Demographics of South Carolina
South Carolina had 5,570,274 people on July 1, 2025, by the Census Bureau’s estimate: +438,282 since July 2020. Age, income, poverty, housing and origin below come from the American Community Survey, averaged over 2020–2024, each with its margin of error.
South Carolina, in five figures
- 5,570,274
- Population
- July 1, 2025, Vintage 2025 estimate.
- 5,131,992
- Population in July 2020
- July 1, 2020, Vintage 2025 estimate.
- +8.5%
- Change since July 2020
- +438,282 people.
- 40.2 ±0.2
- Median age
- ACS 2020–2024.
- $69,324 ±$570
- Median household income
- ACS 2020–2024, in 2024 dollars.
Population, year by year
July 1 estimates from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025. Each year’s change is births less deaths, net moves from abroad and net moves from other states, with the Bureau’s small residual. The 2020 row’s components run 3 months, from the April census to July 1.
South Carolina grew 8.5% from July 2020 to July 2025, against +3.1% nationally
The July 1 estimate of South Carolina's resident population and the nation's, each year of the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025, as a share of its July 2020 level (= 100).
Source: The Census Bureau
About this chart
The figures
| July 1 | Population | Change | Index | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 5,131,992 | not reported | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| 2021 | 5,194,346 | +62,354 | 101.2 | 100.2 |
| 2022 | 5,288,957 | +94,611 | 103.1 | 100.7 |
| 2023 | 5,390,798 | +101,841 | 105.0 | 101.6 |
| 2024 | 5,490,316 | +99,518 | 107.0 | 102.5 |
| 2025 | 5,570,274 | +79,958 | 108.5 | 103.1 |
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| July 1 | Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 5,131,992 | +13,742 |
| 2021 | 5,194,346 | +62,354 |
| 2022 | 5,288,957 | +94,611 |
| 2023 | 5,390,798 | +101,841 |
| 2024 | 5,490,316 | +99,518 |
| 2025 | 5,570,274 | +79,958 |
Every county in South Carolina, July 2025
Largest first. The change and its parts are July 2020 to July 2025, the five full years. “From elsewhere” is net moves from other counties, in this state or another.
Ranked: by population · by population growth
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Every one of South Carolina’s 102 places of 5,000 or more
Largest first, by the American Community Survey’s 2020–2024 count and its margin of error. A place that is also a county is listed with the counties.
Age, 2020–2024
The median age is 40.2 ±0.2: for men 38.9 ±0.2 and for women 41.5 ±0.1. Shares are of everyone the survey counts, in the Bureau’s sex-by-age table (B01001).
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| Age | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 | 289,529 ±906 | 5.5% ±<0.1 |
| 5 to 17 | 845,892 ±5,614 | 16.0% ±0.1 |
| 18 to 24 | 483,726 ±4,663 | 9.1% ±0.1 |
| 25 to 44 | 1,342,384 ±5,556 | 25.3% ±0.1 |
| 45 to 64 | 1,335,293 ±6,152 | 25.2% ±0.1 |
| 65 and over | 999,401 ±6,737 | 18.9% ±0.1 |
Income and poverty, 2020–2024
Median household income is $69,324 ±$570, and income per person $39,236 ±$299, in 2024 dollars. The median is $80,734 ±$166 in the United States.
Households by income
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| Household income | Households | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $25,000 | 360,060 ±5,257 | 17.0% ±0.2 |
| $25,000 to $49,999 | 415,875 ±6,146 | 19.6% ±0.3 |
| $50,000 to $74,999 | 360,417 ±5,447 | 17.0% ±0.3 |
| $75,000 to $99,999 | 276,823 ±4,876 | 13.1% ±0.2 |
| $100,000 to $149,999 | 348,304 ±4,983 | 16.4% ±0.2 |
| $150,000 to $199,999 | 168,443 ±3,582 | 8.0% ±0.2 |
| $200,000 or more | 188,067 ±3,804 | 8.9% ±0.2 |
Poverty by age
The poverty rate is the share of people whose family income is below the federal threshold for their family’s size, of everyone for whom the Bureau determines it (B17020).
