Demographics of South Carolina

Columbus Street, Charleston, South Carolina

The U.S. state of South Carolina is located in the Southern United States. It is the 23rd largest state by population, with a population of 5,024,369 according to 2017 United States Census estimates.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1790249,073
1800345,59138.8%
1810415,11520.1%
1820502,74121.1%
1830581,18515.6%
1840594,3982.3%
1850668,50712.5%
1860703,7085.3%
1870705,6060.3%
1880995,57741.1%
18901,151,14915.6%
19001,340,31616.4%
19101,515,40013.1%
19201,683,72411.1%
19301,738,7653.3%
19401,899,8049.3%
19502,117,02711.4%
19602,382,59412.5%
19702,590,5168.7%
19803,121,82020.5%
19903,486,70311.7%
20004,012,01215.1%
20104,625,38415.3%
20205,118,42510.7%
Source: 1910–2020

South Carolina's center of population is 2.4 mi (3.9 km) north of the State House in the city of Columbia.

According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2017, South Carolina had an estimated population of 5,024,369, which is an increase of 64,547 from the prior year and an increase of 399,005, or 8.6%, since the year 2010. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 36,401 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 115,084 people.

According to the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health, Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies, South Carolina's foreign-born population grew faster than any other state between 2000 and 2005. The Consortium reports that the number of Hispanics in South Carolina is greatly undercounted by census enumerators and may be more than 400,000.

Demographics of South Carolina (csv)
By race White Black AIAN* Asian NHPI*
2000 (total population) 68.88% 30.01% 0.69% 1.13% 0.10%
2000 (Hispanic only) 2.05% 0.26% 0.05% 0.03% 0.02%
2005 (total population) 69.12% 29.68% 0.69% 1.31% 0.10%
2005 (Hispanic only) 2.95% 0.27% 0.06% 0.04% 0.02%
Growth 2000–05 (total population) 6.43% 4.89% 6.09% 23.49% 13.76%
Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only) 5.01% 4.87% 4.61% 23.16% 10.36%
Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only) 52.78% 7.64% 23.97% 34.25% 26.89%
* AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

South Carolina’s population increased by 15.4 percent between 1990 and 2000 and by another 7.4 percent between 2000 and 2005; 11.6 percent of that increase has been attributed to immigration, primarily from Mexico and Latin America. Most work in the construction industry, with another proportion in agriculture, in addition to processing factories. The Latino population has increased considerably faster in South Carolina and the Southeast than for the United States as a whole.

The five largest ancestry groups in South Carolina identified by respondents to the US census are African American (29.5%), American (13.9%), English (8.4%), German (8.4%), and Irish (7.9%) (thus a total of more than 39% from northern Europe).[citation needed]

From 1720 until 1920, African slaves and their descendants made up a majority of the state's population. (See census data below.) Whites became a majority in the state after that date, following the migration of tens of thousands of blacks to northern industrial cities in the Great Migration. In the 21st century, most of the African-American population in the state lives in the Lowcountry and the Midlands areas, historically areas of their greatest concentrations of population.[citation needed]

6.6% of South Carolina's total population were reported as under 5 years old, 25.2% under 18, and 12.1% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population in 2000. Those who self-identify as having American ancestry are of mostly British Isles ancestry: English and Scots-Irish stock.[citation needed]

Birth data

Note: Births in table do not add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.

Live Births by Single Race/Ethnicity of Mother
Race 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
White (NH) 33,085 (58.2%) 33,639 (58.4%) 33,927 (58.4%) 32,929 (57.4%) 32,283 (56.6%) 31,890 (56.3%) 31,660 (55.5%) 30,465 (54.7%) 31,841 (55.7%)
Black 18,591 (32.7%) 18,598 (32.3%) 18,577 (32.0%) 16,527 (28.8%) 16,851 (29.5%) 16,681 (29.4%) 16,802 (29.5%) 16,309 (29.3%) 16,009 (28.0%)
Asian 1,235 (2.2%) 1,293 (2.2%) 1,289 (2.2%) 1,134 (2.0%) 1,125 (2.0%) 1,172 (2.1%) 1,155 (2.0%) 1,148 (2.1%) 1,167 (2.0%)
American Indian 201 (0.3%) 193 (0.3%) 217 (0.4%) 151 (0.3%) 183 (0.3%) 156 (0.3%) 176 (0.3%) 106 (0.2%) 122 (0.2%)
Hispanic (of Native American race) 4,411 (7.8%) 4,646 (8.1%) 4,942 (8.5%) 5,135 (8.9%) 5,221 (9.2%) 5,255 (9.3%) 5,741 (10.1%) 5,993 (10.7%) 6,386 (11.2%)
Total South Carolina 56,795 (100%) 57,627 (100%) 58,139 (100%) 57,342 (100%) 57,029 (100%) 56,669 (100%) 57,038 (100%) 55,704 (100%) 57,185 (100%)
  • Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
  • NH = Non-hispanic

