2025

Counties in South Carolina ranked by Black Population

This list ranks the 46 counties 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 counties over the past five years.
Updated Feb 10, 2025

Top 5 counties with the largest Black population in South Carolina

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  • 1
    Richland County
    Black population in Richland County is 209,443
    47.08% of Richland County population is Black
  • 2
    Charleston County
    Black population in Charleston County is 104,959
    24.08% of Charleston County population is Black
  • 3
    Greenville County
    Black population in Greenville County is 103,101
    17.74% of Greenville County population is Black
  • 4
    Spartanburg County
    Black population in Spartanburg County is 73,245
    20.17% of Spartanburg County population is Black
  • 5
    Berkeley County
    Black population in Berkeley County is 61,170
    23.81% of Berkeley County population is Black

List of 46 counties in South Carolina by Black Population

View Methodology
Rank by Black Population
County
Black Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total South Carolina Black Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Richland County 209,443 47.08% 14.75%
2 Charleston County 104,959 24.08% 7.39%
3 Greenville County 103,101 17.74% 7.26%
4 Spartanburg County 73,245 20.17% 5.16%
5 Berkeley County 61,170 23.81% 4.31%
6 Florence County 60,673 42.90% 4.27%
7 York County 59,351 19.26% 4.18%
8 52,009 60.86% 3.66%
9 51,429 46.58% 3.62%
10 50,752 15.77% 3.57%
11 49,579 12.60% 3.49%
12 45,397 24.67% 3.20%
13 44,069 25.29% 3.10%
14 34,135 16.51% 2.40%
15 32,216 14.61% 2.27%
16 26,701 41.19% 1.88%
17 22,438 31.29% 1.58%
18 21,192 19.83% 1.49%
19 19,619 63.67% 1.38%
20 19,094 28.98% 1.34%
21 17,365 24.21% 1.22%
22 17,123 24.45% 1.21%
23 16,769 56.38% 1.18%
24 14,802 31.94% 1.04%
25 14,359 45.13% 1.01%
26 14,302 34.70% 1.01%
27 13,781 49.10% 0.97%
28 13,646 46.38% 0.96%
29 12,190 36.12% 0.86%
30 12,172 20.26% 0.86%
31 11,966 54.96% 0.84%
32 11,475 28.60% 0.81%
33 11,435 34.32% 0.81%
34 10,616 7.65% 0.75%
35 10,413 62.31% 0.73%
36 9,997 52.65% 0.70%
37 9,151 43.12% 0.64%
38 8,972 31.78% 0.63%
39 8,436 29.78% 0.59%
40 7,927 59.61% 0.56%
41 6,731 26.62% 0.47%
42 6,636 7.97% 0.47%
43 5,590 38.44% 0.39%
44 5,009 63.04% 0.35%
45 4,570 21.29% 0.32%
46 4,209 42.02% 0.30%

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 counties 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 counties. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total County 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.
  • Counties 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.