Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / Counties in South Carolina

Counties in South Carolina by job creation rate

Lee County had the highest job creation rate of 46 counties in 2018, at 23.908%. Barnwell County had the lowest, at 4.264%. The median was 12.839% and the figure for South Carolina was 13.653%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest23.908Lee County
Lowest4.264Barnwell County
Median12.83946 counties
South Carolina13.653History

Map of counties, 2018

Abbeville County: 16.314 %Aiken County: 10.55 %Allendale County: 8.551 %Anderson County: 13.997 %Bamberg County: 9.211 %Barnwell County: 4.264 %Beaufort County: 13.558 %Berkeley County: 14.803 %Calhoun County: 12.065 %Charleston County: 14.148 %Cherokee County: 12.125 %Chester County: 22.153 %Chesterfield County: 9.041 %Clarendon County: 10.829 %Colleton County: 9.403 %Darlington County: 16.371 %Dillon County: 21.419 %Dorchester County: 15.082 %Edgefield County: 7.466 %Fairfield County: 5.281 %Florence County: 10.481 %Georgetown County: 14.053 %Greenville County: 14.126 %Greenwood County: 10.606 %Hampton County: 18.592 %Horry County: 13.834 %Jasper County: 12.357 %Kershaw County: 14.668 %Lancaster County: 16.488 %Laurens County: 20.171 %Lee County: 23.908 %Lexington County: 16.34 %McCormick County: 6.552 %Marion County: 11.957 %Marlboro County: 15.682 %Newberry County: 16.101 %Oconee County: 17.319 %Orangeburg County: 10.019 %Pickens County: 11.144 %Richland County: 11.939 %Saluda County: 7.073 %Spartanburg County: 13.995 %Sumter County: 11.257 %Union County: 10.563 %Williamsburg County: 7.769 %York County: 13.32 %
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%, 2018. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2018

