ExecutivePulse
Official Federal Data

Sumter County, South Carolina

FIPS 45085 · Sumter, SC · Population 104,725
9 Sources Updated June 22, 2026
$56,693
Median Income
$80,734 national
5.4%
Unemployment
4% national
$6.3B
GDP
23.5%
Bachelor's+
35.7% national

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$56,693
Per Capita
$30,466
Mean Household
$74,835
Poverty Rate
16.6%
Median Income Comparison
Sumter County$56,693
South Carolina$69,324
National$80,734

Population Profile

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
65+: 17.8% (18,606 residents) 55-64: 12.5% (13,070 residents) 35-54: 22.5% (23,559 residents) 18-34: 23.6% (24,667 residents) Under 18: 23.7% (24,823 residents) 38 Median Age
Cohorts
Under 18 · 23.7%
18-34 · 23.6%
35-54 · 22.5%
55-64 · 12.5%
65+ · 17.8%
Race & Ethnicity
White44.9%
Black or African American46%
Asian1.5%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)4.4%
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
89.6%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +0.0 pts
23.5%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 12.2 pts
8.9%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 5.2 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
104,725
Population
48,483
Labor Force
Employed
41,224
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
5.4% ▲ +0.3 pts YoY
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
4.5%
Key Takeaways
  • Income gap: Households earn meaningfully less than the national median, which directly affects retail demand, housing absorption, and tax base.
  • Elevated poverty: At 16.6%, the rate is in economically distressed territory and supports federal funding narratives (CDFI, NMTC, EDA).
  • Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 12.2 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$6.3B
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP1 Regional GDP

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual
Top industries by employment in Sumter County, South Carolina, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top 10Avg Wage
1Manufacturing
5,972 23.9%
$66,808
2Health Care and Social Assistance
5,495 22.0%
$55,551
3Retail Trade
4,076 16.3%
$32,417
4Accommodation and Food Services
3,380 13.5%
$20,357
5Administrative and Support and Waste Management
1,877 7.5%
$41,898
6Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
1,050 4.2%
$75,265
7Other Services (except Public Administration)
986 3.9%
$49,506
8Finance and Insurance
824 3.3%
$94,089
9Wholesale Trade
786 3.1%
$76,281
10Educational Services
545 2.2%
$40,588
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Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 5,972 workers (23.9% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $66,808.
  • Economic scale: Regional GDP of $6.3B (2024).
  • Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $94,089 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $20,357, a 4.6x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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EP customers get year-over-year deltas, WARN notices, and SEC filings for every sector tracked above, surfaced as proactive alerts, not after-the-fact news.

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Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Location Quotient Analysis

Concentrated Industries
Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · Location Quotient vs. national employment share
Same source as the Top Industries table above, sub-sector view surfaces the specialization the supersector view masks (e.g., Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing inside the Manufacturing supersector).
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
4.80x
1,287
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
2.93x
274
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
2.16x
696
1.72x
8,803
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
1.51x
359

Cluster Depth

Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Goods-Producing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
8,803
Cluster Employment
1.72x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
4.80x 1,287
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
2.93x 274
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
2.16x 696
1.72x 8,803
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
1.51x 359

Attraction Opportunities

LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.13x
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
64 employed
0.17x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
68 employed
0.32x
Real Estate
132 employed
0.38x
Management of Companies and Enterprises
227 employed
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction concentrates at 4.80x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
  • Cluster depth: 5 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
  • Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Sumter County's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of total private-sector employment across all NAICS supersectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$165,300
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,057
Rent/Mo
68.1%
Owner-Occ
13.7%
Vacancy
2.9x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents

Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$880/mo
1 Bedroom
$972/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,276/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,530/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,871/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$1,417/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
  • Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.9x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
  • Elevated vacancy: 13.7% vacancy rate. In resort, rural, and seasonal markets much of this is recreational/seasonal (second homes), not available supply; confirm the vacancy-by-reason split before treating it as a redevelopment opportunity.
  • Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$1,417/mo).
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
61,296
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.0 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
4.5%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
67%
of prime-age population
Labor force participation rate: 60.7% of working-age population (18-64) 61% Participation
▼ vs 2019

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
23.5%
HS Diploma+
89.6%
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
26,825/yr
University of South Carolina-Columbia 10,045/yr
Clemson University 7,469/yr
Trident Technical College 2,581/yr
College of Charleston 2,410/yr
Coastal Carolina University 2,195/yr
Greenville Technical College 2,125/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
21.3%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
32.8%
Service
18.6%
Sales & Office
21.3%
Construction / Maint.
9.5%
Production / Transport
17.8%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 41,224 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
  • Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 20,095 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.

AI Insights

AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources

Sample AI Insight

Sumter County shows meaningful potential for heavy and civil engineering construction attraction, with a 4.80x concentration and 1,287 jobs in this sub-sector.

The interconnected base across heavy and civil engineering construction, nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing, and fabricated metal product manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
Illustrative example

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Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Sumter County, South Carolina, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Sumter County, South Carolina?

104,725 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Sumter County, South Carolina?

$56,693 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Sumter County, South Carolina?

5.4% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of Sumter County, South Carolina?

$6.3B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).