Counties in South Carolina by employer firms

Charleston County had the highest employer firms of 46 counties in 2022, at 11,527. McCormick County had the lowest, at 82. The median was 805 and the figure for South Carolina was 82,126. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest11,527Charleston County
Median80546 counties
South Carolina82,126History

Map of counties, 2022

Abbeville County: 300 countAiken County: 2,280 countAllendale County: 107 countAnderson County: 3,273 countBamberg County: 208 countBarnwell County: 311 countBeaufort County: 4,693 countBerkeley County: 3,094 countCalhoun County: 219 countCharleston County: 11,527 countCherokee County: 802 countChester County: 474 countChesterfield County: 542 countClarendon County: 423 countColleton County: 646 countDarlington County: 880 countDillon County: 386 countDorchester County: 2,265 countEdgefield County: 295 countFairfield County: 258 countFlorence County: 2,581 countGeorgetown County: 1,509 countGreenville County: 11,252 countGreenwood County: 1,132 countHampton County: 257 countHorry County: 7,628 countJasper County: 689 countKershaw County: 1,010 countLancaster County: 1,325 countLaurens County: 808 countLee County: 186 countLexington County: 5,515 countMcCormick County: 82 countMarion County: 409 countMarlboro County: 272 countNewberry County: 675 countOconee County: 1,429 countOrangeburg County: 1,269 countPickens County: 1,803 countRichland County: 6,906 countSaluda County: 213 countSpartanburg County: 5,369 countSumter County: 1,471 countUnion County: 344 countWilliamsburg County: 409 countYork County: 4,750 count
  • Under 300
  • 300 to 400
  • 400 to 800
  • 800 to 1,500
  • 1,500 to 4,000
  • 4,000 and over
count, 2022. 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, 2022

