List of counties in South Carolina

The U.S. state of South Carolina is made up of 46 counties, the maximum allowable by state law.Section 3, Article VIII of the South Carolina Constitution They range in size from 392 square miles (1,015 square kilometers) in the case of Calhoun County to 1,358 square miles (3,517 square kilometers) in the case of Charleston County. The least populous county is Allendale County, with only 7,355 residents, while the most populous county is Greenville County, with a population of 583,125, despite the state's most populous city, Charleston, being located in Charleston County.

History In the colonial period, the land around the coast was divided into parishes corresponding to the parishes of the Church of England. There were also several counties that had judicial and electoral functions. As people settled the backcountry, judicial districts and additional counties were formed. This structure continued and grew after the Revolutionary War. In 1800, all counties were renamed as districts. In 1868, the districts were converted back to counties.Edgar, Walter, ed. The South Carolina Encyclopedia, University of South Carolina Press, 2006, pp. 230-234, The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has maps that show the boundaries of counties, districts, and parishes starting in 1682.

Historically, county government in South Carolina has been fairly weak.Underwood, James Lowell. The South Carolina Constitution 2–5 (1985) (describing how South Carolina’s strong legislature led to weak county government in South Carolina until 1973 because county needs were handled by county delegations to the General Assembly) The 1895 Constitution made no provision for local government, effectively reducing counties to creatures of the state. Each county's delegation to the General Assembly, comprising one senator and at least one representative, also doubled as its county council. Under this system, the state senator from each county wielded the most power. From the eighteenth century to 1973, counties in South Carolina performed limited functions such as the provision of law enforcement and the construction of transportation infrastructure.

In 1964, the United States Supreme Court case Reynolds v. Sims required reapportionment according to the principle of "one man, one vote", which resulted in legislative districts crossing county lines. However, it was not until 1973 that the constitution was amended to provide for limited home rule at the county level.Ulbrich, Holley H.; London, Donna S.; Lucken, Melinda A. (2011). "Local Governments and Home Rule in South Carolina 4". This was finally enacted in 1975 with the Home Rule Act, which provided for elected councils in each county. Further, in 1989, all counties were given the authority to exercise broad police powers. Thus, they may enact regulations and ordinances related to the provision or preservation of security, health, peace, and order, so long as the regulation is not inconsistent with state law.S.C. Code Ann. § 4-9-25 (2020). Nonetheless, all counties and municipalities in South Carolina lack “fiscal home rule,” meaning they may only enact taxes authorized by the General Assembly.

County ordinances become applicable within municipal boundaries when the municipality and the county make a formal agreement, and the municipality formally adopts the ordinance.Guyton, Madison (2020). "Bans on Bans: Plastic Bags, Power, And Home Rule In South Carolina". 71 S.C. L. Rev. 801, 807. Unincorporated areas are governed by the county's land use plans.S.C. Code Ann. § 6-29-330 (2020).

County abbreviations County Name Abbreviation Abbeville AB Aiken AK Allendale AL Anderson AN Bamberg BA Barnwell BR Beaufort BU Berkeley BK Calhoun CL Charleston CH Cherokee CK Chester CS Chesterfield CT Clarendon CR Colleton CN Darlington DA Dillon DN Dorchester DR Edgefield ED Fairfield FA Florence FL Georgetown GE Greenville GVL Greenwood GN Hampton HA Horry HR Jasper JA Kershaw KE Lancaster LA Laurens LU Lee LE Lexington LX Marion MA Marlboro ML McCormick MC Newberry NB Oconee OC Orangeburg OR Pickens PN Richland RD Saluda SA Spartanburg SP Sumter SU Union UN Williamsburg WG York YK

Alphabetical list

Racial / Ethnic Profile of counties in South Carolina (2020 Census) Racial / Ethnic Profile of counties in South Carolina (2020 Census) Following is a table of counties in South Carolina by race/ethnicity. The majority racial/ethnic group is coded per the key below.

