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South Carolina Economy: GDP, Income and Employment

South Carolina produced $378.4 billion in current-dollar GDP in 2025, 1.23% of the published U.S. total. Its real output changed 3.31% from 2024.

Gross domestic product

$378.4 billion

2025 · Current dollars · BEA SAGDP1 line 3
$378,383.0 million. Published September 30, 2026.

Real GDP growth

3.31%

2025 vs. 2024 · Annual change
Calculated from BEA SAGDP1 line 1, chained 2017 dollars.

Unemployment rate

4.1%

August 2026 · Seasonally adjusted · Preliminary
BLS LAUS · Published September 18, 2026.

Payroll job growth

1.62%

August 2026 vs. August 2025 · Seasonally adjusted
BLS state CES · 2,426.3 thousand nonfarm jobs.

Personal income per capita

$63,435

2025 · Dollars per resident · BEA SAINC1 line 3
Before personal current taxes. Published September 30, 2026.

Regional price level

93.749

2024 · U.S. = 100 · BEA all-items RPP
Published February 19, 2026. This measures price levels, not inflation.

South Carolina compared with the United States

Annual real GDP growth was 0.96 percentage points above the U.S. annual growth rate in 2025. Personal income per resident was $13,593 below the U.S. value of $77,028 in the same year. These comparisons use national observations from the same regional producer files.

The August unemployment rate was 0.0 percentage points above the national 4.1% reading. That numerical difference is not a statistical-significance claim. The 2024 price parity was 6.3% below the national benchmark. Household circumstances and local housing markets can differ from these state averages.

Where South Carolina ranks among states

GDP and income history

Current-dollar output rose 68.2% between 2017 and 2025 in this acquired history. That figure includes price change and is separate from real output growth. The chart uses the published price-adjusted total; chained-dollar industry components are not added together.

South Carolina real GDP, 2017–2025 — Millions of chained 2017 dollars 217.5K256K294.6K 20172025 South Carolina real GDP, 2017–2025 — Millions of chained 2017 dollars 217.5K256K294.6K 20172025
South Carolina annual accounts and spatial prices · acquired September 30, 2026
YearNominal GDP, $ millionsReal GDP, chained 2017 $ millionsIncome per resident, $All-items price parity
2025378,383.0287,155.563,435Not published
2024356,567.9277,958.460,72493.749
2023331,227.4264,958.257,81593.477
2022303,397.5255,597.354,55893.342
2021270,261.8244,078.353,41593.610
2020248,301.6232,674.348,77990.873
2019249,575.1239,007.346,16591.490
2018236,561.7231,654.043,83192.244
2017224,937.6224,937.642,39992.840

Missing 2025 price parities mean that year was not published in the acquired file. They are not treated as zero or estimated from another year.

Employment and unemployment history

Unemployment describes eligible resident jobseekers as a share of the civilian labor force. Payroll employment describes jobs at establishments in South Carolina. A commuter can live in another state; a person with multiple covered jobs can contribute multiple payroll jobs. Neither series substitutes for the other.

South Carolina unemployment rate, 2017–2026 — Percent of civilian labor force; seasonally adjusted 1.37.112.8 2017-012026-08 South Carolina unemployment rate, 2017–2026 — Percent of civilian labor force; seasonally adjusted 1.37.112.8 2017-012026-08

Scroll within the monthly table to read earlier observations; on narrow screens, scroll sideways for every column.

