Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in South Carolina

Cities in South Carolina by population

Charleston, SC had the highest population of 43 cities in 2024, at 158,791. York, SC had the lowest, at 9,833. The median was 26,972 and the figure for South Carolina was 5.49 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest158,791Charleston, SC
Lowest9,833York, SC
Median26,97243 cities
South Carolina5,490,316History

All cities, 2024

Charleston, SC: 158,791 personsCharleston, SC158,791Columbia, SC: 144,133 personsColumbia, SC144,133North Charleston, SC: 126,551 personsNorth Charleston, SC126,551Mount Pleasant, SC: 95,987 personsMount Pleasant, SC95,987Rock Hill, SC: 75,797 personsRock Hill, SC75,797Greenville, SC: 74,948 personsGreenville, SC74,948Summerville, SC: 52,731 personsSummerville, SC52,731Goose Creek, SC: 50,730 personsGoose Creek, SC50,730Greer, SC: 46,595 personsGreer, SC46,595Sumter, SC: 43,058 personsSumter, SC43,058Florence, SC: 40,927 personsFlorence, SC40,927Myrtle Beach, SC: 40,669 personsMyrtle Beach, SC40,669Spartanburg, SC: 39,741 personsSpartanburg, SC39,741Hilton Head Island, SC: 38,421 personsHilton Head Island, SC38,421Bluffton, SC: 36,372 personsBluffton, SC36,372Fort Mill, SC: 36,207 personsFort Mill, SC36,207Aiken, SC: 32,544 personsAiken, SC32,544Anderson, SC: 31,074 personsAnderson, SC31,074Mauldin, SC: 29,904 personsMauldin, SC29,904Conway, SC: 29,780 personsConway, SC29,780Simpsonville, SC: 28,247 personsSimpsonville, SC28,247Easley, SC: 26,972 personsEasley, SC26,972North Augusta, SC: 26,263 personsNorth Augusta, SC26,263Lexington, SC: 25,425 personsLexington, SC25,425Greenwood, SC: 22,709 personsGreenwood, SC22,709Hanahan, SC: 22,168 personsHanahan, SC22,168North Myrtle Beach, SC: 20,862 personsNorth Myrtle Beach, SC20,862Clemson, SC: 18,591 personsClemson, SC18,591Moncks Corner, SC: 18,494 personsMoncks Corner, SC18,494West Columbia, SC: 18,440 personsWest Columbia, SC18,440Port Royal, SC: 16,748 personsPort Royal, SC16,748Beaufort, SC: 14,517 personsBeaufort, SC14,517Tega Cay, SC: 14,259 personsTega Cay, SC14,259Hardeeville, SC: 14,179 personsHardeeville, SC14,179Fountain Inn, SC: 13,828 personsFountain Inn, SC13,828Cayce, SC: 13,715 personsCayce, SC13,715Orangeburg, SC: 13,407 personsOrangeburg, SC13,407Gaffney, SC: 12,542 personsGaffney, SC12,542James Island, SC: 12,500 personsJames Island, SC12,500Irmo, SC: 12,110 personsIrmo, SC12,110Newberry, SC: 10,919 personsNewberry, SC10,919Forest Acres, SC: 10,462 personsForest Acres, SC10,462York, SC: 9,833 personsYork, SC9,833Charleston, SC: 158,791 personsCharleston, SC158,791Columbia, SC: 144,133 personsColumbia, SC144,133North Charleston, SC: 126,551 personsNorth Charleston, SC126,551Mount Pleasant, SC: 95,987 personsMount Pleasant, SC95,987Rock Hill, SC: 75,797 personsRock Hill, SC75,797Greenville, SC: 74,948 personsGreenville, SC74,948Summerville, SC: 52,731 personsSummerville, SC52,731Goose Creek, SC: 50,730 personsGoose Creek, SC50,730Greer, SC: 46,595 personsGreer, SC46,595Sumter, SC: 43,058 personsSumter, SC43,058Florence, SC: 40,927 personsFlorence, SC40,927Myrtle Beach, SC: 40,669 personsMyrtle Beach, SC40,669Spartanburg, SC: 39,741 personsSpartanburg, SC39,741Hilton Head Island, SC: 38,421 personsHilton Head Island, SC38,421Bluffton, SC: 36,372 personsBluffton, SC36,372Fort Mill, SC: 36,207 personsFort Mill, SC36,207Aiken, SC: 32,544 personsAiken, SC32,544Anderson, SC: 31,074 personsAnderson, SC31,074Mauldin, SC: 29,904 personsMauldin, SC29,904Conway, SC: 29,780 personsConway, SC29,780Simpsonville, SC: 28,247 personsSimpsonville, SC28,247Easley, SC: 26,972 personsEasley, SC26,972North Augusta, SC: 26,263 personsNorth Augusta, SC26,263Lexington, SC: 25,425 personsLexington, SC25,425Greenwood, SC: 22,709 personsGreenwood, SC22,709Hanahan, SC: 22,168 personsHanahan, SC22,168North Myrtle Beach, SC: 20,862 personsNorth Myrtle Beach, SC20,862Clemson, SC: 18,591 personsClemson, SC18,591Moncks Corner, SC: 18,494 personsMoncks Corner, SC18,494West Columbia, SC: 18,440 personsWest Columbia, SC18,440Port Royal, SC: 16,748 personsPort Royal, SC16,748Beaufort, SC: 14,517 personsBeaufort, SC14,517Tega Cay, SC: 14,259 personsTega Cay, SC14,259Hardeeville, SC: 14,179 personsHardeeville, SC14,179Fountain Inn, SC: 13,828 personsFountain Inn, SC13,828Cayce, SC: 13,715 personsCayce, SC13,715Orangeburg, SC: 13,407 personsOrangeburg, SC13,407Gaffney, SC: 12,542 personsGaffney, SC12,542James Island, SC: 12,500 personsJames Island, SC12,500Irmo, SC: 12,110 personsIrmo, SC12,110Newberry, SC: 10,919 personsNewberry, SC10,919Forest Acres, SC: 10,462 personsForest Acres, SC10,462York, SC: 9,833 personsYork, SC9,833
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

