South Carolina Counties: Seats, Names, And Practical County Facts
Counties are the backbone of how South Carolina organizes services, records, and local geography. If you want clean, usable location info for South Carolina counties, you usually start with three items: the county name, the county seat, and whether the county sits closer to the coast or deeper inland. From there, everything else gets easier.
Fast County Snapshot
- Total Counties: 46
- County Seats: 46 (one for each county)
- Common Use: courts, deeds, permits, voting precincts, and local services
- Good For: mapping, datasets, address validation, and regional browsing
How To Read The Big Table
- County is the main unit.
- County Seat is where key offices and courts are typically based.
- Coastal Or Inland is a practical locator, not a legal label.
- Quick Locator is a plain-language cue for geograpy and orientation.
All South Carolina Counties With County Seats And Quick Locators
Tip: If you are cross-checking addresses or building a county directory, the county seat is often the fastest anchor point for official records and local services.
| County | County Seat | Coastal Or Inland | Quick Locator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeville County | Abbeville | Inland | Western edge, near Georgia line |
| Aiken County | Aiken | Inland | West-central, along Savannah River corridor |
| Allendale County | Allendale | Inland | Southwestern corner, close to Georgia |
| Anderson County | Anderson | Inland | Northwest, near lakes and foothills |
| Bamberg County | Bamberg | Inland | South-central, between larger river basins |
| Barnwell County | Barnwell | Inland | Southwest, near Savannah River side |
| Beaufort County | Beaufort | Coastal | Sea islands and coastal lowlands |
| Berkeley County | Moncks Corner | Coastal | Lowcountry, north of Charleston area |
| Calhoun County | St. Matthews | Inland | Central-south, between Columbia and Orangeburg area |
| Charleston County | Charleston | Coastal | Atlantic coast, historic port region |
| Cherokee County | Gaffney | Inland | North, near North Carolina line |
| Chester County | Chester | Inland | North-central, between Charlotte and Columbia corridors |
| Chesterfield County | Chesterfield | Inland | Northeast, close to North Carolina |
| Clarendon County | Manning | Inland | Midlands, east of Columbia area |
| Colleton County | Walterboro | Coastal | Lowcountry, inland from the coast |
| Darlington County | Darlington | Inland | Northeast, near Florence hub |
| Dillon County | Dillon | Inland | Far northeast, near North Carolina border |
| Dorchester County | St. George | Coastal | Lowcountry, west and north of Charleston area |
| Edgefield County | Edgefield | Inland | West-central, near Georgia side |
| Fairfield County | Winnsboro | Inland | Midlands, north of Columbia |
| Florence County | Florence | Inland | Northeast, major transport crossroads |
| Georgetown County | Georgetown | Coastal | Coastal stretch, north of Charleston |
| Greenville County | Greenville | Inland | Upstate, near Blue Ridge foothills |
| Greenwood County | Greenwood | Inland | Upper Piedmont, west of central Midlands |
| Hampton County | Hampton | Inland | South, between Lowcountry and Savannah River side |
| Horry County | Conway | Coastal | Northeast coast, Grand Strand area |
| Jasper County | Ridgeland | Coastal | Far south Lowcountry, near Georgia line |
| Kershaw County | Camden | Inland | Midlands, northeast of Columbia |
| Lancaster County | Lancaster | Inland | North, close to Charlotte metro edge |
| Laurens County | Laurens | Inland | Upstate-to-Midlands transition zone |
| Lee County | Bishopville | Inland | Midlands, between Sumter and Florence areas |
| Lexington County | Lexington | Inland | Midlands, west of Columbia |
| McCormick County | McCormick | Inland | West, near Savannah River and lake region |
| Marion County | Marion | Inland | Northeast, near Pee Dee river systems |
| Marlboro County | Bennettsville | Inland | Northeast corner, near North Carolina |
| Newberry County | Newberry | Inland | Midlands, between Columbia and Upstate routes |
| Oconee County | Walhalla | Inland | Northwest corner, mountains and lakes |
| Orangeburg County | Orangeburg | Inland | South Midlands, major inland center |
| Pickens County | Pickens | Inland | Upstate, foothills and lake access |
| Richland County | Columbia | Inland | Midlands core, state capital county |
| Saluda County | Saluda | Inland | West Midlands, near Lake and ridge zones |
| Spartanburg County | Spartanburg | Inland | Upstate, between Greenville and Charlotte corridors |
| Sumter County | Sumter | Inland | Midlands, east of Columbia |
| Union County | Union | Inland | Upstate edge, between Spartanburg and Chester areas |
| Williamsburg County | Kingstree | Inland | Northeast, between rivers and coastal plain |
| York County | York | Inland | North, along Charlotte metro side |
What A County Seat Means In South Carolina
A county seat is the main administrative hub for a county. In everyday terms, it is where you commonly find courthouse functions, major county offices, and official record services. That does not mean it is always the biggest city, though it often plays a central role.
Typical Records Tied To Counties
- Property and deed lookups
- Permits and inspections (varies by county)
- Courts and filings
- Vital services coordination (often shared with state agencies)
Why Seats Matter For Mapping
- They help confirm you are in the right county when cities share names across states.
- They add a reliable anchor label for county-level pages.
- They help users scan a list fast, even if they do not know every county.
County vs City vs Town In Plain English
In South Carolina, a county is a wider area that can include many places: incorporated cities, incorporated towns, and unincorporated communities. A city or town is a specific municipality with its own local government structure. They overlap on the map, and that is normal.
- County: broader boundary used for services, records, and regional organization
- City or Town: municipal boundary used for local rules, utilities, and community services
- Unincorporated Area: places inside a county but outside any city or town boundary
Practical County Labels People Use Across The State
You will often hear regional labels like Upstate, Midlands, Lowcountry, and Pee Dee. These are informal groupings people use for navigation and cultural geography. County boundaries are official; these region names are more like helpful shortcuts.
Upstate
Northwest and upper Piedmont areas. People often connect it with foothills, lakes, and fast-growing county hubs.
Midlands
Central counties and the largest inland metro cluster. Great for understanding county-to-county connectivity.
Lowcountry
Coastal plain and sea-island influences. Expect tidal rivers, marshlands, and coastal-adjacent county seats.
Pee Dee
Northeast river basin naming tradition. Useful when organizing counties by river systems and inland corridors.
County Data Fields That Stay Useful Year After Year
If you are building pages, browsing locations, or checking datasets, these fields are steady and easy to validate. They also match what users search for most often.
- County Name and common abbreviations
- County Seat (administrative hub)
- Neighbor Counties (good for browsing patterns)
- Major Places inside the county (cities, towns, CDPs)
- Road And River Cues (highways, river basins, coastal plain vs uplands)
FIPS Codes And Clean Dataset Matching
In many public datasets, counties are identified by FIPS codes. A county-level code helps prevent mix-ups when a place name repeats. If you ever merge tables from different sources, using a county identifier plus the state is safer than relying on names alone.
When FIPS Helps Most
- Combining population, housing, and area tables from different publishers
- Building filters like county then city
- Avoiding errors when a city name exists in more than one county
South Carolina At A Glance Beyond Counties
Counties make navigation simple, yet users often want a few statewide facts for context. These are stable, high-signal basics that pair well with a county directory.
- Total Area: about 32,000 square miles (land plus water, rounded)
- Land Pattern: coastal plain in the southeast, rolling Piedmont inland, and foothills toward the northwest
- County Count: 46, covering coastal, river-basin, metro, and rural landscapes
Fast Answers People Look For
- How many counties are in South Carolina: 46
- Do all counties have a county seat: yes, each county has one designated seat
- Is the county seat always the largest city: no, it is an administrative center
- What is the easiest county detail to use in a directory: county name plus county seat