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| Age | Below poverty | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| All ages | 725,690 ±12,586 | 14.1% ±0.2 |
| Under 18 | 217,364 ±5,224 | 19.4% ±0.4 |
| 18 to 59 | 352,997 ±6,804 | 13.1% ±0.2 |
| 60 and over | 155,329 ±3,574 | 11.6% ±0.3 |
Housing, 2020–2024
| Measure | South Carolina | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 2,443,039 ±311 | 143,775,355 ±10,234 |
| Occupied | 86.7% ±0.2 | 89.9% ±0.1 |
| Vacant | 13.3% ±0.2 | 10.1% ±0.1 |
| Owner occupied | 71.9% ±0.3 | 65.2% ±0.3 |
| Renter occupied | 28.1% ±0.3 | 34.8% ±0.1 |
| Median home value | $259,000 ±$1,421 | $332,700 ±$236 |
| Median gross rent | $1,180 ±$9 | $1,413 ±$2 |
| Median year built | 1992 ±1 | 1980 ±1 |
Occupied and vacant are shares of all housing units; owner and renter occupied are shares of occupied units. Value and rent are medians in 2024 dollars.
Origin and place of birth, 2020–2024
Hispanic or Latino origin is not a race in the Census Bureau’s tables. Here the people of Hispanic origin, of any race, are one row, and everyone else is counted by race alone (B03002), so the rows add to the whole.
Hispanic origin and race
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| Origin | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino | 390,376 ±330 | 7.4% ±<0.1 |
| White alone, not Hispanic | 3,277,983 ±2,740 | 61.9% ±0.1 |
| Black alone, not Hispanic | 1,302,215 ±4,009 | 24.6% ±0.1 |
| Asian alone, not Hispanic | 92,552 ±1,778 | 1.7% ±<0.1 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic | 9,905 ±872 | 0.2% ±<0.1 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic | 2,005 ±382 | < 0.1% ±<0.1 |
| Some other race alone, not Hispanic | 25,525 ±2,358 | 0.5% ±<0.1 |
| Two or more races, not Hispanic | 195,664 ±4,996 | 3.7% ±0.1 |
Place of birth and citizenship
“Born a citizen outside the states” counts people born in Puerto Rico, the island areas, or abroad to American parents. Naturalized citizens and those who are not citizens together make up the people born abroad (B05002).
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| Born | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Born in the state | 2,787,212 ±12,625 | 52.6% ±0.2 |
| Born in another state | 2,137,773 ±13,080 | 40.4% ±0.2 |
| Born a citizen outside the states | 66,139 ±2,852 | 1.2% ±0.1 |
| Born abroad | 305,101 ±4,899 | 5.8% ±0.1 |
| Naturalized citizens | 137,115 ±3,352 | 2.6% ±0.1 |
| Not citizens | 167,986 ±4,637 | 3.2% ±0.1 |
Where South Carolina ranks
- 23rd of 51 in states by population.California · 39,355,309Wyoming · 588,753
South Carolina is 23 of 51 by population, July 2025, at 5,570,274. Highest on the left.
The 51 figures behind this strip
Every jurisdiction by population, July 2025, highest first, with South Carolina marked Rank Name Population, July 2025 1 California 39,355,309 2 Texas 31,709,821 3 Florida 23,462,518 4 New York 20,002,427 5 Pennsylvania 13,059,432 6 Illinois 12,719,141 7 Ohio 11,900,510 8 Georgia 11,302,748 9 North Carolina 11,197,968 10 Michigan 10,127,884 11 New Jersey 9,548,215 12 Virginia 8,880,107 13 Washington 8,001,020 14 Arizona 7,623,818 15 Tennessee 7,315,076 16 Massachusetts 7,154,084 17 Indiana 6,973,333 18 Missouri 6,270,541 19 Maryland 6,265,347 20 Colorado 6,012,561 21 Wisconsin 5,972,787 22 Minnesota 5,830,405 23 South Carolina 5,570,274 24 Alabama 5,193,088 25 Louisiana 4,618,189 26 Kentucky 4,606,864 27 Oregon 4,273,586 28 Oklahoma 4,123,288 29 Connecticut 3,688,496 30 Utah 3,538,904 31 Nevada 3,282,188 32 Iowa 3,238,387 33 Arkansas 3,114,791 34 Kansas 2,977,220 35 Mississippi 2,954,160 36 New Mexico 2,125,498 37 Idaho 2,029,733 38 Nebraska 2,018,006 39 West Virginia 1,766,147 40 Hawaii 1,432,820 41 New Hampshire 1,415,342 42 Maine 1,414,874 43 Montana 1,144,694 44 Rhode Island 1,114,521 45 Delaware 1,059,952 46 South Dakota 935,094 47 North Dakota 799,358 48 Alaska 737,270 49 District of Columbia 693,645 50 Vermont 644,663 51 Wyoming 588,753 - 3rd of 51 in states by population growth, +8.5% from July 2020 to July 2025.