Center of population

South Carolina Population Density in 2010.

Most populous counties

County Seat 2000 Population 2010 Population 2017 Population
Greenville Greenville 379,616 451,225 506,837
Richland Columbia 320,667 384,504 411,592
Charleston Charleston 309,969 350,209 401,438
Horry Conway 196,629 269,291 333,268
Spartanburg Spartanburg 253,431 284,307 306,854
Lexington Lexington 216,014 254,920 290,642
York York 164,614 229,073 266,439
Berkeley Moncks Corner 142,651 177,843 217,937
Anderson Anderson 165,740 187,126 198,759
Beaufort Beaufort 120,937 162,233 186,844

Cities and towns

Largest municipalities

Population estimates as of 2010.

City and MSAs

South Carolina's metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) are much larger than their central city population counts suggest. South Carolina law makes it difficult for municipalities to annex unincorporated areas, so city proper populations look smaller than is reflected in the total metropolitan populations.

For example, Myrtle Beach has a municipal population of less than 50,000 persons, but its MSA has more than 200,000 persons. Anderson's municipal population is smaller than Sumter's, but the Anderson MSA is larger, as seen below.

Columbia, Charleston, and Greenville all have urbanized area populations between 400,000 and 550,000, while their metropolitan statistical area (MSA) populations are each more than 600,000. The Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson MSA population consists of approximately 1.4 million people, making it the largest in the state and third largest in the Carolinas.

Urban Area Population

As of 2010:

Religion

St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charleston is the tallest house of worship in the state. Its spire rises 255 feet.

South Carolina residents are majority Protestant Christian, with a lower percentage of people claiming no religious affiliation than the national average. The religious affiliations of the people of South Carolina are as follows:

Sephardic Jews have lived in the state for more than 300 years, especially in and around Charleston. Many came from London, where they were merchants. Until about 1830, South Carolina had the largest population of Jews in North America, most in Charleston. Some have married and assimilated into Christian society; in the 21st century, less than 1% of the total religiously affiliated people are Jewish. The proportion of Roman Catholics in the state has been increasing given migrants from the North and immigration from Latin America.

Historical demographics

Beginning in 1790, the United States Census Bureau collected the population statistics of South Carolina. The years listed prior to that are estimates and exclude the Native American population. From 1790 until 1860, the designated demographic classifications were white, black slave and free black.

Following the Civil War, the racial groupings were white, black and other.

The following is a list of census data for the state of South Carolina:

