The
U.S. State of South Carolina currently has 20
statistical areas that have been delineated by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On July 21, 2023, the OMB delineated four
combined statistical areas , ten
metropolitan statistical areas , and six
micropolitan statistical areas in
South Carolina . As of 2023, the largest of these is the
Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC CSA , comprising the area around
Greenville in the state's
Upcountry .
Background
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has designated more than 1,000 statistical areas for the United States and Puerto Rico . These statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States Census Bureau , planning organizations, and federal, state, and local government entities.
The OMB defines a core-based statistical area (commonly referred to as a CBSA ) as the county or counties (or county-equivalents ) surrounding at least one densely-settled core of at least 10,000 population, "plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties with the counties containing the core". The OMB further divides core-based statistical areas based on population into metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for those with at least 50,000 and micropolitan statistical areas (μSAs) for those with 10,000 to 49,999 people.
The OMB defines a combined statistical area (CSA) as two or more adjacent core-based statistical areas where the employment interchange rate (% commuting from A to B plus % commuting from B to A) is at least 15%. The primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area.
Table
The 20 United States statistical areas and 46 counties of the State of South Carolina
Combined statistical area
2023 population (est.)
Core-based statistical area
2023 population (est.)
County
2023 population (est.)
Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC CSA
1,590,636
Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC MSA
975,480
Greenville County, South Carolina
558,036
Anderson County, South Carolina
213,076
Pickens County, South Carolina
135,495
Laurens County, South Carolina
68,873
Spartanburg, SC MSA
383,327
Spartanburg County, South Carolina
356,698
Union County, South Carolina
26,629
Greenwood, SC μSA
93,894
Greenwood County, South Carolina
69,460
Abbeville County, South Carolina
24,434
Seneca, SC μSA
81,221
Oconee County, South Carolina
81,221
Gaffney, SC μSA
56,714
Cherokee County, South Carolina
56,714
Columbia-Sumter-Orangeburg, SC CSA
1,084,112
Columbia, SC MSA
858,302
Richland County, South Carolina
425,138
Lexington County, South Carolina
309,528
Kershaw County, South Carolina
69,905
Fairfield County, South Carolina
20,422
Saluda County, South Carolina
19,123
Calhoun County, South Carolina
14,186
Sumter, SC MSA
104,165
Sumter County, South Carolina
104,165
Orangeburg, SC μSA
82,820
Orangeburg County, South Carolina
82,820
Newberry, SC μSA
38,825
Newberry County, South Carolina
38,825
none
Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA
849,417
Charleston County, South Carolina
424,367
Berkeley County, South Carolina
255,217
Dorchester County, South Carolina
169,833
Myrtle Beach-Conway, SC CSA
463,209
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC MSA
397,478
Horry County, South Carolina
397,478
Murrells Inlet, SC μSA
65,731
Georgetown County, South Carolina
65,731
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA
3,387,115 438,761 (SC )
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC MSA
2,805,115 438,761 (SC)
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
1,163,701
York County, South Carolina
298,320
Union County, North Carolina
256,452
Cabarrus County, North Carolina
240,016
Gaston County, North Carolina
237,242
Iredell County, North Carolina
199,710
Rowan County, North Carolina
151,661
Lancaster County, South Carolina
108,215
Lincoln County, North Carolina
95,675
Chester County, South Carolina
32,226
Anson County, North Carolina
21,897
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC MSA
370,007
Catawba County, North Carolina
164,645
Burke County, North Carolina
88,338
Caldwell County, North Carolina
80,574
Alexander County, North Carolina
36,473
Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC μSA
101,378
Cleveland County, North Carolina
101,378
Albemarle, NC μSA
65,699
Stanly County, North Carolina
65,699
Marion, NC μSA
44,893
McDowell County, North Carolina
44,893
none
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC MSA
232,523
Beaufort County, South Carolina
198,979
Jasper County, South Carolina
33,544
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC MSA
629,429 204,737 (SC)
Richmond County, Georgia
205,414
Aiken County, South Carolina
177,130
Columbia County, Georgia
165,162
Edgefield County, South Carolina
27,607
Burke County, Georgia
24,438
McDuffie County, Georgia
21,799
Lincoln County, Georgia
7,879
Florence, SC MSA
199,630
Florence County, South Carolina
137,214
Darlington County, South Carolina
62,416
none
Chesterfield County, South Carolina
44,031
Colleton County, South Carolina
38,874
Clarendon County, South Carolina
31,004
Williamsburg County, South Carolina
29,891
Marion County, South Carolina
28,508
Dillon County, South Carolina
27,698
Marlboro County, South Carolina
25,704
Barnwell County, South Carolina
20,447
Hampton County, South Carolina
18,122
Lee County, South Carolina
15,967
Bamberg County, South Carolina
12,974
McCormick County, South Carolina
9,941
Allendale County, South Carolina
7,369
State of South Carolina
5,373,555
Primary statistical areas
Primary statistical areas (PSAs) include all combined statistical areas and any core-based statistical area that is not a constituent of a combined statistical area. Of the 20 statistical areas of South Carolina, eight are PSAs comprising four combined statistical areas and four metropolitan statistical areas.
The eight primary statistical areas of the State of South Carolina
2020 rank
Primary statistical area
Population
2023 estimate
Change
2020 Census
Change
2010 Census
1
Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC CSA
1,590,636
+5.21 %
1,511,905
+11.00 %
1,362,073
2
Columbia-Sumter-Orangeburg, SC CSA
1,084,112
+2.57 %
1,056,968
+5.16 %
1,005,063
3
Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA
849,417
+6.23 %
799,636
+20.32 %
664,607
4
Myrtle Beach-Conway, SC CSA
463,209
+11.77 %
414,433
+25.80 %
329,449
5
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA (SC)
438,761
+6.91 %
410,400
+22.19 %
335,865
6
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC MSA
232,523
+7.70 %
215,908
+15.45 %
187,010
7
Florence, SC MSA
199,630
−0.17 %
199,964
−2.73 %
205,566
8
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC MSA (SC)
204,737
+5.28 %
194,465
+3.95 %
187,084
Charlotte-Concord, NC-SC CSA
3,387,115
+4.79 %
3,232,206
+14.90 %
2,813,116
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC MSA
629,429
+3.02 %
611,000
+8.17 %
564,873
See also
Notes
^ An out-of-state area and its population are displayed in green. An area that extends into more than one state is displayed in purple. A purple population number over a black population number show the total population versus the in-state population. The state's abbreviation is also shown next to the in-state total.
^ For PSAs comprising populations from multiple states, they are listed twice to show both their intrastate population within that PSA as well as the PSA's total population. Only the intrastate population is ranked.
References
^ Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas (July 21, 2023). "0MB BULLETIN NO. 23-01" (PDF) . Office of Management and Budget . Retrieved October 23, 2023 . {{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )
^ "2020 Standards for Delineating Core Based Statistical Areas" . Office of Management and Budget . July 16, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021 .
^ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2023" . United States Census Bureau , Population Division. March 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2024 .
^ "PROFILE OF GENERAL POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS" . U.S. Census Bureau . 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2024 .
^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2019" . U.S. Census Bureau . 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2024 .
External links
33°55′01″N 80°53′47″W / 33.9169°N 80.8964°W / 33.9169; -80.8964 (State of South Carolina )