Counties in South Carolina by population

Greenville County had the highest population of 46 counties in 2021, at 534,789. Allendale County had the lowest, at 7,710. The median was 59,458 and the figure for South Carolina was 5.19 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest534,789Greenville County
Lowest7,710Allendale County
Median59,45846 counties
South Carolina5,194,346History

All counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Greenville CountyGreenville County: 534,789 persons534,789Richland CountyRichland County: 417,573 persons417,573Charleston CountyCharleston County: 414,662 persons414,662Horry CountyHorry County: 366,100 persons366,100Spartanburg CountySpartanburg County: 335,481 persons335,481Lexington CountyLexington County: 300,722 persons300,722York CountyYork County: 288,851 persons288,851Berkeley CountyBerkeley County: 236,898 persons236,898Anderson CountyAnderson County: 206,965 persons206,965Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 191,945 persons191,945Aiken CountyAiken County: 171,026 persons171,026Dorchester CountyDorchester County: 163,528 persons163,528Florence CountyFlorence County: 136,446 persons136,446Pickens CountyPickens County: 132,162 persons132,162Sumter CountySumter County: 104,703 persons104,703Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 100,476 persons100,476Orangeburg CountyOrangeburg County: 82,863 persons82,863Oconee CountyOconee County: 79,380 persons79,380Greenwood CountyGreenwood County: 69,002 persons69,002Laurens CountyLaurens County: 67,864 persons67,864Kershaw CountyKershaw County: 66,253 persons66,253Georgetown CountyGeorgetown County: 63,948 persons63,948Darlington CountyDarlington County: 62,778 persons62,778Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 56,138 persons56,138Chesterfield CountyChesterfield County: 43,315 persons43,315Colleton CountyColleton County: 38,486 persons38,486Newberry CountyNewberry County: 37,999 persons37,999Chester CountyChester County: 32,169 persons32,169Clarendon CountyClarendon County: 30,967 persons30,967Jasper CountyJasper County: 30,441 persons30,441Williamsburg CountyWilliamsburg County: 30,436 persons30,436Marion CountyMarion County: 28,865 persons28,865Dillon CountyDillon County: 27,981 persons27,981Union CountyUnion County: 27,028 persons27,028Edgefield CountyEdgefield County: 26,264 persons26,264Marlboro CountyMarlboro County: 26,077 persons26,077Abbeville CountyAbbeville County: 24,276 persons24,276Fairfield CountyFairfield County: 20,711 persons20,711Barnwell CountyBarnwell County: 20,592 persons20,592Saluda CountySaluda County: 18,914 persons18,914Hampton CountyHampton County: 18,266 persons18,266Lee CountyLee County: 16,279 persons16,279Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 14,141 persons14,141Bamberg CountyBamberg County: 13,124 persons13,124McCormick CountyMcCormick County: 9,752 persons9,752Allendale CountyAllendale County: 7,710 persons7,710
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
persons
Change on 2020
1Greenville County534,789+1.4%
2Richland County417,573+0.4%
3Charleston County414,662+1.2%
4Horry County366,100+3.5%
5Spartanburg County335,481+1.9%
6Lexington County300,722+1.9%
7York County288,851+1.8%
8Berkeley County236,898+2.3%
9Anderson County206,965+1.4%
10Beaufort County191,945+2.2%
11Aiken County171,026+1.1%
12Dorchester County163,528+0.9%
13Florence County136,446-0.3%
14Pickens County132,162+0.4%
15Sumter County104,703-0.7%
16Lancaster County100,476+4%
17Orangeburg County82,863-1.3%
18Oconee County79,380+0.7%
19Greenwood County69,002-0.5%
20Laurens County67,864+0.4%
21Kershaw County66,253+1%
22Georgetown County63,948+0.7%
23Darlington County62,778-0.1%
24Cherokee County56,138-0.2%
25Chesterfield County43,315+0.1%
26Colleton County38,486-0.1%
27Newberry County37,999+0.7%
28Chester County32,169-0.4%
29Clarendon County30,967+0.4%
30Jasper County30,441+4.4%
31Williamsburg County30,436-1.5%
32Marion County28,865-0.8%
33Dillon County27,981-1%
34Union County27,028-0.5%
35Edgefield County26,264+2.3%
36Marlboro County26,077-1.6%
37Abbeville County24,2760%
38Fairfield County20,711-0.9%
39Barnwell County20,592+0.1%
40Saluda County18,9140%
41Hampton County18,266-1.4%
42Lee County16,279-1.6%
43Calhoun County14,141+0.2%
44Bamberg County13,124-1%
45McCormick County9,752+2.4%
46Allendale County7,710-2.9%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. 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 counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population?

Greenville County, with 534,789 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Allendale County, with 7,710 in 2021.

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 the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in South Carolina: more rankings