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List of Cities and Counties in South Carolina
Discover South Carolina’s population facts easily with our list of counties and cities. Find out how many people live in each area, from big cities to small towns, and see how the South Carolina population is spread out across the state.
South Carolina Counties by Population
A county is an administrative subdivision of a US state or territory. As of 2022, South Carolina is divided into 46 counties.
The most populous county in South Carolina is Greenville County ( 0.53 million), and Allendale County is the least populated county. The Largest county by Land Area in South Carolina is Charleston County with an area of 1358 sq. miles. , and the smallest in the area is Calhoun County.
read about the Population of South Carolina
# | County | Population 2021 | Area (sq. miles) |
1 | Greenville County | 533,834 | 795 |
2 | Richland County | 418,307 | 772 |
3 | Charleston County | 413,024 | 1,358 |
4 | Horry County | 365,579 | 1,255 |
5 | Spartanburg County | 335,864 | 819 |
6 | Lexington County | 300,137 | 758 |
7 | York County | 288,595 | 696 |
8 | Berkeley County | 236,701 | 1,228 |
9 | Anderson County | 206,908 | 757 |
10 | Beaufort County | 191,748 | 576 |
11 | Aiken County | 170,776 | 1,080 |
12 | Dorchester County | 163,327 | 577 |
13 | Florence County | 136,504 | 804 |
14 | Pickens County | 132,229 | 512 |
15 | Sumter County | 104,758 | 682 |
16 | Lancaster County | 100,336 | 555 |
17 | Orangeburg County | 82,962 | 1,128 |
18 | Oconee County | 79,203 | 674 |
19 | Greenwood County | 69,241 | 463 |
20 | Laurens County | 67,803 | 724 |
21 | Kershaw County | 66,130 | 740 |
22 | Georgetown County | 63,921 | 813.55 |
23 | Darlington County | 62,755 | 567 |
24 | Cherokee County | 56,052 | 397 |
25 | Chesterfield County | 43,268 | 806 |
26 | Colleton County | 38,462 | 1,133 |
27 | Newberry County | 37,996 | 647 |
28 | Chester County | 32,209 | 586 |
29 | Clarendon County | 31,024 | 696 |
30 | Williamsburg County | 30,484 | 937 |
31 | Jasper County | 30,324 | 700 |
32 | Marion County | 28,784 | 494 |
33 | Dillon County | 28,087 | 407 |
34 | Union County | 27,016 | 516 |
35 | Marlboro County | 26,382 | 485 |
36 | Edgefield County | 26,153 | 507 |
37 | Abbeville County | 24,299 | 511 |
38 | Fairfield County | 20,690 | 710 |
39 | Barnwell County | 20,580 | 557 |
40 | Saluda County | 18,821 | 462 |
41 | Hampton County | 18,180 | 563 |
42 | Lee County | 16,280 | 411 |
43 | Calhoun County | 14,165 | 392 |
44 | Bamberg County | 13,189 | 395 |
45 | McCormick County | 9,760 | 394 |
46 | Allendale County | 7,858 | 413 |
read about the race and ethnicity in South Carolina
Top Cities in South Carolina by population
South Carolina is divided into 46 counties and contains 271 municipalities consisting of 71 cities and 200 towns. The largest city in South Carolina is Charleston followed by Columbia and North Charleston.