Lee County: 23.908 %Lee County23.908Chester County: 22.153 %Chester County22.153Dillon County: 21.419 %Dillon County21.419Laurens County: 20.171 %Laurens County20.171Hampton County: 18.592 %Hampton County18.592Oconee County: 17.319 %Oconee County17.319Lancaster County: 16.488 %Lancaster County16.488Darlington County: 16.371 %Darlington County16.371Lexington County: 16.34 %Lexington County16.34Abbeville County: 16.314 %Abbeville County16.314Newberry County: 16.101 %Newberry County16.101Marlboro County: 15.682 %Marlboro County15.682Dorchester County: 15.082 %Dorchester County15.082Berkeley County: 14.803 %Berkeley County14.803Kershaw County: 14.668 %Kershaw County14.668Charleston County: 14.148 %Charleston County14.148Greenville County: 14.126 %Greenville County14.126Georgetown County: 14.053 %Georgetown County14.053Anderson County: 13.997 %Anderson County13.997Spartanburg County: 13.995 %Spartanburg County13.995Horry County: 13.834 %Horry County13.834Beaufort County: 13.558 %Beaufort County13.558York County: 13.32 %York County13.32Jasper County: 12.357 %Jasper County12.357Cherokee County: 12.125 %Cherokee County12.125Calhoun County: 12.065 %Calhoun County12.065Marion County: 11.957 %Marion County11.957Richland County: 11.939 %Richland County11.939Sumter County: 11.257 %Sumter County11.257Pickens County: 11.144 %Pickens County11.144Clarendon County: 10.829 %Clarendon County10.829Greenwood County: 10.606 %Greenwood County10.606Union County: 10.563 %Union County10.563Aiken County: 10.55 %Aiken County10.55Florence County: 10.481 %Florence County10.481Orangeburg County: 10.019 %Orangeburg County10.019Colleton County: 9.403 %Colleton County9.403Bamberg County: 9.211 %Bamberg County9.211Chesterfield County: 9.041 %Chesterfield County9.041Allendale County: 8.551 %Allendale County8.551Williamsburg County: 7.769 %Williamsburg County7.769Edgefield County: 7.466 %Edgefield County7.466Saluda County: 7.073 %Saluda County7.073McCormick County: 6.552 %McCormick County6.552Fairfield County: 5.281 %Fairfield County5.281Barnwell County: 4.264 %Barnwell County4.264Lee County: 23.908 %Lee County23.908Chester County: 22.153 %Chester County22.153Dillon County: 21.419 %Dillon County21.419Laurens County: 20.171 %Laurens County20.171Hampton County: 18.592 %Hampton County18.592Oconee County: 17.319 %Oconee County17.319Lancaster County: 16.488 %Lancaster County16.488Darlington County: 16.371 %Darlington County16.371Lexington County: 16.34 %Lexington County16.34Abbeville County: 16.314 %Abbeville County16.314Newberry County: 16.101 %Newberry County16.101Marlboro County: 15.682 %Marlboro County15.682Dorchester County: 15.082 %Dorchester County15.082Berkeley County: 14.803 %Berkeley County14.803Kershaw County: 14.668 %Kershaw County14.668Charleston County: 14.148 %Charleston County14.148Greenville County: 14.126 %Greenville County14.126Georgetown County: 14.053 %Georgetown County14.053Anderson County: 13.997 %Anderson County13.997Spartanburg County: 13.995 %Spartanburg County13.995Horry County: 13.834 %Horry County13.834Beaufort County: 13.558 %Beaufort County13.558York County: 13.32 %York County13.32Jasper County: 12.357 %Jasper County12.357Cherokee County: 12.125 %Cherokee County12.125Calhoun County: 12.065 %Calhoun County12.065Marion County: 11.957 %Marion County11.957Richland County: 11.939 %Richland County11.939Sumter County: 11.257 %Sumter County11.257Pickens County: 11.144 %Pickens County11.144Clarendon County: 10.829 %Clarendon County10.829Greenwood County: 10.606 %Greenwood County10.606Union County: 10.563 %Union County10.563Aiken County: 10.55 %Aiken County10.55Florence County: 10.481 %Florence County10.481Orangeburg County: 10.019 %Orangeburg County10.019Colleton County: 9.403 %Colleton County9.403Bamberg County: 9.211 %Bamberg County9.211Chesterfield County: 9.041 %Chesterfield County9.041Allendale County: 8.551 %Allendale County8.551Williamsburg County: 7.769 %Williamsburg County7.769Edgefield County: 7.466 %Edgefield County7.466Saluda County: 7.073 %Saluda County7.073McCormick County: 6.552 %McCormick County6.552Fairfield County: 5.281 %Fairfield County5.281Barnwell County: 4.264 %Barnwell County4.264
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018 (%)Change on 2017
1Lee County23.908+3.8 pts
2Chester County22.153+10.37 pts
3Dillon County21.419+12.72 pts
4Laurens County20.171+9.75 pts
5Hampton County18.592+8.43 pts
6Oconee County17.319+9.39 pts
7Lancaster County16.488+4.41 pts
8Darlington County16.371+2.06 pts
9Lexington County16.34+3.54 pts
10Abbeville County16.314+7.98 pts
11Newberry County16.101+7.74 pts
12Marlboro County15.682+5.92 pts
13Dorchester County15.082-2.86 pts
14Berkeley County14.803-1.18 pts
15Kershaw County14.668+4.51 pts
16Charleston County14.148+1.17 pts
17Greenville County14.126-1.49 pts
18Georgetown County14.053+2.23 pts
19Anderson County13.997+1.26 pts
20Spartanburg County13.995+0.13 pts
21Horry County13.834-0.8 pts
22Beaufort County13.558-0.2 pts
23York County13.32-0.97 pts
24Jasper County12.357-7.23 pts
25Cherokee County12.125-1.83 pts
26Calhoun County12.065+3.58 pts
27Marion County11.957-1.81 pts
28Richland County11.939-1.63 pts
29Sumter County11.257+1.43 pts
30Pickens County11.144-1.26 pts
31Clarendon County10.829-1.2 pts
32Greenwood County10.606-0.5 pts
33Union County10.563+2.2 pts
34Aiken County10.55+0.94 pts
35Florence County10.481-1.32 pts
36Orangeburg County10.019-1.38 pts
37Colleton County9.403-4.7 pts
38Bamberg County9.211+1.22 pts
39Chesterfield County9.041-5.27 pts
40Allendale County8.551+1.58 pts
41Williamsburg County7.769-4.39 pts
42Edgefield County7.466-0.61 pts
43Saluda County7.073-0.75 pts
44McCormick County6.552-0.92 pts
45Fairfield County5.281-1.16 pts
46Barnwell County4.264-6.38 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Jobs added at opening and expanding establishments during the year, as a percentage of average employment in the two years. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics.

A gross flow: jobs lost elsewhere are not subtracted, so the net change is this rate minus job_destruction_rate. Not the same as payroll job growth from the monthly employment surveys. 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: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (Counties in South Carolina by job creation rate, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in South Carolina by job creation rate, 2018. 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/job-creation-rate/south-carolina-counties?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Counties in South Carolina by job creation rate, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/south-carolina-counties?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in South Carolina by job creation rate, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/south-carolina-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2018,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in South Carolina by job creation rate, 2018}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/south-carolina-counties?period=2018. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in South Carolina by job creation rate, 2018
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/job-creation-rate/south-carolina-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/south-carolina-counties?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest job creation rate?

Lee County, with 23.908% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job creation rate?

Barnwell County, with 4.264% in 2018.

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: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Job creation rate: other rankings

Counties in South Carolina: more rankings