Monthly unemployment and payroll table
BLS state series · seasonally adjusted · payroll levels in thousands of jobs
MonthUnemployment, %Payroll jobs, thousandsUnemployment status
August 20264.12,426.3Preliminary
July 20264.22,415.5Published
June 20264.42,409.8Published
May 20264.62,405.0Published
April 20264.82,403.5Published
March 20264.92,399.7Published
February 20265.02,397.2Published
January 20264.92,403.2Published
December 20254.82,400.1Published
November 20254.82,398.1Published
October 2025Not published2,395.3Not published
September 20254.72,386.1Published
August 20254.62,387.7Published
July 20254.42,382.4Published
June 20254.42,386.3Published
May 20254.32,385.9Published
April 20254.22,383.5Published
March 20254.22,387.0Published
February 20254.12,377.9Published
January 20254.12,374.0Published
December 20244.22,373.6Published
November 20244.32,370.8Published
October 20244.42,367.2Published
September 20244.52,369.0Published
August 20244.52,357.9Published
July 20244.42,353.0Published
June 20244.32,358.6Published
May 20244.12,351.9Published
April 20243.92,350.9Published
March 20243.72,344.2Published
February 20243.62,341.0Published
January 20243.42,335.1Published
December 20233.32,337.8Published
November 20233.22,334.6Published
October 20233.02,330.7Published
September 20232.92,327.0Published
August 20232.82,320.3Published
July 20232.82,313.3Published
June 20232.82,306.2Published
May 20232.82,298.0Published
April 20232.92,292.4Published
March 20233.02,295.5Published
February 20233.02,290.0Published
January 20233.12,287.7Published
December 20223.12,274.1Published
November 20223.22,270.5Published
October 20223.22,269.9Published
September 20223.22,267.5Published
August 20223.22,258.9Published
July 20223.22,257.5Published
June 20223.22,240.4Published
May 20223.22,240.2Published
April 20223.22,235.1Published
March 20223.22,220.9Published
February 20223.22,224.0Published
January 20223.32,204.1Published
December 20213.32,200.1Published
November 20213.42,193.1Published
October 20213.52,187.1Published
September 20213.62,166.5Published
August 20213.82,164.9Published
July 20213.92,162.7Published
June 20214.02,144.3Published
May 20214.12,142.7Published
April 20214.22,136.6Published
March 20214.32,135.3Published
February 20214.52,129.7Published
January 20214.62,125.9Published
December 20204.92,125.4Published
November 20205.12,116.5Published
October 20205.32,104.0Published
September 20205.82,088.7Published
August 20206.22,075.3Published
July 20207.12,038.7Published
June 20207.82,032.5Published
May 20209.31,961.4Published
April 202011.71,894.3Published
March 20203.12,186.2Published
February 20202.92,195.1Published
January 20202.82,200.6Published
December 20192.62,200.7Published
November 20192.52,200.8Published
October 20192.42,199.9Published
September 20192.42,203.7Published
August 20192.52,200.9Published
July 20192.62,197.4Published
June 20192.72,195.6Published
May 20192.92,193.1Published
April 20193.12,189.2Published
March 20193.12,180.2Published
February 20193.22,175.1Published
January 20193.22,173.8Published
December 20183.22,169.1Published
November 20183.22,170.9Published
October 20183.32,166.7Published
September 20183.32,156.4Published
August 20183.32,162.2Published
July 20183.32,159.9Published
June 20183.22,163.7Published
May 20183.22,158.2Published
April 20183.32,155.0Published
March 20183.52,147.7Published
February 20183.72,144.8Published
January 20183.92,138.8Published
December 20174.02,117.2Published
November 20174.22,114.4Published
October 20174.22,111.1Published
September 20174.22,100.7Published
August 20174.22,101.2Published
July 20174.22,103.5Published
June 20174.12,099.2Published
May 20174.12,094.0Published
April 20174.22,089.2Published
March 20174.22,092.8Published
February 20174.32,086.2Published
January 20174.42,081.5Published

Largest published industries in South Carolina

The table orders non-overlapping broad sectors by their 2025 current-dollar GDP in BEA SAGDP2. These shares describe production structure; they do not establish the sectors responsible for the most recent real growth. Suppressed or unavailable cells are omitted rather than reconstructed.

South Carolina largest acquired broad industries · 2025 · current dollars
IndustryProducer classificationOutput, $ millionsShare of state GDP
Real estate and rental and leasing5359,045.315.60%
Government and government enterprises9248,856.412.91%
Manufacturing31-3348,670.312.86%
Retail trade44-4528,013.67.40%
Wholesale trade4227,644.17.31%

Real estate and rental and leasing is the largest of the acquired broad sectors, at 15.6% of total nominal output. The next sectors are Government and government enterprises and Manufacturing. The original industry classification and table line remain in the JSON download; no occupational wage or employment estimate is inferred from an output share.

Compare economies of a similar nominal size

The three states nearest South Carolina in 2025 nominal GDP are Connecticut, Oregon, Louisiana. These peers are selected by the absolute difference in total GDP, not by neighboring borders, household income, industry similarity or policy. Use the separate rankings to compare other dimensions.

Sources, downloads and geographic coverage

BEA state accounts: SAGDP1, SAINC1 and SARPP. BLS unemployment code: LASST450000000000003; payroll code: SMS45000000000000001. Geography: South Carolina, state FIPS 45; BEA area code 45000. Industry output uses the 2017 NAICS classification in SAGDP2. Original codes are text and must retain leading zeroes.

Source-file dates: GDP/income September 30, 2026; prices February 19, 2026; state labor September 18, 2026. Snapshot: regional-2026-09-30-reviewed. Estimates are revisable. This archive preserves the acquired figures and does not reproduce earlier published vintages. County or metro values are not inferred from this state profile.

Download state histories CSV · Dictionary and source checksums · BEA state GDP · BLS local unemployment · Compare regional purchasing power.

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