Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in South Carolina

Cities in South Carolina by population

Charleston, SC had the highest population of 43 cities in 2020, at 151,225. Hardeeville, SC had the lowest, at 7,764. The median was 23,720 and the figure for South Carolina was 5.13 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest151,225Charleston, SC
Lowest7,764Hardeeville, SC
Median23,72043 cities
South Carolina5,131,992History

All cities, 2020

Charleston, SC: 151,225 personsCharleston, SC151,225Columbia, SC: 135,860 personsColumbia, SC135,860North Charleston, SC: 115,610 personsNorth Charleston, SC115,610Mount Pleasant, SC: 91,244 personsMount Pleasant, SC91,244Rock Hill, SC: 74,631 personsRock Hill, SC74,631Greenville, SC: 71,465 personsGreenville, SC71,465Summerville, SC: 50,944 personsSummerville, SC50,944Goose Creek, SC: 46,335 personsGoose Creek, SC46,335Sumter, SC: 43,451 personsSumter, SC43,451Florence, SC: 39,969 personsFlorence, SC39,969Spartanburg, SC: 38,606 personsSpartanburg, SC38,606Hilton Head Island, SC: 37,592 personsHilton Head Island, SC37,592Myrtle Beach, SC: 35,972 personsMyrtle Beach, SC35,972Greer, SC: 35,916 personsGreer, SC35,916Aiken, SC: 32,180 personsAiken, SC32,180Anderson, SC: 29,506 personsAnderson, SC29,506Bluffton, SC: 28,300 personsBluffton, SC28,300Conway, SC: 25,210 personsConway, SC25,210Fort Mill, SC: 25,195 personsFort Mill, SC25,195Mauldin, SC: 24,808 personsMauldin, SC24,808North Augusta, SC: 24,473 personsNorth Augusta, SC24,473Lexington, SC: 23,720 personsLexington, SC23,720Simpsonville, SC: 23,633 personsSimpsonville, SC23,633Easley, SC: 23,040 personsEasley, SC23,040Greenwood, SC: 22,503 personsGreenwood, SC22,503Hanahan, SC: 20,580 personsHanahan, SC20,580North Myrtle Beach, SC: 18,940 personsNorth Myrtle Beach, SC18,940Clemson, SC: 17,758 personsClemson, SC17,758West Columbia, SC: 17,489 personsWest Columbia, SC17,489Port Royal, SC: 14,757 personsPort Royal, SC14,757Cayce, SC: 13,778 personsCayce, SC13,778Beaufort, SC: 13,721 personsBeaufort, SC13,721Moncks Corner, SC: 13,440 personsMoncks Corner, SC13,440Orangeburg, SC: 13,174 personsOrangeburg, SC13,174Tega Cay, SC: 12,867 personsTega Cay, SC12,867Gaffney, SC: 12,722 personsGaffney, SC12,722James Island, SC: 12,014 personsJames Island, SC12,014Irmo, SC: 11,511 personsIrmo, SC11,511Newberry, SC: 10,704 personsNewberry, SC10,704Forest Acres, SC: 10,629 personsForest Acres, SC10,629Fountain Inn, SC: 10,511 personsFountain Inn, SC10,511York, SC: 8,561 personsYork, SC8,561Hardeeville, SC: 7,764 personsHardeeville, SC7,764Charleston, SC: 151,225 personsCharleston, SC151,225Columbia, SC: 135,860 personsColumbia, SC135,860North Charleston, SC: 115,610 personsNorth Charleston, SC115,610Mount Pleasant, SC: 91,244 personsMount Pleasant, SC91,244Rock Hill, SC: 74,631 personsRock Hill, SC74,631Greenville, SC: 71,465 personsGreenville, SC71,465Summerville, SC: 50,944 personsSummerville, SC50,944Goose Creek, SC: 46,335 personsGoose Creek, SC46,335Sumter, SC: 43,451 personsSumter, SC43,451Florence, SC: 39,969 personsFlorence, SC39,969Spartanburg, SC: 38,606 personsSpartanburg, SC38,606Hilton Head Island, SC: 37,592 personsHilton Head Island, SC37,592Myrtle Beach, SC: 35,972 personsMyrtle Beach, SC35,972Greer, SC: 35,916 personsGreer, SC35,916Aiken, SC: 32,180 personsAiken, SC32,180Anderson, SC: 29,506 personsAnderson, SC29,506Bluffton, SC: 28,300 personsBluffton, SC28,300Conway, SC: 25,210 personsConway, SC25,210Fort Mill, SC: 25,195 personsFort Mill, SC25,195Mauldin, SC: 24,808 personsMauldin, SC24,808North Augusta, SC: 24,473 personsNorth Augusta, SC24,473Lexington, SC: 23,720 personsLexington, SC23,720Simpsonville, SC: 23,633 personsSimpsonville, SC23,633Easley, SC: 23,040 personsEasley, SC23,040Greenwood, SC: 22,503 personsGreenwood, SC22,503Hanahan, SC: 20,580 personsHanahan, SC20,580North Myrtle Beach, SC: 18,940 personsNorth Myrtle Beach, SC18,940Clemson, SC: 17,758 personsClemson, SC17,758West Columbia, SC: 17,489 personsWest Columbia, SC17,489Port