2025

Cities in South Carolina ranked by Black Population

This list ranks the 269 cities in South Carolina based on their Black or African American population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these cities over the past five years.
Updated Feb 10, 2025

Top 5 cities with the largest Black population in South Carolina

View All
  • 1
    Columbia
    Black population in Columbia is 58,499
    39.68% of Columbia population is Black
  • 2
    North Charleston
    Black population in North Charleston is 52,169
    41.38% of North Charleston population is Black
  • 3
    Rock Hill
    Black population in Rock Hill is 31,125
    39.71% of Rock Hill population is Black
  • 4
    Charleston
    Black population in Charleston is 28,972
    18.12% of Charleston population is Black
  • 5
    Sumter
    Black population in Sumter is 22,129
    48.23% of Sumter population is Black

List of 269 cities in South Carolina by Black Population

View Methodology
Rank by Black Population
City
Black Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total South Carolina Black Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Columbia 58,499 39.68% 10.07%
2 North Charleston 52,169 41.38% 8.98%
3 Rock Hill 31,125 39.71% 5.36%
4 Charleston 28,972 18.12% 4.99%
5 Sumter 22,129 48.23% 3.81%
6 Florence 20,226 48.86% 3.48%
7 Spartanburg 16,885 41.31% 2.91%
8 15,703 20.58% 2.70%
9 11,569 22.72% 1.99%
10 11,524 21.08% 1.98%
11 11,338 48.70% 1.95%
12 10,755 31.69% 1.85%
13 9,914 73.84% 1.71%
14 9,194 29.14% 1.58%
15 7,989 29.51% 1.37%
16 7,225 16.73% 1.24%
17 6,556 23.53% 1.13%
18 6,075 14.36% 1.05%
19 5,959 21.91% 1.03%
20 5,660 40.86% 0.97%
21 5,336 35.49% 0.92%
22 4,600 39.04% 0.79%
23 4,544 70.56% 0.78%
24 4,429 69.42% 0.76%
25 4,410 61.60% 0.76%
26 4,273 16.24% 0.74%
27 4,164 43.48% 0.72%
28 4,030 26.85% 0.69%
29 3,956 13.17% 0.68%
30 3,941 30.79% 0.68%
31 3,938 27.20% 0.68%
32 3,921 45.66% 0.67%
33 3,905 30.93% 0.67%
34 3,871 58.06% 0.67%
35 3,780 45.64% 0.65%
36 3,675 55.58% 0.63%
37 3,562 47.55% 0.61%
38 3,412 35.51% 0.59%
39 3,391 62.92% 0.58%
40 3,327 16.55% 0.57%
41 3,294 3.43% 0.57%
42 3,277 9.78% 0.56%
43 3,208 41.22% 0.55%
44 3,148 77.12% 0.54%
45 3,012 17.60% 0.52%
46 2,895 29.62% 0.50%
47 2,866 11.49% 0.49%
48 2,784 6.90% 0.48%
49 2,769 10.83% 0.48%
50 2,753 52.95% 0.47%
51 2,689 47.37% 0.46%
52 2,688 84.66% 0.46%
53 2,649 52.10% 0.46%
54 2,544 30.88% 0.44%
55 2,289 40.45% 0.39%
56 2,254 46.70% 0.39%
57 2,250 74.53% 0.39%
58 2,234 10.10% 0.38%
59 2,208 69.79% 0.38%
60 2,186 65.61% 0.38%
61 2,179 52.24% 0.37%
62 2,160 55.43% 0.37%
63 2,109 40.39% 0.36%
64 1,927 84.26% 0.33%
65 1,891 83.56% 0.33%
66 1,879 34.31% 0.32%
67 1,805 62.83% 0.31%
68 1,802 46.06% 0.31%
69 1,799 9.53% 0.31%
70 1,794 18.98% 0.31%
71 1,739 57.28% 0.30%
72 1,713 64.76% 0.29%
73 1,695 39.68% 0.29%
74 1,671 15.03% 0.29%
75 1,670 22.22% 0.29%
76 1,622 62.22% 0.28%
77 1,565 41.29% 0.27%
78 1,563 53.99% 0.27%
79 1,551 55.08% 0.27%
80 1,546 21.36% 0.27%
81 1,520 85.20% 0.26%
82 1,494 57.04% 0.26%
83 1,467 70.06% 0.25%
84 1,433 58.51% 0.25%
85 1,381 49.77% 0.24%
86 1,335 15.69% 0.23%
87 1,334 50.32% 0.23%
88 1,271 11.94% 0.22%
89 1,221 27.91% 0.21%
90 1,184 59.86% 0.20%
91 1,031 35.86% 0.18%
91 1,031 51.58% 0.18%
92 1,029 16.83% 0.18%
93 1,019 60.30% 0.18%
94 974 37.03% 0.17%
95 853 71.86% 0.15%
96 830 50.36% 0.14%
97 806 32.18% 0.14%
98 788 64.91% 0.14%
99 776 17.30% 0.13%
100 765 26.41% 0.13%
101 732 46.42% 0.13%
102 725 24.74% 0.12%
103 681 47.10% 0.12%
104 679 18.27% 0.12%
105 676 4.48% 0.12%
106 673 35.38% 0.12%
106 673 83.40% 0.12%
107 663 53.99% 0.11%
108 662 17.00% 0.11%
109 655 61.50% 0.11%
110 634 44.30% 0.11%
111 623 18.87% 0.11%
112 613 45.68% 0.11%
113 604 76.07% 0.10%
114 597 23.73% 0.10%
115 595 15.93% 0.10%
116 586 31.49% 0.10%
117 576 65.98% 0.10%
118 564 16.10% 0.10%
119 558 54.87% 0.10%
120 549 35.47% 0.09%
121 520 19.03% 0.09%
122 518 10.81% 0.09%
123 492 14.75% 0.08%
124 490 80.86% 0.08%
125 488 41.53% 0.08%
126 487 55.22% 0.08%
127 480 58.11% 0.08%
128 471 20.59% 0.08%
129 468 10.62% 0.08%
130 463 47.10% 0.08%
131 459 32.12% 0.08%
