How many people are employed in South Carolina?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, South Carolina has 2,054,515 employees across 122,339 business establishments in 795 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in South Carolina?

The largest industries in South Carolina by employment are Full-Service Restaurants (98,946), Limited-Service Restaurants (88,115), and Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores (51,374).

What is the average payroll in South Carolina?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in South Carolina. The highest-paying tracked industry is Investment Banking and Securities Dealing at $153,123/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in South Carolina?

South Carolina has 122,339 business establishments across 795 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · SC · Census CBP 2023

South Carolina Industry Benchmarks

Name: South Carolina Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Employment, establishments, and payroll for 795 industries in South Carolina. Drill into any industry for a South Carolina-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

2.1M
Workers: 122K
Establishments: 795
Industries tracked

Data updated August 2026

The verdict · South Carolina

South Carolina employs 2,054,515 workers across 795 tracked industries, led by Full-Service Restaurants (98,946 workers).

No single sector dominates South Carolina (lead 15%; top-three 41%). Margins stay on national industry pages.

South Carolina sector employment mix

Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.

South Carolina private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

South Carolina spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services, is only 15% of 2,054,515 private-sector workers (about the 55th percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.

SC breadth ledger · HHI 0.099
Sector	Workers	Share
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (56)	303,812	15%
Retail Trade (44)	269,094	13%
Health Care and Social Assistance (62)	267,286	13%
Top-three cumulative 41% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates.

Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.

Census CBP firm roll

County Business Patterns SC DISTRIBUTED · CBP

#23/51 · 2,054,515 workers · 122,339 firms

EMP 2,054,515
EST 122,339
RANK #23/51
PCT 55th pct
LEAD Administrative and S…
SHARE 15% lead
BAND distributed
DENS 16.8 /firm
BOOK 795 NAICS
PHOTO Alabama

Nearest employment-scale peer: Alabama (1,727,530 workers)

According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, South Carolina ranks #23 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	98,946	4,583	$2.4B	$24,329/yr
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	88,115	4,227	$1.6B	$17,978/yr
Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores NAICS 445110	51,374	911	$1.2B	$24,062/yr
Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices NAICS 551114	32,845	542	$3.3B	$99,566/yr
Religious Organizations NAICS 813110	32,780	4,540	$797.8M	$24,338/yr
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	26,778	1,131	$857.8M	$32,034/yr
General Warehousing and Storage NAICS 493110	26,093	354	$1.2B	$46,847/yr
Engineering Services NAICS 541330	20,383	946	N/A	N/A
Janitorial Services NAICS 561720	20,026	1,094	$487.2M	$24,330/yr
Commercial Banking NAICS 522110	19,953	1,313	$1.6B	$81,709/yr
Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities NAICS 624120	19,304	610	$376.0M	$19,479/yr
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) NAICS 623110	18,926	212	$820.4M	$43,347/yr
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	18,417	1,685	$1.2B	$63,740/yr
Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores NAICS 447110	17,921	2,351	$496.7M	$27,718/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	17,463	366	$1.4B	$79,390/yr
Home Health Care Services NAICS 621610	16,736	643	$677.8M	$40,498/yr
Offices of Lawyers NAICS 541110	16,264	2,590	$1.5B	$89,252/yr
Offices of Dentists NAICS 621210	14,601	1,758	$934.7M	$64,016/yr
Elementary and Secondary Schools NAICS 611110	13,679	349	$547.7M	$40,036/yr
Child Day Care Services NAICS 624410	13,611	1,042	$368.7M	$27,092/yr

Breadth peers near South Carolina's private employment

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (2,054,515 in South Carolina), excluding SC.

Alabama 1,727,530 Kentucky 1,674,114 Louisiana 1,658,849 Maryland 2,458,634 Oregon 1,635,645 Colorado 2,555,107 Indiana 2,573,310 Wisconsin 2,574,604

Disclaimer: South Carolina (SC) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about South Carolina businesses.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · SC

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for South Carolina (SC). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →