South Carolina Population and Demographics

Are you tired of spending 10+ hours searching for demographic and population data for South Carolina? We have all of the data you need by state, county, city, and zip code that will save you many hours of research!

In this article, we'll explore most of the 190+ data points we have for South Carolina, covering popular demographics statistics like household income, race, age and gender, educational attainment, poverty, housing, and transportation.

The data on this page is from the 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year survey from the US Census Bureau.

Richest Zip Codes in South Carolina

In the table below, we've ranked the richest zip codes in South Carolina based on the average (or mean) household income. To do this, we only look at zip codes that have a population of at least 500 people and a reasonable margin of error for the data.

If the margin of error for the mean income is greater than 50% of the estimate, we don't use it. This is to try and make the data less likely to be skewed by outliers with very small population areas or estimates that are not very accurate.

To view details demographics data for a specific zip code, click on the link in the table above. You can also read our article here on the richest zip codes in South Carolina.

Richest Cities in South Carolina

We can also find the same information for the richest cities in South Carolina. The table below ranks the top 10 cities in South Carolina by average household income by using the same criteria as we did with the zip codes.

To view details demographics data for a specific city, click on the link in the table above. You can also read our article here on the richest cities in South Carolina.

Median Household Income

According to the latest ACS 5-year survey in 2022, the median household income in South Carolina is $63,623.00.

The chart below shows the average household income by age in South Carolina.

• Under 25
  $36,594.00
• 25 to 44
  $70,352.00
• 45 to 64
  $74,496.00
• 65 and over
  $50,258.00

Average Household Income

A very commonly asked question is "what is the average household income in South Carolina?". The official term for the average household income is the mean household income. The mean household income is the total income of all households divided by the number of households.

The average (or mean) household income in South Carolina is $88,488.00.

7.37% of households in South Carolina are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year).

Household Income Tiers for South Carolina

We can also look at the household income tiers. This lets you see how many households fall into each of the earnings brackets and what percentage that bracket is of the total number of households.

The chart below shows the household income brackets to see which age groups have the highest median income. The actual data is more granular than these brackets, but we've simplified them into bigger categories to make reviewing the data for South Carolina easier to view.

You can purchase the raw data above, which will have the full income tiers with smaller jumps in household income.

• Less than $24,999
  18.68%
• $25,000 to $49,999
  21.17%
• $50,000 to $74,999
  17.55%
• $75,000 to $99,999
  12.94%
• $100,000 to $149,999
  15.39%
• $150,000 to $199,999
  6.89%
• $200,000 or more
  7.37%

Per Capita Income

The per capita income is the average income of all people in South Carolina. This is calculated by dividing the total income of all people in South Carolina by the total number of people in South Carolina.

It differs from the average or mean household income because it includes all people in South Carolina and not just the people who earn an income (i.e. children, retirees, unemployed, etc.).

The per capita income in South Carolina is $36,072.00.

Population in South Carolina by Race and Ethnicity

The total population in South Carolina is currently 5,142,750 people.

The race and ethnicity of the population in South Carolina can be very important for social research, economics, and marketing to a multi-culturial society.

Whether you want to target products or services to a particular race or ethnicity, or provide housing and new businesses to improve areas with a larger ethnic minority population, this data is very valuable for discovering suitable areas.

The chart below breaks down the population and percentage for each race and ethnicity in South Carolina.

• 2.10% White
  107,347
• 93.80% Black/African American
  4,823,875
• 63.00% Native
  3,240,171
• 4.50% Hispanic
  232,221
• 25.60% Asian
  1,316,074
• 0.20% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
  10,304
• 0.00% Two or more races
  2,443
• 1.70% Other
  84,972

Population of South Carolina by Age and Gender

Another very important demographics statistic for South Carolina is the age and gender of the population. The age and gender of the population can be used to track trends in population growth or decline, and for businesses, the data can be used to identify people important to you and your business need.

In the table below, we show age groups at a 10 year granularity for ease of use. The raw data, which can be purchased above, includes age and gender at a 5 year granularity.

Education Levels

Educational attainment is a very useful statistic that can give insights into other data such as the average household income, unemployment levels, and literacy.

What this means is that it is likely for areas that have higher levels of education to have higher average household incomes, lower unemployment rates, and higher literacy rates.

The chart below shows the educational attainment of the population in South Carolina.

• Master's degree or higher
  14.39%
• Bachelor's degree
  31.76%
• Some college or associate's degree
  10.59%
• High school diploma or equivalent
  40.19%
• Less than high school diploma
  3.07%

Unemployment Rates

The unemployment rate is the percentage of the population that is actively looking for work but is unable to find a job. The unemployment rate is a very important statistic for South Carolina because it can show how many people are actively looking for work and how many people are unable to find a job.

Lower levels of unemployment is generally seen as a positive sign for the economy. It also makes the government in South Carolina look good because it shows that they are doing a good job of creating jobs, working to capacity, being efficient, and keeping the economy strong.

