Map of South Carolina

History

There is evidence of human activities in the area dating to about 50,000 years ago. At the time Europeans arrived, marking the end Pre-Columbian era around 1500, there were many separate Native American polities including the powerful Cofitachequi populated by a variety of nations including the largest the Cherokee and the Catawba, with a total population being up to 20,000 around 1600.

Up the rivers of the eastern coastal plain lived about a dozen tribes of Siouan background. Along the Savannah River were the Apalachee, Yuchi, and the Yamasee. Further west were the Cherokee, and along the Catawba River, the Catawba. These tribes were village-dwellers, relying on agriculture as their primary food source.

Geography

The state can be divided into three natural geographic areas which then can be subdivided into five distinct cultural regions. The natural environment is divided from east to west by the Atlantic coastal plain, the Piedmont, and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Culturally, the coastal plain is split into the Lowcountry and the Pee Dee region. While, the upper Piedmont region is referred to as the Piedmont and the lower Piedmont region is referred to as the Midlands. The area surrounding the Blue Ridge Mountains is known as the Upstate. The Atlantic Coastal Plain makes up two-thirds of the state. Its eastern border is the Sea Islands, a chain of tidal and barrier islands.

Economy

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2025, South Carolina's gross state product (GSP) was $378.830 billion and its per capita personal income was $63,179. The state debt in 2012 was calculated by one source to be $22.9bn, or $7,800 per taxpayer.

Industrial outputs include textile goods, chemical products, paper products, machinery, automobiles, automotive products and tourism. Major agricultural outputs of the state are tobacco, poultry, cotton, cattle, dairy products, soybeans, hay, rice, and swine. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of March 2012, South Carolina had 1,852,700 nonfarm jobs of which 12% are in manufacturing, 11.5% are in leisure and hospitality, 19% are in trade, transportation, and utilities, and 11.8% are in education and health services.

Demographics

The 2020 census determined the state had a population of 5,118,425, a 10.7% percentage increase since the 2010 census.

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 3,608 homeless people in South Carolina.

At the 2020 census, the racial make up of the state was 63.4% White (62.1% non-Hispanic white), 25.0% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 3.5% from some other race, and 5.8% from two or more races. 6.9% of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin of any race.