Majority minority with no dominant groupMajority WhiteMajority BlackMajority HispanicMajority AsianMajority Native American

+ Racial and ethnic composition of counties in South Carolina (2020 Census)(NH = Non-Hispanic) County Locationof County Total Population White alone (NH) % Black orAfrican American alone (NH) % Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) % Asian alone (NH) % Pacific Islander alone (NH) % Other race alone (NH) % Mixed race orMultiracial (NH) % Hispanic or Latino(any race) %Abbeville24,29516,74468.92%6,18425.45%440.18%710.29%70.03%700.29%7523.10%4231.74%Aiken168,808107,91863.93%39,46523.38%5300.31%1,7731.05%960.06%6690.40%6,8314.05%11,5266.83%Allendale8,0391,98524.69%5,64670.23%450.56%170.21%10.01%130.16%1381.72%1942.41%Anderson203,718152,39674.81%30,21414.83%4250.21%2,4041.18%460.02%6980.34%7,9613.91%9,5744.70%Bamberg13,3115,01037.64%7,74958.22%250.19%660.50%00.00%360.27%2842.13%1411.06%Barnwell20,58910,35250.28%8,80242.75%610.30%1610.78%140.07%580.28%6383.10%5202.53%Beaufort187,117126,70467.71%27,54514.72%3540.19%2,3811.27%1190.06%6750.36%5,9283.17%23,41112.51%Berkeley229,861137,84059.97%51,78422.53%3540.45%5,3532.33%1730.08%1,7200.75%11,6285.06%20,3288.84%Calhoun14,1197,78355.12%5,36137.97%620.44%270.19%60.04%300.21%3632.57%4873.45%Charleston408,235263,56064.56%91,74622.47%8570.21%7,4611.83%3190.08%1,5330.38%13,4793.30%29,2807.17%Cherokee56,21639,57670.40%11,29220.09%1610.29%3410.61%140.02%1950.35%1,8603.31%2,7774.94%Chester32,29418,59157.57%11,28734.95%1450.45%1460.45%140.04%1330.41%1,1833.66%7952.46%Chesterfield43,27325,82959.69%13,15030.39%1840.43%2690.62%40.01%1180.27%1,6333.77%2,0864.82%Clarendon31,14415,30949.16%13,82144.38%1200.39%2250.72%80.03%730.23%6812.19%9072.91%Colleton38,60421,81656.51%13,40134.71%3020.78%1860.48%160.04%1010.26%1,4023.63%1,3803.57%Darlington62,90533,82153.77%25,38640.36%1360.22%2900.46%40.01%1280.20%1,7442.77%1,3962.22%Dillon28,29212,98745.90%12,70944.92%6032.13%630.22%10.00%750.27%9983.53%8563.03%Dorchester161,54099,14561.37%38,27823.70%8860.55%3,2862.03%1990.12%7930.49%8,0925.01%10,8616.72%Edgefield25,65714,89058.03%8,30132.35%670.26%1180.46%60.02%930.36%8113.16%1,3715.34%Fairfield20,9488,50340.59%11,20153.47%640.31%1010.48%70.03%550.26%5942.84%4232.02%Florence137,05969,02150.36%56,87741.50%3300.24%2,3091.68%480.04%3640.27%3,8272.79%4,2833.12%Georgetown63,40441,18664.96%18,05128.47%1110.18%2580.41%270.04%1300.21%1,4162.23%2,2253.51%Greenville525,534343,89765.44%87,12416.58%8930.17%12,8752.45%3980.08%2,3450.45%19,9773.80%58,02511.04%Greenwood69,35140,62558.58%20,82030.02%1020.15%6780.98%410.06%1850.27%2,1513.10%4,7496.85%Hampton18,5617,80242.03%9,53651.38%410.22%1000.54%170.09%400.22%3591.93%6663.59%Horry351,029265,72975.70%39,36711.21%1,1740.33%4,5781.30%3030.09%1,4220.41%14,1524.03%24,3046.92%Jasper28,79113,05645.35%9,55933.20%590.20%1870.65%230.08%1080.38%7202.50%5,07917.64%Kershaw65,40343,39166.34%15,08323.06%1460.22%4170.64%290.04%2390.37%2,6324.02%3,4665.30%Lancaster96,01664,92767.62%19,10119.89%2200.23%1,7651.84%140.01%3370.35%3,3583.50%6,2946.56%Laurens67,53944,35865.68%15,93723.60%1440.21%2950.44%240.04%2380.35%2,3963.55%4,1476.14%Lee16,5315,72134.61%10,05460.82%490.30%340.21%00.00%150.09%3632.20%2951.78%Lexington293,991208,85471.04%42,38214.42%8940.30%6,6442.26%1850.06%1,0890.37%12,1464.13%21,7977.41%McCormick9,5265,15554.12%3,91641.11%270.28%360.38%20.02%320.34%2352.47%1231.29%Marion29,18311,08037.97%16,33355.97%1090.37%1280.44%00.00%420.14%7812.68%7102.43%Marlboro26,66710,55639.58%13,30249.88%1,1304.24%990.37%70.03%390.15%9593.60%5752.16%Newberry37,71922,63560.01%10,36027.47%1070.28%1350.36%40.01%720.19%1,1012.92%3,3058.76%Oconee78,60764,69682.30%5,1196.51%1760.22%5910.75%160.02%1820.23%3,4434.38%4,3845.58%Orangeburg84,22327,78732.99%50,80260.32%4670.55%8921.06%370.04%2000.24%2,0712.46%1,9672.34%Pickens131,404107,24781.62%8,4216.41%3040.23%2,7232.07%370.03%4260.32%5,6744.32%6,5725.00%Richland416,147172,64441.49%188,14145.21%8880.21%11,3302.72%4270.10%1,8720.45%14,7503.54%26,0956.27%Saluda18,86211,26459.72%4,02821.36%440.23%350.19%00.00%380.20%4412.34%3,01215.97%Spartanburg327,997214,44065.38%63,56519.38%6990.21%8,1762.49%1900.06%1,1020.34%12,0933.69%27,7328.45%Sumter105,55646,44244.00%48,53645.98%3380.32%1,4001.33%870.08%3160.30%4,1353.92%4,3024.08%Union27,24417,27963.42%8,43530.96%560.21%780.29%30.01%490.18%9063.33%4381.61%Williamsburg31,0269,98632.19%19,57963.11%850.27%1470.47%10.00%610.20%5481.77%6192.00%York282,090188,01566.65%51,29818.18%1,8920.67%8,7453.10%1110.04%1,1450.41%11,9464.23%18,9386.71%