RankCities2024
persons		Change on 2023
1Charleston, SC158,791+1.3%
2Columbia, SC144,133+2%
3North Charleston, SC126,551+3.8%
4Mount Pleasant, SC95,987+0.5%
5Rock Hill, SC75,797+0.3%
6Greenville, SC74,948+1.7%
7Summerville, SC52,731+1.7%
8Goose Creek, SC50,730+2.3%
9Greer, SC46,595+4.3%
10Sumter, SC43,058+0.2%
11Florence, SC40,927+0.8%
12Myrtle Beach, SC40,669+2.1%
13Spartanburg, SC39,741+1%
14Hilton Head Island, SC38,421+0.3%
15Bluffton, SC36,372+2.9%
16Fort Mill, SC36,207+7.8%
17Aiken, SC32,544-0.9%
18Anderson, SC31,074+1.9%
19Mauldin, SC29,904+6.1%
20Conway, SC29,780+5%
21Simpsonville, SC28,247+2%
22Easley, SC26,972+1.8%
23North Augusta, SC26,263+1.9%
24Lexington, SC25,425+1.7%
25Greenwood, SC22,709+0.7%
26Hanahan, SC22,168+1.1%
27North Myrtle Beach, SC20,862+2.4%
28Clemson, SC18,591+3.6%
29Moncks Corner, SC18,494+10.6%
30West Columbia, SC18,440+0.2%
31Port Royal, SC16,748+1.1%
32Beaufort, SC14,517+4.7%
33Tega Cay, SC14,259+2%
34Hardeeville, SC14,179+17.4%
35Fountain Inn, SC13,828+5.9%
36Cayce, SC13,715-0.1%
37Orangeburg, SC13,407-0.3%
38Gaffney, SC12,542+0.1%
39James Island, SC12,500+1.4%
40Irmo, SC12,110+1.4%
41Newberry, SC10,919-0%
42Forest Acres, SC10,462+0.2%
43York, SC9,833+7.8%

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, 2024) [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, 2024. 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=2024. 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, 2024. 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=2024.

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, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-carolina-cities?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_south_carolina_2024,
  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, 2024}},
  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=2024. 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, 2024
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=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/south-carolina-cities?period=2024.
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  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Charleston, SC, with 158,791 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

York, SC, with 9,833 in 2024.

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