South Carolina claims nation’s fastest population growth amid migration surge
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South Carolina is officially the fastest-growing state in the country, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Between July 2024 and July 2025, the Palmetto State’s population increased by 1.5%, outpacing every other state in the country. State officials attribute this rapid expansion primarily to a large influx of domestic migration; Americans are choosing to abandon other states in favor of South Carolina’s climate, economy and cost of living.
“From July 2024 through July 2025, South Carolina netted 66,622 domestic immigrants, meaning more people moved into the state than from out of state,” according to a report from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW).
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(Charleston, South Carolina)
While the state has seen consistent growth over the past five years, DEW noted that the most significant single-year increase occurred between July 2022 and July 2023, when the state added more than 100,000 new residents.
Despite the statewide boom, growth remains highly concentrated. Research shows that more than 80% of South Carolina’s population growth since the 2020 Census has occurred in just 10 counties: Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Lancaster, Lexington, Greenville, Horry, Richland, Spartanburg and York.
Economists point to a strong, diversified economy as a significant advantage. Rapidly expanding healthcare and technology sectors in urban centers like Columbia and Greenville have made the state a prime destination for workers seeking opportunities outside of traditional high-cost coastal powerhouses.
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The South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina on May 16, 2023. (LOGAN CYRUS/AFP via Getty Images)
South Carolina’s growth reflects a broader national trend in which taxpayers are increasingly fleeing high-tax, high-cost states.
Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson recently he told FOX Business. The Sunshine State continues to lead the nation in “income migration,” generating over $4 million in wealth every hour.
“States like New York, Illinois and California are losing more than $1 million an hour in revenue,” Wilson told FOX Business, describing the financial exodus from Democratic-led states as a “death spiral.”
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President and CEO Mark Wilson recently told FOX Business that the Sunshine State “leads the country by a mile” [in income migration]“States like New York, Illinois and California are losing more than $1 million an hour in revenue,” Wilson said in an interview with FOX Business. (Nikolas Lanum/Fox News Digital)
new data launched This trend is underscored by a National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) study this month that analyzed the latest available IRS tax return information for 2022. The research found that Texas and Florida remain priority targets, but the overall shift of residents from high-tax states to more tax-friendly environments, including North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, shows no signs of slowing.
“As states continue to diverge on tax policy, our ‘democracy laboratories’ are increasingly conducting noticeably different experiments,” said NTUF Director of State Policy Andrew Wilford. “IRS migration data is one of the most direct and honest forms of feedback taxpayers can receive.”
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