South Carolina Business by the Numbers: 2026 Company Breakdown

Key findings

• South Carolina ranks 29th nationally with 517,284 companies — 0.8% of all 64,799,929 U.S. companies in the directory.
• Columbia is the state’s largest business hub, with 43,931 companies — 8.5% of every company in South Carolina.
• Business is concentrated in a few metros: Columbia, Charleston and Greenville together hold 23.3% of the state’s companies.
• Industrial & mechanical leads the state’s industries at 136,523 companies (26.4%), across 9 tracked sectors.

How South Carolina ranks nationally

South Carolina and its closest neighbours by total company count. Select a state to open its own study.

Top South Carolina cities by number of companies

These 10 cities account for 41.3% of all companies in South Carolina. Select any city to browse its full company list.

Browse all South Carolina companies →

South Carolina companies by industry

Every company is classified by its primary industry using NAICS/SIC codes. Select a sector to see those South Carolina companies.

What the numbers show

South Carolina’s 517,284 companies place it 29th nationally, 0.8% of the U.S. total. Activity clusters in its largest metros — Columbia, Charleston and Greenville alone account for 23.3% of the state’s companies — while industrial & mechanical is the dominant sector at 26.4%. For buyers and sellers, that means the deepest pools of suppliers and manufacturers sit in a handful of cities and one or two sectors; the charts above link straight into each so you can shortlist by capability and region.

Methodology

Figures reflect companies listed in Factur’s U.S. business directory as of 2026, classified by headquarters city and primary industry using NAICS/SIC codes. “Companies” includes manufacturers, suppliers, and B2B businesses of all sizes; counts are directory totals, not official census figures, and percentages are computed against the South Carolina directory total. Data compiled by Factur, a sales and marketing firm for B2B manufacturers.