Let’s have a look at the Top 20 Cities in South Carolina by Population
# | City | County | Pop. 2020 | Area (sq. mi.) |
1 | Charleston | Charleston, Berkeley | 150,227 | 114.79 |
2 | Columbia | Richland, Lexington | 136,632 | 137.19 |
3 | North Charleston | Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester | 114,852 | 77.65 |
4 | Mount Pleasant | Charleston | 90,801 | 49.53 |
5 | Rock Hill | York | 74,372 | 39.80 |
6 | Greenville | Greenville | 70,720 | 29.76 |
7 | Summerville | Dorchester, Berkeley, Charleston | 50,915 | 21.65 |
8 | Goose Creek | Berkeley, Charleston | 45,946 | 42.26 |
9 | Sumter | Sumter | 43,463 | 32.79 |
10 | Florence | Florence | 39,899 | 23.40 |
11 | Spartanburg | Spartanburg | 38,732 | 20.25 |
12 | Hilton Head Island | Beaufort | 37,661 | 41.35 |
13 | Myrtle Beach | Horry | 35,682 | 23.53 |
14 | Greer | Greenville, Spartanburg | 35,308 | 23.55 |
15 | Aiken | Aiken | 32,025 | 21.20 |
16 | Anderson | Anderson | 28,106 | 14.73 |
17 | Bluffton | Beaufort | 27,716 | 51.97 |
18 | Conway | Horry | 24,809 | 23.83 |
19 | Mauldin | Greenville | 24,724 | 12.07 |
20 | Fort Mill | York | 24,521 | 19.64 |
Most Populous Counties in South Carolina
The most populous county in South Carolina is Greenville County with 0.533 million residents. It is followed by Richland County (0.42 million) and Charleston County (0.4 million)
Let’s have a look at the Top 10 most populous counties
# | County | Population 2021 |
1 | Greenville County | 533,834 |
2 | Richland County | 418,307 |
3 | Charleston County | 413,024 |
4 | Horry County | 365,579 |
5 | Spartanburg County | 335,864 |
6 | Lexington County | 300,137 |
7 | York County | 288,595 |
8 | Berkeley County | 236,701 |
9 | Anderson County | 206,908 |
10 | Beaufort County | 191,748 |
Least Populated South Carolina County
The least populous county is Allendale County with 7,858 residents, it’s followed by McCormick County and Bamberg County.
Let’s have a look at 5 least populated counties in South Carolina
# | County | Population 2021 |
1 | Allendale County | 7,858 |
2 | McCormick County | 9,760 |
3 | Bamberg County | 13,189 |
4 | Calhoun County | 14,165 |
5 | Lee County | 16,280 |
source: US Census 2021
read about religion in South Carolina
Largest Counties in South Carolina by area
The Largest county by Land Area in South Carolina is Charleston County with an area of 1358 sq. mile. Horry with an area of 1,255 sq. mi. comes next followed by Berkeley County (1,228 sq. mi.)
Let’s have a look at the Top 10 counties by Area
# | County | Area (sq. miles) |
1 | Charleston County | 1,358 |
2 | Horry County | 1,255 |
3 | Berkeley County | 1,228 |
4 | Colleton County | 1,133 |
5 | Orangeburg County | 1,128 |
6 | Aiken County | 1,080 |
7 | Williamsburg County | 937 |
8 | Spartanburg County | 819 |
9 | Georgetown County | 813.55 |
10 | Chesterfield County | 806 |
Smallest County in South Carolina by area
The smallest county by area in South Carolina is Calhoun County with an area of 392 square miles.
# | County | Area (sq. miles) |
1 | Calhoun County | 392 |
2 | McCormick County | 394 |
3 | Bamberg County | 395 |
4 | Cherokee County | 397 |
5 | Dillon County | 407 |
source: US Census report 2021
Most Densely populated Counties in South Carolina
The most densely populated county in South Carolina is Greenville County, with 671.49 people per sq. mi. Next comes Richland County with 541.85 people per sq. mi followed by York County (414.65/ sq.mi)
Let’s have a look at the Top 10 densely populated counties
# | County | Density ( people/sq. mi.) |
1 | Greenville County | 671.49 |
2 | Richland County | 541.85 |
3 | York County | 414.65 |
4 | Spartanburg County | 410.09 |
5 | Lexington County | 395.96 |
6 | Beaufort County | 332.90 |
7 | Charleston County | 304.14 |
8 | Horry County | 291.30 |
9 | Dorchester County | 283.06 |
10 | Anderson County | 273.33 |
Least Densely Populated County in South Carolina
Allendale County with a population density of just 19 people per sq. miles is the least densely populated county in South Carolina
# | County | Density ( people/sq. mi.) |
1 | Allendale County | 19.03 |
2 | McCormick County | 24.77 |
3 | Fairfield County | 29.14 |
4 | Hampton County | 32.29 |
5 | Williamsburg County | 32.53 |