The U.S. state of South Carolina is made up of 46 counties. This is the maximum allowable by state law.^[1]

In the colonial period, the land around the coast was divided into parishes. The parishes matched the Church of England. There were also several counties that had judicial and electoral functions. As people settled the backcountry, judicial districts and additional counties were formed. This structure continued and grew after the Revolutionary War. In 1800, all counties were renamed as districts. In 1868, the districts were changed back to counties.^[2] The South Carolina Department of Archives and History has maps that show the boundaries of counties, districts, and parishes starting in 1682.^[3]

County	FIPS code[4]	County seat[5]	Created[5]	Origin	Meaning of name	Population (2020)[6]	Area	Map
Abbeville County	001	Abbeville	1785	Ninety-Six District	Abbeville, France	24,295	511 sq mi (1,323 km2)
Aiken County	003	Aiken	1871	Barnwell, Edgefield, Lexington, and Orangeburg	William Aiken, founder of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company	168,808	1,080 sq mi (2,797 km2)
Allendale County	005	Allendale	1919	Barnwell and Hampton	P.H. Allen, first postmaster of the new county	8,039	413 sq mi (1,070 km2)
Anderson County	007	Anderson	1826	Pendleton District	Robert Anderson, American Revolutionary War general and Southern surveyor	203,718	757 sq mi (1,961 km2)
Bamberg County	009	Bamberg	1897	Barnwell	Francis Marion Bamberg (1838 - 1905), Confederate general in the American Civil War	13,311	395 sq mi (1,023 km2)
Barnwell County	011	Barnwell	1798	Orangeburg	John Barnwell, South Carolina State Senator and prisoner of war during the American Revolution	20,589	557 sq mi (1,443 km2)
Beaufort County	013	Beaufort	1769	1769 Judicial District	Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, colonial proprietary landowner	187,117	576 sq mi (1,492 km2)
Berkeley County	015	Moncks Corner	1882	Charleston	William Berkeley, colonial proprietary governor and landowner	229,861	1,228 sq mi (3,181 km2)
Calhoun County	017	St. Matthews	1908	Lexington and Orangeburg	John C. Calhoun, U.S. Senator from South Carolina and states' rights advocate	14,119	392 sq mi (1,015 km2)
Charleston County	019	Charleston	1769	1769 Judicial District	King Charles II of England	408,235	1,358 sq mi (3,517 km2)
Cherokee County	021	Gaffney	1897	Spartanburg, Union, and York	Cherokee Native Americans	56,216	397 sq mi (1,028 km2)
Chester County	023	Chester	1785	Camden District	Chester, Pennsylvania	32,294	586 sq mi (1,518 km2)
Chesterfield County	025	Chesterfield	1798	Cheraws District	Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, an Enlightenment-era scholar, government official, and member of the British House of Lords	43,273	806 sq mi (2,088 km2)
Clarendon County	027	Manning	1855	Sumter	Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, colonial proprietary landowner	31,144	696 sq mi (1,803 km2)
Colleton County	029	Walterboro	1800	Charleston	John Colleton, colonial proprietary landowner	38,604	1,133 sq mi (2,934 km2)
Darlington County	031	Darlington	1785	Cheraws District	Darlington, England	62,905	567 sq mi (1,469 km2)
Dillon County	033	Dillon	1910	Marion	J.W. Dillon (1826-1913), founder of the Wilson Short Cut Railroad	28,292	407 sq mi (1,054 km2)
Dorchester County	035	St. George	1868	Berkeley and Colleton	Dorchester, Massachusetts	161,540	577 sq mi (1,494 km2)
Edgefield County	037	Edgefield	1785	Ninety-Six District	Disputed; either its location on the edge of the state or Edgefield, Norfolk, England	25,657	507 sq mi (1,313 km2)
Fairfield County	039	Winnsboro	1785	Camden District	The county's fair fields, as described by colonial governor Charles Cornwallis	20,948	710 sq mi (1,839 km2)
Florence County	041	Florence	1888	Clarendon, Darlington, Marion, and Williamsburg	Florence Harllee (1848-1927), daughter of Wilmington and Manchester Railroad founder W.W. Harllee	137,059	804 sq mi (2,082 km2)
Georgetown County	043	Georgetown	1769	1769 Judicial District	King George II of Great Britain	63,404	813.55 sq mi (2,107 km2)