Charleston County: 11,527 countCharleston County11,527Greenville County: 11,252 countGreenville County11,252Horry County: 7,628 countHorry County7,628Richland County: 6,906 countRichland County6,906Lexington County: 5,515 countLexington County5,515Spartanburg County: 5,369 countSpartanburg County5,369York County: 4,750 countYork County4,750Beaufort County: 4,693 countBeaufort County4,693Anderson County: 3,273 countAnderson County3,273Berkeley County: 3,094 countBerkeley County3,094Florence County: 2,581 countFlorence County2,581Aiken County: 2,280 countAiken County2,280Dorchester County: 2,265 countDorchester County2,265Pickens County: 1,803 countPickens County1,803Georgetown County: 1,509 countGeorgetown County1,509Sumter County: 1,471 countSumter County1,471Oconee County: 1,429 countOconee County1,429Lancaster County: 1,325 countLancaster County1,325Orangeburg County: 1,269 countOrangeburg County1,269Greenwood County: 1,132 countGreenwood County1,132Kershaw County: 1,010 countKershaw County1,010Darlington County: 880 countDarlington County880Laurens County: 808 countLaurens County808Cherokee County: 802 countCherokee County802Jasper County: 689 countJasper County689Newberry County: 675 countNewberry County675Colleton County: 646 countColleton County646Chesterfield County: 542 countChesterfield County542Chester County: 474 countChester County474Clarendon County: 423 countClarendon County423Marion County: 409 countMarion County409Williamsburg County: 409 countWilliamsburg County409Dillon County: 386 countDillon County386Union County: 344 countUnion County344Barnwell County: 311 countBarnwell County311Abbeville County: 300 countAbbeville County300Edgefield County: 295 countEdgefield County295Marlboro County: 272 countMarlboro County272Fairfield County: 258 countFairfield County258Hampton County: 257 countHampton County257Calhoun County: 219 countCalhoun County219Saluda County: 213 countSaluda County213Bamberg County: 208 countBamberg County208Lee County: 186 countLee County186Allendale County: 107 countAllendale County107McCormick County: 82 countMcCormick County82Charleston County: 11,527 countCharleston County11,527Greenville County: 11,252 countGreenville County11,252Horry County: 7,628 countHorry County7,628Richland County: 6,906 countRichland County6,906Lexington County: 5,515 countLexington County5,515Spartanburg County: 5,369 countSpartanburg County5,369York County: 4,750 countYork County4,750Beaufort County: 4,693 countBeaufort County4,693Anderson County: 3,273 countAnderson County3,273Berkeley County: 3,094 countBerkeley County3,094Florence County: 2,581 countFlorence County2,581Aiken County: 2,280 countAiken County2,280Dorchester County: 2,265 countDorchester County2,265Pickens County: 1,803 countPickens County1,803Georgetown County: 1,509 countGeorgetown County1,509Sumter County: 1,471 countSumter County1,471Oconee County: 1,429 countOconee County1,429Lancaster County: 1,325 countLancaster County1,325Orangeburg County: 1,269 countOrangeburg County1,269Greenwood County: 1,132 countGreenwood County1,132Kershaw County: 1,010 countKershaw County1,010Darlington County: 880 countDarlington County880Laurens County: 808 countLaurens County808Cherokee County: 802 countCherokee County802Jasper County: 689 countJasper County689Newberry County: 675 countNewberry County675Colleton County: 646 countColleton County646Chesterfield County: 542 countChesterfield County542Chester County: 474 countChester County474Clarendon County: 423 countClarendon County423Marion County: 409 countMarion County409Williamsburg County: 409 countWilliamsburg County409Dillon County: 386 countDillon County386Union County: 344 countUnion County344Barnwell County: 311 countBarnwell County311Abbeville County: 300 countAbbeville County300Edgefield County: 295 countEdgefield County295Marlboro County: 272 countMarlboro County272Fairfield County: 258 countFairfield County258Hampton County: 257 countHampton County257Calhoun County: 219 countCalhoun County219Saluda County: 213 countSaluda County213Bamberg County: 208 countBamberg County208Lee County: 186 countLee County186Allendale County: 107 countAllendale County107McCormick County: 82 countMcCormick County82
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: employer firms, all covered industries, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022
count
Change on 2021
1Charleston County11,527+3.8%
2Greenville County11,252+3.9%
3Horry County7,628+4.2%
4Richland County6,906+1.6%
5Lexington County5,515+2.4%
6Spartanburg County5,369+3.3%
7York County4,750+4.6%
8Beaufort County4,693+4.1%
9Anderson County3,273+3.5%
10Berkeley County3,094+4%
11Florence County2,581+0.8%
12Aiken County2,280+1.6%
13Dorchester County2,265+3.7%
14Pickens County1,803+3.3%
15Georgetown County1,509+3.9%
16Sumter County1,471+1.3%
17Oconee County1,429+1.8%
18Lancaster County1,325+3.8%
19Orangeburg County1,269-0.6%
20Greenwood County1,132+1.5%
21Kershaw County1,010+3%
22Darlington County880-1%
23Laurens County808+1.4%
24Cherokee County8020%
25Jasper County689+2.5%
26Newberry County675-0.3%
27Colleton County646+1.3%
28Chesterfield County542+0.6%
29Chester County474+0.6%
30Clarendon County423-0.2%
31Marion County409-1%
31Williamsburg County409-1%
33Dillon County386+2.7%
34Union County344-1.1%
35Barnwell County311+6.1%
36Abbeville County300+2%
37Edgefield County295+1.7%
38Marlboro County272-2.5%
39Fairfield County258-0.8%
40Hampton County257-1.5%
41Calhoun County219+3.3%
42Saluda County213+4.9%
43Bamberg County208+1%
44Lee County1860%
45Allendale County107+4.9%
46McCormick County82-4.7%

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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-firms/south-carolina-counties?period=2022.
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?

Charleston County, with 11,527 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest employer firms?

McCormick County, with 82 in 2022.

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