County30Chesterfield County: 28 countChesterfield County28Dillon County: 26 countDillon County26Clarendon County: 25 countClarendon County25Marion County: 24 countMarion County24Union County: 20 countUnion County20Abbeville County: 19 countAbbeville County19Chester County: 19 countChester County19Edgefield County: 19 countEdgefield County19Hampton County: 18 countHampton County18Fairfield County: 16 countFairfield County16Lee County: 14 countLee County14Barnwell County: 12 countBarnwell County12Calhoun County: 12 countCalhoun County12Saluda County: 11 countSaluda County11Marlboro County: 9 countMarlboro County9Bamberg County: 8 countBamberg County8Allendale County: 5 countAllendale County5McCormick County: 5 countMcCormick County5Greenville County: 955 countGreenville County955Charleston County: 936 countCharleston County936Horry County: 650 countHorry County650Richland County: 538 countRichland County538York County: 429 countYork County429Lexington County: 421 countLexington County421Spartanburg County: 397 countSpartanburg County397Beaufort County: 354 countBeaufort County354Berkeley County: 321 countBerkeley County321Anderson County: 224 countAnderson County224Dorchester County: 223 countDorchester County223Florence County: 191 countFlorence County191Aiken County: 146 countAiken County146Lancaster County: 121 countLancaster County121Pickens County: 114 countPickens County114Sumter County: 108 countSumter County108Oconee County: 105 countOconee County105Georgetown County: 103 countGeorgetown County103Kershaw County: 72 countKershaw County72Orangeburg County: 67 countOrangeburg County67Jasper County: 64 countJasper County64Greenwood County: 58 countGreenwood County58Laurens County: 53 countLaurens County53Darlington County: 44 countDarlington County44Colleton County: 42 countColleton County42Cherokee County: 41 countCherokee County41Newberry County: 37 countNewberry County37Williamsburg County: 30 countWilliamsburg County30Chesterfield County: 28 countChesterfield County28Dillon County: 26 countDillon County26Clarendon County: 25 countClarendon County25Marion County: 24 countMarion County24Union County: 20 countUnion County20Abbeville County: 19 countAbbeville County19Chester County: 19 countChester County19Edgefield County: 19 countEdgefield County19Hampton County: 18 countHampton County18Fairfield County: 16 countFairfield County16Lee County: 14 countLee County14Barnwell County: 12 countBarnwell County12Calhoun County: 12 countCalhoun County12Saluda County: 11 countSaluda County11Marlboro County: 9 countMarlboro County9Bamberg County: 8 countBamberg County8Allendale County: 5 countAllendale County5McCormick County: 5 countMcCormick 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

RankCounties2021
count
Change on 2020
1Greenville County955+8.3%
2Charleston County936+5.3%
3Horry County650+15.2%
4Richland County538+15.9%
5York County429+11.7%
6Lexington County421+17.9%
7Spartanburg County397+22.2%
8Beaufort County354-1.7%
9Berkeley County321+26.4%
10Anderson County224+9.3%
11Dorchester County223+18.6%
12Florence County191+57.9%
13Aiken County146-8.2%
14Lancaster County121+17.5%
15Pickens County114+0.9%
16Sumter County108+58.8%
17Oconee County105-9.5%
18Georgetown County103+30.4%
19Kershaw County72-1.4%
20Orangeburg County67+1.5%
21Jasper County64+28%
22Greenwood County58+61.1%
23Laurens County53-5.4%
24Darlington County44+12.8%
25Colleton County42+40%
26Cherokee County41+7.9%
27Newberry County37-9.8%
28Williamsburg County30+25%
29Chesterfield County28+7.7%
30Dillon County26+73.3%
31Clarendon County25+4.2%
32Marion County24+20%
33Union County20+400%
34Abbeville County19+35.7%
34Chester County19-26.9%
34Edgefield County190%
37Hampton County18-5.3%
38Fairfield County16+14.3%
39Lee County14+180%
40Barnwell County12-14.3%
40Calhoun County12+71.4%
42Saluda County11-15.4%
43Marlboro County9-40%
44Bamberg County8+33.3%
45Allendale County5n/a
45McCormick 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/22
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firm-births/south-carolina-counties?period=2021.
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?

Greenville County, with 955 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firm births?

McCormick County, with 5 in 2021.

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