Is South Carolina one franchise market?

No. The state added people at a 1.5% clip, the fastest in the country that year. Berkeley County grew 19.5%. Mount Pleasant grew 4.9%. Hilton Head grew 1.4%. Bluffton grew 33%. Those are different businesses.

Where are new South Carolina residents moving from?

Census net domestic migration was 66,622 from July 2024 to July 2025. The 2024 origin list runs from North Carolina and New York through Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio. I do not have that split by town.

How is the Grand Strand different from the Upstate?

Horry County is up 21.8% and about 29.9% of residents are 65 or older. Myrtle Beach retail sales were $88,837 per person against a $60,394 median household income. Greenville County's median house is $299,000. Spartanburg County's is $233,300. Different labor, different rent.

Are Hilton Head and Bluffton the same territory?

No. Hilton Head is up 1.4%, with 39.2% of residents 65 or older and a $687,400 median house. Bluffton is up 33%, with median household income of $111,281. Same county. Different growth and a different labor pool.

What about Columbia, Charleston, and Mount Pleasant?

Columbia is estimated at 147,035, up 7.5%. Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Summerville, and Berkeley County are a cluster. For the Lowcountry, start with the Charleston and Mount Pleasant pages, then Item 19, Item 7, and Item 20.

How does a South Carolina search with you work?

A short call on capital and the market you will operate in, a short list of brands, then due diligence at your pace. I live in Mount Pleasant and work statewide. Book a consultation or call (919) 827-3921.

Does the state's business climate make every franchise easier?

Commerce lists a 5% corporate income tax and a deepwater port. That is the pitch to companies. Your deal still has to clear local rent, local labor, and the territory in the FDD.

Charleston · Upstate · Columbia · Grand Strand · Lowcountry

South Carolina Is Not One Franchise Market. The county line is the file.

I live in Mount Pleasant and work with buyers choosing a territory in this state, sometimes after a move. These markets do not share a labor model, a rent line, or an age mix. Pick the place, then we read the FDD against it.

30 locations built · PE exit · based in Mount Pleasant

The state

The growth is real, and it is mostly people moving in.

Vintage 2025 puts South Carolina at 5,570,274 people on July 1, 2025, up 79,958 from a year earlier. That 1.5% gain was the fastest of any state, down from 1.8% the year before. Net domestic migration was 66,622. The April 1, 2020 estimates base was 5,118,250.

Origins are a separate table. USAFacts' 2024 Census compilation lists inflows from North Carolina 33,200, New York 18,300, Florida 18,000, Georgia 16,000, Pennsylvania 7,400, Illinois 6,600, and Ohio 4,500, with California, Virginia, and Texas also in the top ten. I will not guess the share that landed in Mount Pleasant versus Greenville versus Horry County.

The Department of Commerce lists a 5% corporate income tax, a cost of living 8.5% below the national average, and about 2.52 million people employed. It calls the Port of Charleston a 52-foot harbor, the deepest on the East Coast. BMW, Michelin, and Boeing show up on that page. That is a pitch to plants and headquarters. Your territory still has its own customer.

Charleston metro

Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Summerville, and Berkeley County are a cluster, not a zip code.

Charleston County is estimated at 436,200, up 6.8%, median house $489,100. Mount Pleasant is 95,469, up 4.9%, median house $748,500, median income $124,755. Berkeley County is 274,666, up 19.5%, median house $310,300. Summerville is 53,177, up 4.6%, median house $328,100. The fast growth is in Berkeley. The expensive roofs are in Mount Pleasant.

Point Hope, on the Cainhoy peninsula, is in the City of Charleston and Berkeley County, outside the Mount Pleasant limits. The Mount Pleasant page and the Charleston page are the local files. This one is the map.

Upstate

Greenville and Spartanburg are workforce markets with cheaper houses than the coast.

Greenville County is estimated at 583,125, up 11.0%, median house $299,000, median household income $76,932. The city inside it is 75,310, up 5.9%, with a median house of $487,500. About 22.0% of the county is under 18. Spartanburg County is 380,857, up 16.1%, median house $233,300, median income $66,234, with about 22.9% under 18 and 25.1% of adults holding a bachelor's degree, against 41.3% in Greenville County. Commerce names BMW and Michelin. I will not invent a plant headcount. An Upstate rent line is a different deal from the coast.

Midlands

Columbia is growing, and it is not a beach story.

Columbia is estimated at 147,035, up 7.5%. The 2020 Census count was 136,632. I do not have a sourced headcount for the statehouse or the university, so I will not invent one. The customer is a resident. January still counts.