The unemployment rate is calculated using the total population in South Carolina that are over the age of 16.

The current population in South Carolina that are over the age of 16 is 4,166,614 people.

The unemployment rate in South Carolina is 5.20%, which means 128,211 people are unemployed.

Median Age in South Carolina

The median age is an interesting metric because it gives us an idea of the age distribution of people in South Carolina. You know when you see a median age that it is the age where half of the population is older and half is younger than it.

For demographic studies, this can be used to infer and compare date to things such as birth rates, the age of parents, and so on.

An increasing median age can be a sign of an aging population, which can be a sign of a declining population. This is because older people tend to have fewer children and die more often than younger people.

The median age in South Carolina is 40 years old.

We can also look at the median age by gender to compare the see how each group compares to the total median age:

Median age by gender in South Carolina

40

Total

38.5

Male

41.2

Female

Households and Families

There are a total of 2,023,085 households in South Carolina, and the average household size is 2.47 people.

For families, the total number is 1,318,317, and the average family size is 3.06 people.

10.20% of those families in South Carolina are living below the poverty line.

The table below shows the poverty thresholds for South Carolina in .

Households and Families by Marital Status

There are four types of household and family, as defined by the Census Bureau:

• Married-couple
• Male householder, no spouse present
• Female householder, no spouse present
• Nonfamily household

In the table below, you can see the total households and families in South Carolina for each type, as well as the average sizes.

Housing Data in South Carolina

There are total of 2,362,253 housing units in South Carolina. Of those units, 2,023,085 (85.64%) are occupied, and 339,168 (14.36%) are vacant.

Rental Rates

Of the 2,362,253 housing units in South Carolina, 535,697 (22.68%) are occupied by renters. The median rent paid by renters is $1,065.00.

Owner occupied housing units make up the remaining 60.73% of housing units, with 1,434,662 housing units in total.

The table below breaks down how much rent is paid by renters in South Carolina.

• No rent paid
  52,726
• Less than $500
  41,241
• $500 to $999
  197,226
• $1,000 to $1,499
  190,605
• $1,500 to $1,999
  71,079
• $2,000 to $2,499
  21,930
• $2,500 to $2,999
  6,504
• $3,000 or more
  7,112

Property Values

The median value of a property in South Carolina is $216,200.00.

The table below breaks down the range of valuations for all properties in South Carolina.

• Less than $50,000
  127,686
• $50,000 to $99,999
  161,592
• $100,000 to $149,999
  169,778
• $150,000 to $199,999
  200,699
• $200,000 to $299,999
  319,169
• $300,000 to $499,999
  287,145
• $500,000 to $999,999
  132,682
• $1,000,000 or more
  35,911

Property Age

We can also look at the number of properties built in a given year to see the spread of property age in South Carolina.

• 1939 or earlier
  90,747
• 1940 to 1949
  64,176
• 1950 to 1959
  148,834
• 1960 to 1969
  196,957
• 1970 to 1979
  316,478
• 1980 to 1989
  356,753
• 1990 to 1999
  417,573
• 2000 to 2009
  437,091
• 2010 to 2013
  309,140
• 2014 or later
  24,504

Vehicles Available per Household

Finally, we have data on how many vehicles each household in South Carolina has. The table below breaks down the number of vehicles available per household.

• No vehicles available
  115,682
• 1 vehicle available
  651,361
• 2 vehicles available
  783,464
• 3 or more vehicles available
  472,578

Commuting to Work in South Carolina

The time and means of commuting to work are useful metrics to look at because they can be correlated against other data such as income and education level.

Does a longer commuting time indicate a higher average income? If so, has the huge increase in home working during the pandemic changed this?

Using these metrics, we can get a better understanding of the demographics of South Carolina, how they commute, and how that correlates to other data points.

The average travel time is 25.5 minutes, and the chart below covers the range of travel times across the population of South Carolina.

• Less than 5 minutes
  61,097
• 5 to 9 minutes
  187,274
• 10 to 14 minutes
  285,366
• 15 to 19 minutes
  354,698
• 20 to 24 minutes
  335,788
• 25 to 29 minutes
  150,378
• 30 to 34 minutes
  313,117
• 35 to 39 minutes
  70,712
• 40 to 44 minutes
  73,988
• 45 to 59 minutes
  171,168
• 60 to 89 minutes
  93,507
• 90 or more minutes
  47,460

We can also look at the means of transport in South Carolina to see which modes of transport people are using to commute to work.

• Drove alone
  1,856,325
• Carpooled
  198,165
• Public transportation
  10,735
• Walked
  41,383
• Other means
  37,945
• Worked from home
  199,597

Conclusion

Hopefully this article has given you the demographics data you were looking for in South Carolina.

If you need more demographics data, or you need the data listed above in spreadsheet form with more granular grouping, head back to the top of this page where you can purchase the complete demographics data for South Carolina.

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