Counties in South Carolina by employer firms

Greenville County had the highest employer firms of 46 counties in 2012, at 9,166. McCormick County had the lowest, at 90. The median was 828 and the figure for South Carolina was 70,481. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest9,166Greenville County
Median82846 counties
South Carolina70,481History

Map of counties, 2012

Abbeville County: 293 countAiken County: 2,106 countAllendale County: 112 countAnderson County: 2,993 countBamberg County: 238 countBarnwell County: 305 countBeaufort County: 3,806 countBerkeley County: 2,198 countCalhoun County: 217 countCharleston County: 8,968 countCherokee County: 857 countChester County: 450 countChesterfield County: 561 countClarendon County: 439 countColleton County: 640 countDarlington County: 927 countDillon County: 413 countDorchester County: 1,776 countEdgefield County: 287 countFairfield County: 244 countFlorence County: 2,491 countGeorgetown County: 1,369 countGreenville County: 9,166 countGreenwood County: 1,145 countHampton County: 295 countHorry County: 6,078 countJasper County: 505 countKershaw County: 928 countLancaster County: 1,037 countLaurens County: 798 countLee County: 185 countLexington County: 4,839 countMcCormick County: 90 countMarion County: 427 countMarlboro County: 299 countNewberry County: 622 countOconee County: 1,276 countOrangeburg County: 1,321 countPickens County: 1,658 countRichland County: 6,358 countSaluda County: 236 countSpartanburg County: 4,794 countSumter County: 1,444 countUnion County: 381 countWilliamsburg County: 436 countYork County: 3,590 count
  • Under 290
  • 290 to 440
  • 440 to 830
  • 830 to 1,400
  • 1,400 to 3,300
  • 3,300 and over
count, 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2012

