FACEBOOK LINKEDIN TWITTER COUNTY JOBS MEMBER PORTAL ABOUT SCAC ADVOCACY RESOURCES County Information Research & Information Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Cybersecurity Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Recovery EVENTS & EDUCATION INSURANCE TRUSTS PROGRAMS CORPORATE PARTNERS SC Association of Counties Facebook Linkedin Twitter County Jobs Member Portal Search form Search ABOUT SCAC » ADVOCACY » RESOURCES » EVENTS & EDUCATION » INSURANCE TRUSTS » PROGRAMS » CORPORATE PARTNERS » County Information Select a County Abbeville County Aiken County Allendale County Anderson County Bamberg County Barnwell County Beaufort County Berkeley County Calhoun County Charleston County Cherokee County Chester County Chesterfield County Clarendon County Colleton County Darlington County Dillon County Dorchester County Edgefield County Fairfield County Florence County Georgetown County Greenville County Greenwood County Hampton County Horry County Jasper County Kershaw County Lancaster County Laurens County Lee County Lexington County Marion County Marlboro County McCormick County Newberry County Oconee County Orangeburg County Pickens County Richland County Saluda County Spartanburg County Sumter County Union County Williamsburg County York County Select a County List by Population Resources County Information Research & Information Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information Cybersecurity Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Recovery 2020 Census Count SCAC Publications County Jobs Grants GovDeals NACo Prescription Cards U.S. Communities Association Groups County Information You are here HomeResources There are 46 counties in South Carolina ranging in population from 8,039 (Allendale County) to 525,534 (Greenville County). Counties operate under four forms of government: council (six counties); council-supervisor (four counties); council-administrator (34 counties); and council-manager (two counties). Under the council form, the council has responsibility for policymaking and administration. Under the council-supervisor form, administrative responsibility resides in an elected supervisor who serves as chair of council, but only votes in case of a tie. In both the council-administrator and council-manager forms, administrative responsibility rests with a professional administrator/manager who reports to the council. In the council-manager form, the auditor and treasurer may be appointed by the council rather than elected. County council members are elected to two- or four-year terms, either at large or by single member districts. All county elections are partisan. Constitutional officers elected to four-year terms are the clerk of court, coroner and sheriff. Statutory officers elected countywide to four-year terms are the auditor, treasurer and probate judge. Some counties also elect a register of deeds. All counties operate on a July 1–June 30 fiscal year. County 2020 Census Population Land Area County Seat Website Abbeville County 24,295 508 Abbeville https://abbevillecountysc.com/ Aiken County 168,808 1,073 Aiken http://www.aikencountysc.gov Allendale County 8,039 408 Allendale https://www.allendalecounty.com Anderson County 203,718 718 Anderson https://www.andersoncountysc.org Bamberg County 13,311 393 Bamberg https://www.bambergcounty.sc.gov Barnwell County 20,589 548 Barnwell https://www.barnwellcountysc.us Beaufort County 187,117 587 Beaufort https://www.beaufortcountysc.gov Berkeley County 229,861 1,098 Moncks Corner https://www.berkeleycountysc.gov Calhoun County 14,119 380 St. Matthews https://www.calhouncounty.sc.gov Charleston County 408,235 919 Charleston https://www.charlestoncounty.org Cherokee County 56,216 393 Gaffney https://www.cherokeecountysc.gov Chester County 32,294 581 Chester https://www.chestercounty.org Chesterfield County 43,273 799 Chesterfield http://www.chesterfieldcountysc.com/ Clarendon County 31,144 607 Manning http://www.clarendoncountygov.org/ Colleton County 38,604 1,056 Walterboro http://www.colletoncounty.org Darlington County 62,905 561 Darlington http://www.darcosc.com Dillon County 28,292 405 Dillon https://dilloncounty.sc.gov/ Dorchester County 161,540 575 St. George https://www.dorchestercountysc.gov/ Edgefield County 25,657 502 Edgefield https://edgefieldcounty.sc.gov/ Fairfield County 20,948 687 Winnsboro https://www.fairfieldsc.com/ Florence County 137,059 800 Florence http://www.florenceco.org/ Georgetown County 63,404 815 Georgetown http://www.georgetowncountysc.org/ Greenville County 525,534 790 Greenville https://www.greenvillecounty.org/Default.aspx Greenwood County 69,351 456 Greenwood https://www.greenwoodcounty-sc.gov/ Hampton County 18,561 560 Hampton http://www.hamptoncountysc.org Horry County 351,029 1,134 Conway https://www.horrycounty.org Jasper County 28,791 656 Ridgeland https://www.jaspercountysc.gov/ Kershaw County 65,403 726 Camden https://www.kershaw.sc.gov/ Lancaster County 96,016 549 Lancaster https://www.mylancastersc.org/ Laurens County 67,539 715 Laurens https://laurenscounty.us/ Lee County 16,531 410 Bishopville https://www.leecountysc.org/ Lexington County 293,991 699 Lexington https://lex-co.sc.gov/ Marion County 29,183 489 Marion https://www.marionsc.org/ Marlboro County 26,667 480 Bennettsville https://marlborocounty.sc.gov/ McCormick County 9,526 360 McCormick http://www.mccormickcountysc.org Newberry County 37,719 631 Newberry https://www.newberrycounty.net/ Oconee County 78,607 625 Walhalla https://oconeesc.com/ Orangeburg County 84,223 1,106 Orangeburg https://www.orangeburgcounty.org/ Pickens County 131,404 497 Pickens https://www.co.pickens.sc.us/ Richland County 416,147 756 Columbia http://www.richlandcountysc.gov/ Saluda County 18,862 452 Saluda https://saludacounty.sc.gov/ Spartanburg County 327,997 811 Spartanburg https://www.spartanburgcounty.org/ Sumter County 105,556 665 Sumter http://www.sumtercountysc.org Union County 27,244 514 Union https://www.countyofunion.org Williamsburg County 31,026 934 Kingstree https://www.williamsburgcounty.sc.gov/ York County 282,090 682 York https://www.yorkcountygov.com/ The South Carolina Association of Counties (SCAC) is the only organization dedicated to the statewide representation of county government in South Carolina. Located in the state's capital of Columbia, SCAC is a non-partisan, non-profit association that strives to Build Stronger Counties for Tomorrow by working with county officials to provide education and training, legislative reporting, research and technical assistance. SCCounties.org is the primary internet resource for information about South Carolina's counties and issues affecting county government. The website is a dynamic tool that provides access to information about our services, conferences, legislative initiatives, research, training opportunities, financial programs and publications. Visitors can also access general information for all 46 counties—including contact information for county officials, links to county websites, job announcements and statistical tables that address frequently asked questions about county government. 1919 Thurmond Mall Columbia, SC 29201 P.O. Box 8207 Columbia, SC 29202-8207 803-252-7255 800-922-6081 Fax 803-252-0379 Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Privacy Policy site map © 2021 South Carolina Association of Counties