Grand Strand

Horry County is growing older, and Myrtle Beach retail is visitor money.

Horry County is estimated at 427,551, up 21.8%, with about 29.9% of residents 65 or older and 16.1% under 18. Myrtle Beach is 40,937, up 14.7%. City retail sales in 2022 were $88,837 per person, against a $60,394 median household income and a $388,800 median house. Mount Pleasant's retail figure was $29,835 per person. That gap is visitor money. Senior categories have an age base. Kids' categories are thinner. City labor-force participation is 58.6%.

Beaufort County

Hilton Head barely grew. Bluffton did not.

Hilton Head Island is estimated at 38,196, up 1.4%. About 39.2% of residents are 65 or older and 11.9% are under 18. The median house is $687,400, median income is $94,657, and 49.8% of people 16 and older are in the labor force.

Bluffton is estimated at 36,807, up 33.0%. The 2010 Census counted 12,530, and the 2020 Census counted 27,716. About 22.7% are under 18 and 24.6% are 65 or older. Median household income is $111,281, the median house is $492,100, and median rent is $2,256. Beaufort County is 204,433, up 9.3%, 31.2% age 65 or older, median house $455,600, labor-force participation 51.4%. A territory named Hilton Head that quietly includes Bluffton is a different business.

How I help

Choose the market, then make the file tell the truth.

Home services, kids' enrichment, fitness, pet, senior care, and health and wellness show up in every market. The weights do not. Berkeley and Bluffton are still adding roofs. Hilton Head and Horry are heavy on ages 65 and older. A national Item 7 is a guess in all of them. I live in Mount Pleasant. The work is capital, the county you will actually operate in, two to four brands, then Item 19, Item 7, and Item 20. I typically work with buyers who have $100K or more in liquid capital. If the concept is wrong for that county, I say so.

Start with the Charleston page or the Mount Pleasant page if the Lowcountry is the target. Read FDD red flags and how I read an FDD in 20 minutes before discovery day. Book a consultation when you know which county you mean, or call (919) 827-3921 and we will sort that out first.

How it works

Pick the market — A short call on capital, goals, and which South Carolina market you will actually operate in. The state is not the territory.
Match — Two to four brands whose labor and occupancy can live in that county. Not a national average with a new city name.
Decide — Item 19, Item 7, Item 20, then validation calls. You move at your own pace.

South Carolina FAQ

Is South Carolina one franchise market?: No. The state added people at a 1.5% clip, the fastest in the country that year. Berkeley County grew 19.5%. Mount Pleasant grew 4.9%. Hilton Head grew 1.4%. Bluffton grew 33%. Those are different businesses.
Where are new South Carolina residents moving from?: Census net domestic migration was 66,622 from July 2024 to July 2025. The 2024 origin list runs from North Carolina and New York through Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio. I do not have that split by town.
How is the Grand Strand different from the Upstate?: Horry County is up 21.8% and about 29.9% of residents are 65 or older. Myrtle Beach retail sales were $88,837 per person against a $60,394 median household income. Greenville County's median house is $299,000. Spartanburg County's is $233,300. Different labor, different rent.
Are Hilton Head and Bluffton the same territory?: No. Hilton Head is up 1.4%, with 39.2% of residents 65 or older and a $687,400 median house. Bluffton is up 33%, with median household income of $111,281. Same county. Different growth and a different labor pool.
What about Columbia, Charleston, and Mount Pleasant?: Columbia is estimated at 147,035, up 7.5%. Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Summerville, and Berkeley County are a cluster. For the Lowcountry, start with the Charleston and Mount Pleasant pages, then Item 19, Item 7, and Item 20.
How does a South Carolina search with you work?: A short call on capital and the market you will operate in, a short list of brands, then due diligence at your pace. I live in Mount Pleasant and work statewide. Book a consultation or call (919) 827-3921.
Does the state's business climate make every franchise easier?: Commerce lists a 5% corporate income tax and a deepwater port. That is the pitch to companies. Your deal still has to clear local rent, local labor, and the territory in the FDD.

Sources

Growth figures on this page come from pages I opened. Census percent changes are from each place's April 1, 2020 estimates base to the July 1, 2025 estimate, Vintage 2025, unless I name the decennial census. The state growth rate and the net domestic migration figure are from the Census Bureau's January 27, 2026 Vintage 2025 release. Department of Commerce figures are the department's own descriptions, not a second census.