Greenville County: 9,166 countGreenville County9,166Charleston County: 8,968 countCharleston County8,968Richland County: 6,358 countRichland County6,358Horry County: 6,078 countHorry County6,078Lexington County: 4,839 countLexington County4,839Spartanburg County: 4,794 countSpartanburg County4,794Beaufort County: 3,806 countBeaufort County3,806York County: 3,590 countYork County3,590Anderson County: 2,993 countAnderson County2,993Florence County: 2,491 countFlorence County2,491Berkeley County: 2,198 countBerkeley County2,198Aiken County: 2,106 countAiken County2,106Dorchester County: 1,776 countDorchester County1,776Pickens County: 1,658 countPickens County1,658Sumter County: 1,444 countSumter County1,444Georgetown County: 1,369 countGeorgetown County1,369Orangeburg County: 1,321 countOrangeburg County1,321Oconee County: 1,276 countOconee County1,276Greenwood County: 1,145 countGreenwood County1,145Lancaster County: 1,037 countLancaster County1,037Kershaw County: 928 countKershaw County928Darlington County: 927 countDarlington County927Cherokee County: 857 countCherokee County857Laurens County: 798 countLaurens County798Colleton County: 640 countColleton County640Newberry County: 622 countNewberry County622Chesterfield County: 561 countChesterfield County561Jasper County: 505 countJasper County505Chester County: 450 countChester County450Clarendon County: 439 countClarendon County439Williamsburg County: 436 countWilliamsburg County436Marion County: 427 countMarion County427Dillon County: 413 countDillon County413Union County: 381 countUnion County381Barnwell County: 305 countBarnwell County305Marlboro County: 299 countMarlboro County299Hampton County: 295 countHampton County295Abbeville County: 293 countAbbeville County293Edgefield County: 287 countEdgefield County287Fairfield County: 244 countFairfield County244Bamberg County: 238 countBamberg County238Saluda County: 236 countSaluda County236Calhoun County: 217 countCalhoun County217Lee County: 185 countLee County185Allendale County: 112 countAllendale County112McCormick County: 90 countMcCormick County90Greenville County: 9,166 countGreenville County9,166Charleston County: 8,968 countCharleston County8,968Richland County: 6,358 countRichland County6,358Horry County: 6,078 countHorry County6,078Lexington County: 4,839 countLexington County4,839Spartanburg County: 4,794 countSpartanburg County4,794Beaufort County: 3,806 countBeaufort County3,806York County: 3,590 countYork County3,590Anderson County: 2,993 countAnderson County2,993Florence County: 2,491 countFlorence County2,491Berkeley County: 2,198 countBerkeley County2,198Aiken County: 2,106 countAiken County2,106Dorchester County: 1,776 countDorchester County1,776Pickens County: 1,658 countPickens County1,658Sumter County: 1,444 countSumter County1,444Georgetown County: 1,369 countGeorgetown County1,369Orangeburg County: 1,321 countOrangeburg County1,321Oconee County: 1,276 countOconee County1,276Greenwood County: 1,145 countGreenwood County1,145Lancaster County: 1,037 countLancaster County1,037Kershaw County: 928 countKershaw County928Darlington County: 927 countDarlington County927Cherokee County: 857 countCherokee County857Laurens County: 798 countLaurens County798Colleton County: 640 countColleton County640Newberry County: 622 countNewberry County622Chesterfield County: 561 countChesterfield County561Jasper County: 505 countJasper County505Chester County: 450 countChester County450Clarendon County: 439 countClarendon County439Williamsburg County: 436 countWilliamsburg County436Marion County: 427 countMarion County427Dillon County: 413 countDillon County413Union County: 381 countUnion County381Barnwell County: 305 countBarnwell County305Marlboro County: 299 countMarlboro County299Hampton County: 295 countHampton County295Abbeville County: 293 countAbbeville County293Edgefield County: 287 countEdgefield County287Fairfield County: 244 countFairfield County244Bamberg County: 238 countBamberg County238Saluda County: 236 countSaluda County236Calhoun County: 217 countCalhoun County217Lee County: 185 countLee County185Allendale County: 112 countAllendale County112McCormick County: 90 countMcCormick County90
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2012
count
Change on 2011
1Greenville County9,166+0.8%
2Charleston County8,968+1.4%
3Richland County6,358-1.4%
4Horry County6,078+1.5%
5Lexington County4,839+1%
6Spartanburg County4,794-1.1%
7Beaufort County3,806+1.2%
8York County3,590+1.2%
9Anderson County2,993-0.8%
10Florence County2,491-1.6%
11Berkeley County2,198+1.4%
12Aiken County2,106-0.8%
13Dorchester County1,776+0.7%
14Pickens County1,658+0.6%
15Sumter County1,444-2.1%
16Georgetown County1,369-0.4%
17Orangeburg County1,321-1.9%
18Oconee County1,276+0.2%
19Greenwood County1,145-1%
20Lancaster County1,037+1.4%
21Kershaw County928-1.3%
22Darlington County927+0.1%
23Cherokee County857-1%
24Laurens County798+1.7%
25Colleton County640-1.8%
26Newberry County622-2.4%
27Chesterfield County561-0.9%
28Jasper County505-0.8%
29Chester County450-2.8%
30Clarendon County439-2.4%
31Williamsburg County436-2%
32Marion County427-0.7%
33Dillon County413-1.2%
34Union County381-3.5%
35Barnwell County305-2.6%
36Marlboro County299-4.5%
37Hampton County295-3.3%
38Abbeville County293+1.7%
39Edgefield County287-2%
40Fairfield County244-2.4%
41Bamberg County238-1.7%
42Saluda County236-3.3%
43Calhoun County217-2.7%
44Lee County185-4.1%
45Allendale County112+0.9%
46McCormick County90-1.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of firms in the private nonfarm sectors covered by the US Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Establishments under common ownership form one firm.

Excludes nonemployer businesses. Differs from active_companies, the INE DIRCE count, which includes businesses without employees.

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: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

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: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties (Counties in South Carolina by employer firms, 2012) [Data set]. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in South Carolina by employer firms, 2012. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-carolina-counties?period=2012. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Counties in South Carolina by employer firms, 2012. Dataset. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-carolina-counties?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties, Counties in South Carolina by employer firms, 2012 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-carolina-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in South Carolina by employer firms, 2012}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-carolina-counties?period=2012. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties: Counties in South Carolina by employer firms, 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.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-carolina-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-carolina-counties?period=2012.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest employer firms?

Greenville County, with 9,166 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

McCormick County, with 90 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: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Employer firms: other rankings

Counties in South Carolina: more rankings