Royal, SC: 14,757 personsPort Royal, SC14,757Cayce, SC: 13,778 personsCayce, SC13,778Beaufort, SC: 13,721 personsBeaufort, SC13,721Moncks Corner, SC: 13,440 personsMoncks Corner, SC13,440Orangeburg, SC: 13,174 personsOrangeburg, SC13,174Tega Cay, SC: 12,867 personsTega Cay, SC12,867Gaffney, SC: 12,722 personsGaffney, SC12,722James Island, SC: 12,014 personsJames Island, SC12,014Irmo, SC: 11,511 personsIrmo, SC11,511Newberry, SC: 10,704 personsNewberry, SC10,704Forest Acres, SC: 10,629 personsForest Acres, SC10,629Fountain Inn, SC: 10,511 personsFountain Inn, SC10,511York, SC: 8,561 personsYork, SC8,561Hardeeville, SC: 7,764 personsHardeeville, SC7,764
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2020
persons
1Charleston, SC151,225
2Columbia, SC135,860
3North Charleston, SC115,610
4Mount Pleasant, SC91,244
5Rock Hill, SC74,631
6Greenville, SC71,465
7Summerville, SC50,944
8Goose Creek, SC46,335
9Sumter, SC43,451
10Florence, SC39,969
11Spartanburg, SC38,606
12Hilton Head Island, SC37,592
13Myrtle Beach, SC35,972
14Greer, SC35,916
15Aiken, SC32,180
16Anderson, SC29,506
17Bluffton, SC28,300
18Conway, SC25,210
19Fort Mill, SC25,195
20Mauldin, SC24,808
21North Augusta, SC24,473
22Lexington, SC23,720
23Simpsonville, SC23,633
24Easley, SC23,040
25Greenwood, SC22,503
26Hanahan, SC20,580
27North Myrtle Beach, SC18,940
28Clemson, SC17,758
29West Columbia, SC17,489
30Port Royal, SC14,757
31Cayce, SC13,778
32Beaufort, SC13,721
33Moncks Corner, SC13,440
34Orangeburg, SC13,174
35Tega Cay, SC12,867
36Gaffney, SC12,722
37James Island, SC12,014
38Irmo, SC11,511
39Newberry, SC10,704
40Forest Acres, SC10,629
41Fountain Inn, SC10,511
42York, SC8,561
43Hardeeville, SC7,764

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón).
  • Norway: Statistics Norway, 1 January.
  • Iceland and its municipalities: Statistics Iceland, 1 January.
  • United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July.
  • United Kingdom regions and local authorities: Office for National Statistics estimates for 30 June.
  • Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
  • UN World Population Prospects estimates for 1 July cover the years before 1960 and the areas the World Bank does not publish, such as Taiwan.

The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. 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. (2026). Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals) (Cities in South Carolina by population, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/

MLA 9

Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in South Carolina by population, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-carolina-cities?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Cities in South Carolina by population, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-carolina-cities?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in South Carolina by population, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-carolina-cities?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_south_carolina_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in South Carolina by population, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-carolina-cities?period=2020. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in South Carolina by population, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-carolina-cities?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-carolina-cities?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Cities in South Carolina by population using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"population","level":"municipality","within":"South Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population&level=municipality&within=South%20Carolina&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Charleston, SC, with 151,225 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Hardeeville, SC, with 7,764 in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Population: other rankings

Cities in South Carolina: more rankings