Charleston and the Lowcountry: business and population figures

Charleston SC business statistics show a dense, high-wage service economy in Charleston County surrounded by fast-growing suburban and coastal counties. Across Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester, Beaufort, Jasper and Colleton counties, the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (CBP) counted 30,610 establishments with paid employees in 2023. They employed 397,833 people in March and paid $22.5 billion in annual payroll, or $56,623 per employee, about 7 percent above the state figure of $52,961.

The Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 estimates put the region's population at 1,146,592, up 8.8 percent from 1,054,146 at the April 2020 base. South Carolina grew 7.0 percent over the same period. The Lowcountry holds 20.9 percent of the state's people, 24.9 percent of its employer businesses and 25.6 percent of its population gain since 2020.

This profile uses the same method as our Midlands and Upstate profiles. All numbers come from public Census files; the method is at the end.

Growth is fastest at the edges of the region. Jasper County grew 23.7 percent from April 2020 to July 2024, the highest rate of any South Carolina county. Berkeley County grew 15.0 percent, fourth in the state, adding 34,495 people. Dorchester (8.3 percent) and Beaufort (7.8 percent) grew faster than the state, while Charleston County grew 5.5 percent and Colleton 1.7 percent.

Unlike most of South Carolina, the Lowcountry still has more births than deaths: natural change added 8,761 people over the period. Most growth still comes from moving in. Net domestic migration added 67,530 residents and international migration 15,523, so domestic movers account for 73 percent of the gain.

Businesses are concentrated in Charleston and Beaufort counties, while new residents are filling Berkeley, Dorchester and Jasper. Charleston County has 24.9 service establishments per 1,000 residents and Beaufort 20.4. Berkeley has 9.7 and Dorchester 10.5, less than half Charleston's rate, even though Berkeley grew almost three times as fast.

Part of that gap is commuting: many Berkeley and Dorchester residents work and shop in Charleston County. But it also means the fastest-growing communities have relatively few local providers per household. A medical practice, salon, insurance agency or home service company that sets up in Goose Creek, Moncks Corner or Summerville is competing for a growing population with fewer nearby rivals than it would face on the peninsula or in Mount Pleasant.

Hospitality is a larger part of the job base here than in the state overall. Accommodation and food services (NAICS 72) makes up 9.9 percent of Lowcountry establishments, the same share as statewide, but 16.1 percent of employment versus 11.9 percent. There are 56.0 hospitality jobs per 1,000 Lowcountry residents compared with 44.9 statewide.

The concentration is strongest in Beaufort County, where accommodation and food services accounts for 22.3 percent of employer jobs, and in Charleston County, at 16.3 percent and 85.6 jobs per 1,000 residents. Lowcountry hospitality employers also pay more: $28,495 in annual payroll per employee versus $22,859 statewide. Arts, entertainment and recreation (NAICS 71), which includes golf courses, marinas and attractions, is 1.9 percent of Lowcountry establishments against 1.6 percent statewide.

Lodging is a big part of the difference. Accommodation (NAICS 721) makes up 5.0 percent of employer jobs in Beaufort County and 3.2 percent in Charleston County, against 1.4 percent statewide, and it pays more locally: $44,943 per employee in Beaufort and $39,226 in Charleston, compared with $31,926 across South Carolina. Restaurants and bars (NAICS 722) account for 13.1 percent of Charleston County jobs.

For event venues, caterers, restaurants and hotels, this means a deep local labor pool but also strong competition for it, and demand tied to visitors as well as residents. Our companion analysis of seasonal hospitality employment covers how much staffing swings across the year in each coastal county.

Professional, scientific and technical services is the largest service sector, with 3,838 locations and 12.5 percent of all establishments, compared with 10.3 percent statewide. Real estate is also over-represented at 8.2 percent of establishments versus 6.3 percent statewide, which reflects the region's housing, rental and second-home markets. Personal and repair services are less common than elsewhere in the state (9.0 percent versus 10.5 percent).

Pay runs higher than the state average in most service sectors. Finance and insurance stands out at $104,747 per employee against $82,117 statewide, and health care pays $65,259 against $57,637.

Most Lowcountry businesses are small teams. In 2023, 73.4 percent of establishments had fewer than 10 employees, 22.1 percent had 10 to 49 and 4.5 percent had 50 or more. Statewide the split is 72.2, 22.6 and 5.2 percent, so the region leans slightly more toward small operations.

Beaufort County has the highest small-business share in the region at 76.9 percent, followed by Colleton (75.8 percent) and Dorchester (74.7 percent). Many of these are professional offices, real estate firms, salons and contractors run by a handful of people. For those teams, the hours spent answering calls, chasing quotes and sending reminders come straight out of client work, which is why the systems behind the front office matter as much as the marketing in front of it.

Three points are worth building into plans. Monvell's consulting and data and reporting work helps businesses line up public figures like these with their own lead and customer data, so decisions about new locations or service areas rest on both.

• Charleston County is saturated by state standards. At 24.9 service locations per 1,000 residents, winning there depends on visibility in search and maps, review volume and response speed more than on simply being present.
• The growth corridors are under-served. Berkeley, Dorchester and Jasper are adding residents quickly with half or less of Charleston's service density, which favors businesses that extend their service area or open satellite locations there.
• Wages are higher. With payroll per employee about 7 percent above the state, and well above it in health care and finance, Lowcountry businesses should budget more for staff and look harder at which front-office and follow-up tasks can be automated.

Establishment, employment and payroll figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns 2023 county file (cbp23co.txt), covering establishments with paid employees. We summed 2-digit NAICS rows for Charleston (45019), Berkeley (45015), Dorchester (45035), Beaufort (45013), Jasper (45053) and Colleton (45029). Service establishments are NAICS 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 61, 62, 71, 72 and 81. Payroll per employee is annual payroll times 1,000 divided by March employment. Hospitality jobs per 1,000 residents use NAICS 72 employment and 2024 population; lodging and restaurant detail uses the NAICS 721 and 722 subsector rows. Size shares use the file's employment size classes, with under 10 employees being the under-5 and 5-to-9 classes combined.

Population and components of change come from the Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 county estimates (April 1, 2020 base to July 1, 2024) and city figures from the Vintage 2024 subcounty file. State rank compares growth among all 46 counties. State business totals include establishments the Census Bureau does not assign to a county. CBP data include noise added for confidentiality, exclude the self-employed and count locations rather than companies, so small county figures are approximate.