Compared
Beside the state nearest it by population, and its largest counties each beside the next one down.
- Minnesota and South Carolina
- Greenville County, SC and Charleston County, SC
- Charleston County, SC and Richland County, SC
- Richland County, SC and Horry County, SC
- Horry County, SC and Spartanburg County, SC
- Spartanburg County, SC and Lexington County, SC
- Lexington County, SC and York County, SC
- York County, SC and Berkeley County, SC
- Berkeley County, SC and Anderson County, SC
- Anderson County, SC and Beaufort County, SC
- Beaufort County, SC and Aiken County, SC
South Carolina elsewhere on the Factbook
- Reported crimeCrime and justice
Offenses reported to police by type, the trend, and the reporting coverage.
- Most dangerous cities in South CarolinaCrime and justice
What each agency serving 25,000 or more reported, ranked. Agency populations overlap, so these do not add up to the state.
- Prison populationCrime and justice
People held under the state’s correctional authority, and the imprisonment rate. A different publisher counting a different thing.
- Arrests by race, sex and ageCrime and justice
Arrests as the FBI’s participating agencies reported them, with what the figures can and cannot support at the top.
- Hate crimeCrime and justice
Incidents reported to the FBI by bias motivation, as counts — the collection publishes no participation share, so there is no rate to compare states on.
- Federal obligationsFederal spending
What federal agencies obligated against a place of performance in the state, per resident and by agency.
- Registered nonprofitsNonprofits
How many organizations the IRS lists in the state, what they report as revenue, and which kinds of work they do.
- Payments to doctorsHealth
What drug and device companies reported paying doctors with a practice address in the state, and the largest recipients.
- Farm program paymentsFarm subsidies
What the Farm Service Agency paid through the state’s county offices, by program and by recipient. The offices that administered the payments, not a count of farms: a recipient addressed elsewhere is counted where they were paid.
- Paycheck Protection Program loansPPP loans
The PPP loans SBA guaranteed to businesses operating in the state, by county, with how many carry a forgiveness amount and how many were charged off. Loans, not businesses: a business with two draws is two loans.
- Public schoolsSchools
Pupils, schools and teachers, the largest districts, what districts spend per pupil and where the money comes from, and the colleges that take federal student aid.
- Banks and credit unionsBanks and credit unions
The FDIC-insured banks headquartered in the state and their offices, and the credit unions based there and their sites, each per resident and against every other state.
- College athleticsSports
Every college in the state that reported to the Equity in Athletics survey, ranked by its athletics revenue, with its expenses, athletes and athletic aid.
- Federal civilian workforceFederal salaries
Federal civilian employees stationed in the state by agency and occupation, with the pay OPM publishes and the share it withholds.
- The South Carolina Factbook entryAcross the Factbook
Every measure the Factbook publishes for this state in one place, each with where it ranks among the others and the record it came from.
The immigration hub has no page for this state: EOIR runs no immigration court here, and CBP publishes by sector and field office, which are its own areas of responsibility rather than a geography. Immigration and the border.
Sources
- Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change — U.S. Census Bureau · U.S. Government work · retrieved September 25, 2026
- Census Bureau population estimates — nation and states, with components of change
- American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File · U.S. Government work
- Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns · U.S. Government work
Compiled automatically from Census Bureau population estimates — counties and Puerto Rico municipios, with components of change, Census Bureau population estimates — nation and states, with components of change, American Community Survey 5-year estimates — table-based Summary File and Census Bureau population estimates — incorporated places and New England towns by a checked SQL query · Editor: Kian O'Connor · How this site is built
Data retrieved