2025

Counties in South Carolina ranked by White Population

This list ranks the 46 counties in South Carolina based on their White 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 White population in South Carolina

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  • 1
    Greenville County
    White population in Greenville County is 405,626
    69.79% of Greenville County population is White
  • 2
    Horry County
    White population in Horry County is 309,581
    78.70% of Horry County population is White
  • 3
    Charleston County
    White population in Charleston County is 292,371
    67.08% of Charleston County population is White
  • 4
    Spartanburg County
    White population in Spartanburg County is 251,527
    69.25% of Spartanburg County population is White
  • 5
    Lexington County
    White population in Lexington County is 239,543
    74.41% of Lexington County population is White

List of 46 counties in South Carolina by White Population

View Methodology
Rank by White Population
County
White Population
% of Total County Population
% of Total South Carolina White Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Greenville County 405,626 69.79% 11.21%
2 Horry County 309,581 78.70% 8.56%
3 Charleston County 292,371 67.08% 8.08%
4 Spartanburg County 251,527 69.25% 6.95%
5 Lexington County 239,543 74.41% 6.62%
6 York County 218,407 70.87% 6.04%
7 Richland County 192,043 43.17% 5.31%
8 171,944 77.96% 4.75%
9 166,614 64.85% 4.61%
10 146,836 71.01% 4.06%
11 124,104 67.45% 3.43%
12 118,654 85.45% 3.28%
13 112,434 64.53% 3.11%
14 76,571 71.64% 2.12%
15 72,803 51.47% 2.01%
16 70,797 85.00% 1.96%
17 52,089 47.18% 1.44%
18 49,245 68.64% 1.36%
19 47,662 68.06% 1.32%
20 45,415 63.34% 1.26%
21 44,015 66.81% 1.22%
22 43,321 72.12% 1.20%
23 35,917 55.40% 0.99%
24 30,342 35.51% 0.84%
25 28,882 62.32% 0.80%
26 25,301 63.05% 0.70%
27 23,710 57.53% 0.66%
28 20,027 59.34% 0.55%
29 18,858 66.57% 0.52%
30 17,785 70.34% 0.49%
31 17,176 60.83% 0.47%
32 16,796 50.41% 0.46%
33 16,228 51.00% 0.45%
34 13,848 47.07% 0.38%
35 13,546 63.10% 0.37%
36 11,657 39.19% 0.32%
37 11,609 41.36% 0.32%
38 11,252 53.03% 0.31%
39 10,217 33.16% 0.28%
40 8,829 40.55% 0.24%
41 8,181 56.26% 0.23%
42 7,807 41.12% 0.22%
43 5,801 34.71% 0.16%
44 5,571 55.62% 0.15%
45 5,101 38.36% 0.14%
46 2,016 25.37% 0.06%

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 White population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines White 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 White, 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 White alone, while others identify as White along with another race (such as White and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and White .
  • We’ve used the “White alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the White population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as White 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 White .
  2. % of Total South Carolina White Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. White 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 White 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 White 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 White 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.