County profile
Dorchester County, SC
United States · GDP 2024
#603 of 3,127 US counties by GDPtop-quartile growthmore diversified than 80% of counties
EA Place Score
——methodology in progress
GDP 2024 (USD)
$6.7B
BEA · 2024
GDP growth (YoY)
+9.1%
BEA · 2024
Jobs tracked
33,506
Census CBP · 2023
Employers
2,861
Census CBP · 2023
Avg. wage
$51.1k
BLS QCEW · 2023
Population
178,397
Census PEP · 2025
Labor, income & education
Unemployment
3.9%
Median HH income
$78.2k±$3.0k
Bachelor's degree+
29.8%±1.5%
Poverty rate
11.4%±1.3%
Business applications
3,042 · 2025
Retail establishments
351
20.1/10k pop
Public companies headquartered here
SEC EDGAR · FMPCompanySectorRevenueEA
No public companies loaded for this state yet — universe expands with the full ingest.
HQ-based placement with total (global) headcount — local employment attribution needs firmographic data; the industry mix at right is measured county data (CBP).
Industry mix · employment
Retail trade23%
Manufacturing22%
Food & accommodation20%
Health care18%
Professional services9%
Construction9%
share of top-6 sector employment · CBP 2023
Population & migration
Census PEP · 2020–2025
178,397
residents · 2025 · +10.1% since 2020
Income per capita $54.7k · BEA 2024
COMPONENTS OF CHANGE · 2021–2025
Domestic migration+11,843
International migration+2,160
Natural change+2,157
GDP trend
2019–2024 · nominal
$4.2B2019
$4.3B2020
$4.7B2021
$5.5B2022
$6.1B2023
$6.7B2024
Real estate & risk
FHFA · ACS · FEMA
Median home value
$329.3k±$5.5k
Median gross rent
$1.5k/mo±$48/mo
Vacancy rate
6.9%±0.8%
Affordability
6.4× wages
Residential permits
$603.3M
1,596 units · 8.9/1k pop
FEMA risk score
93.7
HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR):$1.8k/mo · 2026
TOP PERILS · FEMA NRI
Earthquake 98Hurricane 98Ice storm 83
FHFA HOUSE PRICE INDEX · 2016–2025
4132016
4362017
4802018
5122019
5252020
5932021
7102022
7712023
8222024
8372025
RESIDENTIAL PERMITS · 2021–2025
↑ 23% since 20211,2982021
1,7022022
1,1112023
1,1922024
1,5962025
Transport access
BTS · FAA · USACE
Nearest interstate
10.1 km
I-26
Nearest freight rail
6.0 km
NS
Nearest port
34.8 km
Port of Charleston, SC
Nearest commercial airport
39.4 km
CHARLESTON AFB/INTL
Wage trend
BLS QCEW · 2019–2023$51.1k
avg. annual pay · +30% since 2019
Similar US counties
nearest by GDPNearby & same-state counties
by GDP rankThe read
What is the GDP of Dorchester?
Dorchester's economy produced $6.7B in 2024, growing 9.1% year over year — faster than most US counties. Its largest employment sector is retail trade.
GDP: BEA (2024), USD-normalized · Jobs/employers/wages & industry mix: Census CBP (2023) · Population & migration: Census PEP · Income: BEA CAINC1 · Companies: SEC EDGAR + FMP, by HQ.