132 453 84.36% 0.08%
133 448 20.05% 0.08%
133 448 60.05% 0.08%
134 446 2.20% 0.08%
135 434 54.87% 0.07%
136 422 48.67% 0.07%
137 421 48.22% 0.07%
138 412 20.03% 0.07%
139 402 26.55% 0.07%
140 397 36.06% 0.07%
141 385 16.95% 0.07%
142 383 86.46% 0.07%
143 375 7.96% 0.06%
144 360 93.99% 0.06%
145 359 58.85% 0.06%
146 357 44.40% 0.06%
147 345 45.51% 0.06%
148 338 15.40% 0.06%
149 321 76.43% 0.06%
150 318 43.98% 0.05%
151 314 43.85% 0.05%
152 307 42.11% 0.05%
153 291 49.32% 0.05%
154 289 23.23% 0.05%
154 289 14.34% 0.05%
155 288 53.63% 0.05%
156 287 70.69% 0.05%
156 287 21.24% 0.05%
157 283 26.11% 0.05%
158 278 17.84% 0.05%
159 275 66.27% 0.05%
160 272 26.38% 0.05%
161 261 48.69% 0.04%
162 259 11.16% 0.04%
163 251 32.64% 0.04%
164 239 50.64% 0.04%
165 230 54.89% 0.04%
166 212 31.59% 0.04%
167 204 99.03% 0.04%
168 200 100.00% 0.03%
169 192 64.21% 0.03%
170 190 53.98% 0.03%
171 187 60.91% 0.03%
172 178 42.79% 0.03%
173 167 47.71% 0.03%
174 163 6.05% 0.03%
174 163 6.76% 0.03%
175 161 81.73% 0.03%
176 160 36.61% 0.03%
177 157 55.28% 0.03%
178 155 23.31% 0.03%
179 151 64.53% 0.03%
180 150 75.76% 0.03%
181 148 29.84% 0.03%
182 146 4.85% 0.03%
183 145 11.54% 0.02%
184 144 13.11% 0.02%
185 135 61.36% 0.02%
186 127 33.60% 0.02%
186 127 39.44% 0.02%
187 124 21.87% 0.02%
188 122 96.83% 0.02%
189 116 16.89% 0.02%
189 116 27.82% 0.02%
189 116 8.96% 0.02%
190 107 2.41% 0.02%
191 106 47.96% 0.02%
192 102 44.93% 0.02%
193 99 42.49% 0.02%
194 96 11.09% 0.02%
195 86 15.75% 0.01%
196 84 19.44% 0.01%
197 83 8.25% 0.01%
198 82 23.16% 0.01%
199 76 16.45% 0.01%
199 76 8.34% 0.01%
200 74 25.08% 0.01%
200 74 30.83% 0.01%
201 71 11.60% 0.01%
202 68 14.56% 0.01%
202 68 48.92% 0.01%
203 63 11.50% 0.01%
204 58 4.76% 0.01%
205 56 26.17% 0.01%
206 51 11.54% 0.01%
207 49 5.65% 0.01%
208 48 15.29% 0.01%
209 47 100.00% 0.01%
209 47 18.73% 0.01%
210 42 10.32% 0.01%
211 40 4.58% 0.01%
212 37 7.20% 0.01%
213 35 20.11% 0.01%
214 34 5.72% 0.01%
215 31 7.26% 0.01%
215 31 10.37% 0.01%
216 29 6.89% -
216 29 9.48% -
217 27 19.71% -
217 27 16.67% -
218 24 4.78% -
219 23 13.86% -
220 22 18.64% -
221 21 1.23% -
222 20 74.07% -
222 20 16.67% -
223 19 7.88% -
224 17 1.69% -
224 17 1.26% -
225 15 8.77% -
226 10 1.34% -
226 10 7.04% -
227 9 7.14% -
227 9 0.42% -
228 8 8.42% -
229 7 2.63% -
230 6 4.69% -
231 5 3.33% -
231 5 5.38% -
231 5 4.72% -
232 4 8.51% -
232 4 2.20% -
232 4 5.13% -
233 3 4.29% -
233 3 1.79% -
234 2 0.20% -
234 2 0.93% -

List of cities with no Black Population in South Carolina

According to data from the United States Census Bureau, the following cities in South Carolina have no recorded Black population*:
  • Folly Beach
  • Govan
  • Isle Of Palms
  • Kiawah Island
  • Pawleys Island
  • Smoaks
  • Sullivan'S Island
  • Tatum
  • Smyrna
* These cities were not included in the ranking above, as they do not meet the population criteria. It is possible that a small population exists but was not reported or captured due to limitations or variations in Census data collection and reporting.

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks cities in South Carolina by their Black or African American population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Black Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Black, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Black alone, while others identify as Black along with another race (such as Black and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Black .
  • We’ve used the “Black alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Black population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Black alone or in combination in cities. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Black .
  2. % of Total South Carolina Black Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Black population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Black populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Cities that don’t have any reported Black population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Black populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.