Greenville County	045	Greenville	1786	Washington District	Nathanael Greene, Revolutionary War general	525,534	795 sq mi (2,059 km2)
Greenwood County	047	Greenwood	1897	Abbeville and Edgefield	Greenwood Plantation, the home of John McGee, the county's largest landowner	69,351	463 sq mi (1,199 km2)
Hampton County	049	Hampton	1787	Beaufort	Wade Hampton, Congressman from South Carolina and once the nation's wealthiest citizen	18,561	563 sq mi (1,458 km2)
Horry County	051	Conway	1801	Georgetown	Peter Horry, Revolutionary War general	351,029	1,255 sq mi (3,250 km2)
Jasper County	053	Ridgeland	1912	Beaufort and Hampton	William Jasper, Revolutionary War sergeant	28,791	700 sq mi (1,813 km2)
Kershaw County	055	Camden	1798	Claremont, Fairfield, Lancaster, and Richland	Joseph Kershaw, one of the county's pioneering settlers	65,403	740 sq mi (1,917 km2)
Lancaster County	057	Lancaster	1798	Camden District	Lancaster, England, and the House of Lancaster[7]	96,016	555 sq mi (1,437 km2)
Laurens County	059	Laurens	1785	Ninety-Six District	Henry Laurens, president of the Second Continental Congress and prisoner of war during the American Revolution	67,539	724 sq mi (1,875 km2)
Lee County	061	Bishopville	1902	Darlington, Kershaw, and Sumter	Robert E. Lee, Confederate general during the Civil War	16,531	411 sq mi (1,064 km2)
Lexington County	063	Lexington	1804	Orangeburg	Battle of Lexington, opening skirmish of the Revolutionary War	293,991	758 sq mi (1,963 km2)
Marion County	067	Marion	1800	Georgetown	Francis Marion, Revolutionary War general	29,183	494 sq mi (1,279 km2)
Marlboro County	069	Bennettsville	1785	Cheraws District	John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general, diplomat, and confidant of monarchs	26,667	485 sq mi (1,256 km2)
McCormick County	065	McCormick	1914	Abbeville, Edgefield, and Greenwood	Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the mechanical reaper and founder of International Harvester	9,526	394 sq mi (1,020 km2)
Newberry County	071	Newberry	1785	Ninety-Six District	Disputed; possibly Newbury, Berkshire, England, or from early settlers' notion that the landscape was as "pretty as a new berry"	37,719	647 sq mi (1,676 km2)
Oconee County	073	Walhalla	1868	Pickens	Oconee Native Americans	78,607	674 sq mi (1,746 km2)
Orangeburg County	075	Orangeburg	1769	1769 Judicial District	Prince William V of Orange	84,223	1,128 sq mi (2,922 km2)
Pickens County	077	Pickens	1826	Pendleton District	Andrew Pickens, Governor of South Carolina	131,404	512 sq mi (1,326 km2)
Richland County	079	Columbia	1799	Camden District	The county's rich soil	416,147	772 sq mi (1,999 km2)
Saluda County	081	Saluda	1896	Edgefield	Saluda River	18,862	462 sq mi (1,197 km2)
Spartanburg County	083	Spartanburg	1785	Ninety-Six District	"Spartan Regiment" of the state militia, which was the key force for victory in the Revolutionary War Battle of Cowpens	327,997	819 sq mi (2,121 km2)
Sumter County	085	Sumter	1798	Claremont, Clarendon, and Salem	Thomas Sumter, Revolutionary War general and U.S. Senator from South Carolina	105,556	682 sq mi (1,766 km2)
Union County	087	Union	1798	Ninety-Six District	Union Church, the first Christian place of worship in the area	27,244	516 sq mi (1,336 km2)
Williamsburg County	089	Kingstree	1802	Georgetown District	King William III of England	31,026	937 sq mi (2,427 km2)
York County	091	York	1798	Camden District	York County, Pennsylvania	282,090	696 sq mi (1,803 km2)

• St. Luke's Parish formed by the Colonial Assembly on 23 May 1767, located on Hilton Head Island and the adjacent mainland.

• Craven County formed in 1682 by the Lords Proprietors
• Granville County formed in 1686 by the Lords Proprietors
• Orange County (1785-1791)
• Lewisburg County (1785-1791)
• Winton County is present-day Barnwell County
• Liberty County is present-day Marion County
• Winyah County is the former name of Georgetown County
• Claremont County
• Salem County

• Cheraw District formed in 1769
• Camden District formed in 1769
• Ninety-Six District formed in 1769
• Pinckney District (1791-1798)
• Washington District (1785-1798)
• Pendleton District formed in 1789 from Cherokee lands