Census
Year
Demographic Population % of Pop. % Growth
1670 White 140 90.3%
Slave 15 9.7%
Total 155 100% -
1680 White 1,000 83.3% +614.3%
Slave 200 16.7% +1233.3%
Total 1,200 100% +674.2%
1700 White 3,100 56.4% +210.0%
Slave 2,400 43.6% +1100.0%
Total 5,500 100% +358.3%
1708 White 4,080 42.6% +31.6%
Black Slaves 4,100 42.8%
Indian Slaves 1,400 14.6%
Total 9,580 100% +74.2%
1720 White 6,500 35.1% +59.3%
Slave 12,000 64.9% +118.2%
Total 18,500 100% +93.1%
1730 White 10,000 33.3% +53.9%
Slave 20,000 66.7% +66.7%
Total 30,000 100% +62.2%
1740 White 20,000 33.3% +100.0%
Slave 40,000 66.7% +100.0%
Total 60,000 100% +100.0%
1750 White 21,667 33.3% +8.3%
Slave 43,333 66.7% +8.3%
Total 65,000 100% +8.3%
1760 White 32,000 38.1% +47.7%
Slave 52,000 61.9% +20.0%
Total 84,000 100% +29.2%
1770 White 50,000 38.5% +56.3%
Slave 80,000 61.5% +53.9%
Total 130,000 100% +54.7%
1780 White 83,000 46.1% +66.0%
Slave 97,000 53.9% +21.3%
Total 180,000 100% +38.5%
1790 White 140,178 56.3% +68.9%
Slave 107,094 43.0% +10.4%
Free Black 1,801 0.7%
Total 249,073 100% +38.4%
1800 White 196,255 56.8% +40.0%
Slave 146,151 42.3% +36.5%
Free Black 3,185 0.9% +76.9%
Total 345,591 100% +38.8%
1810 White 214,196 51.6% +9.1%
Slave 196,365 47.3% +34.4%
Free Black 4,554 1.1% +42.9%
Total 415,115 100% +20.1%
1820 White 237,440 47.2% +10.9%
Slave 258,475 51.4% +31.6%
Free Black 6,826 1.4% +49.9%
Total 502,741 100% +21.1%
1830 White 257,863 44.4% +8.6%
Slave 323,322 55.6% +25.1%
Total 581,185 100% +15.6%
1840 White 259,084 43.6% +0.5%
Slave 327,038 55.0% +1.2%
Free Black 8,276 1.4% +21.2%
Total 594,398 100% +2.3%
1850 White 274,563 41.1% +6.0%
Slave 393,944 58.9% +20.5%
Total 668,507 100% +12.5%
1860 White 271,300 41.4% +6.1%
Slave 487,406 57.2% +2.2%
Free Black 9,914 1.4% +19.8%
Other 88 0.0%
Total 703,708 100% +5.3%
1870 White 289,667 41.1% -0.6%
Black 465,814 58.9% +3.3%
Other 125 0.0% +42.1%
Total 705,606 100% +0.3%
1880 White 391,105 39.3% +35.0%
Black 604,332 60.7% +45.3%
Other 140 0.0% +12.0%
Total 995,577 100% +41.1%
1890 White 462,008 40.1% +18.1%
Black 728,934 59.9% +14.0%
Other 207 0.0% +47.9%
Total 1,151,149 100% +15.6%
1900 White 547,807 41.6% +20.7%
Black 789,321 58.4% +13.6%
Other 188 0.0% -9.2%
Total 1,340,316 100% +16.4%
1910 White 679,161 44.9% +21.8%
Black 833,843 55.1% +6.6%
Other 396 0.0% +110.6%
Total 1,515,400 100% +13.1%
1920 White 878,538 51.4% +20.5%
Black 864,719 48.6% +3.7%
Other 467 0.0% +17.9%
Total 1,683,724 100% +11.1%
1930 White 994,049 54.3% +15.3%
Black 693,681 45.6% -8.2%
Other 1,035 0.1% +121.6%
Total 1,738,765 100% +3.3%
1940 White 1,084,308 57.1% +14.9%
Black 714,164 42.9% +2.6%
Other 1,332 0.1% +28.7%
Total 1,899,804 100% +9.3%
1950 White 1,293,405 61.1% +19.3%
Black 722,077 38.8% +1.0%
Other 1,545 0.1% +16.0%
Total 2,117,027 100% +11.4%
1960 White 1,551,022 65.1% +19.9%
Black 829,291 34.8% +0.9%
Other 2,281 0.1% +47.6%
Total 2,382,594 100% +12.5%
1970 White 1,794,430 69.3% +15.7%
Black 789,041 30.4% -4.9%
Other 7,045 0.3% +208.9%
Total 2,590,516 100% +8.7%
1980 White 2,147,224 68.8% +19.7%
Black 948,623 30.4% +20.2%
Other 25,973 0.8% +268.7%
Total 3,121,820 100% +20.5%
1990 White 2,406,974 69.0% +12.1%
Black 1,039,884 29.8% +9.6%
Other 39,845 1.2% +53.4%
Total 3,486,703 100% +11.7%
2000 White 2,695,560 67.2% +12.0%
Black 1,185,216 29.5% +14.0%
Other 131,236 3.3% +229.4%
Total 4,012,012 100% +15.1%
2010 White 3,062,000 66.2% +13.6%
Black 1,290,684 27.9% +8.9%
Other 274,680 5.9% +109.3%
Total 4,625,364 100% +15.3%

This page was last updated at 2024-03-05 15:47 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari