state

South Carolina

Demographic and economic profile of South Carolina, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey).

Population

5,478,831

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Household Income

$66,818

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Age

40.2 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+5.2% since 2018

South Carolina added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone3,339,447 (64.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,318,630 (25.3%)
  • Two or More Races301,711 (5.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone142,798 (2.7%)
  • Asian Alone89,723 (1.7%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone16,823 (0.3%)

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish254,999
  2. 2.Other Indo-European37,049
  3. 3.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic18,241
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island17,102
  5. 5.German or other West Germanic14,373

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

21.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

59.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

5.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Veterans

344,530

Census ACS · as of 2023

Economy

GDP per Capita

$48,557

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

93.5 (US=100)

Data USA · as of 2023

Per Capita Income

$37,993

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

14.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services & Health Care527,255
  2. 2.Manufacturing319,266
  3. 3.Retail Trade269,257
  4. 4.Professional, Scientific, & Management267,180
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation225,114

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations915,544
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations494,340
  3. 3.Service Occupations395,457
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations366,340
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations217,096

Census ACS · as of 2023

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Manufacturing (LQ 1.34×)319,266
  2. 2.Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, & Accommodation (LQ 1.07×)225,114
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.05×)118,104
  4. 4.Retail Trade (LQ 1.04×)269,257
  5. 5.Construction (LQ 1.03×)170,911

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$236,700

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,126/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

71.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999204,680 (13.8%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999186,289 (12.6%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999155,059 (10.5%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999121,558 (8.2%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999120,137 (8.1%)
  • $175,000 to $199,99994,021 (6.4%)

Census ACS · as of 2023

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

31.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

89.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,213

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.6 min

Census ACS · as of 2023

Households Without a Vehicle

5.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone1,855,586 (77.9%)
  • Worked at Home237,424 (10.0%)
  • Carpooled199,725 (8.4%)
  • Walked39,828 (1.7%)
  • Taxi, Motorcycle, or Other33,847 (1.4%)
  • Public Transit10,086 (0.4%)

Census ACS · as of 2023

More on FDI Connect

Compare South Carolina against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.