Defunct parishes, counties and districts

Parishes Until the late 19th century, the South Carolina Lowcountry was divided into parishes, grouped into several "districts"; these civil parishes were based on and generally coincident (even well after disestablishment) with Anglican ecclesiastical parishes.

Beaufort District St. Helena's Parish St. Luke's Parish, created on May 23, 1767; located on Hilton Head Island and the adjacent mainland St. Peter's Parish Prince William Parish Charleston District St. Andrew's Parish St. Bartholomew's Parish St. John's Colleton Parish St. George's Dorchester Parish St. Philip's & St. Michael's Parish Christchurch Parish St. James' Goose Creek Parish St. Thomas' & St. Denis' Parish St. John's Berkeley Parish St. Stephen's Parish St. James' Santee Parish St. Paul's Parish Georgetown District All Saints' Parish Prince George, Winyah, Parish Prince Frederick Parish Cheraw District St. David's Parish St. Mark's Parish Orangeburgh District St. Matthew's Parish

Counties Carteret County Craven County Granville County Orange County Lewisburg County (1785–1791) Winton County, present-day Barnwell County Liberty County, present-day Marion County Winyah County, former name of Georgetown County Claremont County Salem County

Districts Cheraw District, created in 1769 Camden District, created in 1769 Ninety-Six District, created in 1769 Pinckney District (1791–1798) Washington District (1785–1798) Pendleton District, created in 1789 from Cherokee lands

Proposed counties Birch County, proposed in 2013 (portions of Lexington and Richland counties)

List of counties in South Carolina

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