South Carolina's service businesses by the numbers

The U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (CBP) for 2023 counts 122,958 establishments with paid employees in South Carolina. Those establishments reported 2,067,143 employees in the mid-March pay period. An establishment is a single physical location where business is conducted, so a company with three offices counts as three establishments. CBP does not include self-employed people with no payroll.

Set against the Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 population estimates, which put the state at 5,478,831 residents on July 1, 2024, that works out to about 22.4 establishments for every 1,000 residents.

This analysis was built directly from the Census Bureau's county-level CBP 2023 file and the county population estimates file. The method notes at the end explain how the figures were calculated.

Most of them. Of the 122,958 establishments, 65,926 (53.6 percent) had fewer than 5 employees and 88,739 (72.2 percent) had fewer than 10.

The pattern is even stronger in service sectors. Across the ten service sectors used in this analysis, 73.1 percent of establishments had fewer than 10 employees. In real estate and rental and leasing, the share was 92.1 percent. In finance and insurance it was 85.8 percent, in professional, scientific and technical services 84.8 percent, and in other services (which includes salons, personal care, repair and civic organizations) 83.8 percent.

These are small teams. In most of them, the same few people answer the phone, serve customers, handle scheduling and run the business.

Service sectors account for 77,948 establishments, or 63.4 percent of the state total. Ranked by establishment count in CBP 2023, the largest are:

• Other services, except public administration: 12,908 establishments (83.8 percent under 10 employees)
• Health care and social assistance: 12,694 (64.6 percent under 10)
• Professional, scientific and technical services: 12,611 (84.8 percent under 10)
• Accommodation and food services: 12,228 (41.5 percent under 10)
• Real estate and rental and leasing: 7,751 (92.1 percent under 10)
• Finance and insurance: 7,645 (85.8 percent under 10)
• Administrative and support services: 6,895 (73.4 percent under 10)
• Arts, entertainment and recreation: 2,024 (64.9 percent under 10)

Comparing the April 2020 estimates base with the July 2024 estimate, South Carolina's population grew 7.0 percent, from 5,118,252 to 5,478,831. Growth was uneven: 31 of the 46 counties grew, and 15 lost population.

The ten fastest-growing counties over that period were:

• Jasper County: up 23.7 percent, to 35,618
• Horry County: up 17.8 percent, to 413,391
• Lancaster County: up 16.3 percent, to 111,652
• Berkeley County: up 15.0 percent, to 264,276
• Edgefield County: up 14.9 percent, to 29,455
• Spartanburg County: up 12.6 percent, to 369,256
• Kershaw County: up 9.6 percent, to 71,698
• Greenville County: up 8.6 percent, to 570,745
• Dorchester County: up 8.3 percent, to 174,663
• Beaufort County: up 7.8 percent, to 201,775

Population growth and business density do not always move together. Several of the fastest-growing counties have fewer establishments per resident than the state's 22.4 per 1,000. Lancaster County had 15.8 establishments per 1,000 residents, Berkeley County 16.0, Dorchester County 16.4, Kershaw County 16.8 and Edgefield County 12.1.

Those counties sit next to larger job and retail centers (Charlotte, Charleston, Columbia and Augusta), so many residents travel for services. For a service business, it also means fast-growing communities where the number of local providers per household is below the state average.

Business density is highest in coastal and tourism counties and in the largest metro counties. Ranked by establishments per 1,000 residents (CBP 2023 establishments divided by 2024 population):

• Charleston County: 36.7 per 1,000 (15,801 establishments)
• Georgetown County: 30.9 per 1,000 (2,038)
• Beaufort County: 30.2 per 1,000 (6,087)
• Greenville County: 27.1 per 1,000 (15,493)
• Horry County: 25.5 per 1,000 (10,550)
• Florence County: 23.8 per 1,000 (3,282)
• Lexington County: 23.6 per 1,000 (7,391)
• Jasper County: 23.5 per 1,000 (838)
• Richland County: 21.9 per 1,000 (9,426)
• Oconee County: 21.4 per 1,000 (1,761)

Three points stand out. First, most competitors are small: nearly three in four service establishments have fewer than 10 employees, so customers are usually choosing between teams of similar size. Second, the most crowded markets are Charleston, Greenville, Horry, Beaufort and Georgetown counties, where a customer has more nearby options to compare. Third, the fastest population growth is happening in counties such as Jasper, Lancaster, Berkeley and Edgefield, where business density is still below the state average.

In a crowded county, the practical question is how a business stands out when customers compare several similar options. In a fast-growing county, it is whether new residents can find the business at all when they search for the first time.

Establishment counts come from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns 2023 county file for South Carolina (state FIPS 45). Statewide totals sum the 46 county rows plus the statewide row for establishments not assigned to a county (872 establishments). Size shares use the fewer-than-5 and 5-to-9 employee size classes. Where the Census Bureau withholds a county cell, it was counted as zero, so the small-establishment shares are conservative.

Service sectors are NAICS sectors 51 (information), 52 (finance and insurance), 53 (real estate), 54 (professional services), 56 (administrative and support), 61 (educational services), 62 (health care and social assistance), 71 (arts and recreation), 72 (accommodation and food services) and 81 (other services). Population figures come from the Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 county estimates, comparing the April 1, 2020 estimates base with the July 1, 2024 estimate. Per-resident figures divide 2023 establishments by 2024 population, so they are approximate.