This remarkable achievement highlights South Carolina GDP growth and was released on January 23, 2026, in the BEA’s quarterly state GDP report.

South Carolina’s economy grew faster than any other state’s over the past year, according to the most recent federal data on state-level output.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that South Carolina’s real GDP growth reached 3.5% from the third quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025 — the highest year-over-year growth rate of any state in the nation.

It is the strongest verified federal data point on the South Carolina economy in more than a decade, and it places the state ahead of every other competitor for the title of fastest-growing economy in the country.

Understanding the implications of South Carolina GDP growth is essential for local businesses and residents alike.

For Horry County readers, the headline number sits alongside a more complicated story — one of record statewide expansion, real local benefits, and household budgets that are not yet feeling the lift.

Understanding South Carolina GDP growth and its impact

## The headline number and the caveat

The BEA’s January release tracks state-level real GDP by comparing each state’s output to the same quarter one year earlier. **South Carolina’s 3.5% year-over-year expansion led the nation.**

The same report shows a different picture if the window is narrowed. Measured quarter to quarter — from the second quarter of 2025 to the third — South Carolina ranked 32nd in the country. Growth slowed in the most recent three-month window after a strong run earlier in the year.

Economists generally treat year-over-year figures as the more reliable signal because they smooth out single-quarter noise tied to weather, port activity, or one-time corporate moves. By that measure, South Carolina is the front-runner. By the shorter measure, the pace has cooled.

The BEA’s follow-up release on April 9, 2026, covering the full calendar year 2025, confirmed the broader trend. South Carolina’s real GDP grew 3.1% over the year, tied with Florida for the highest rate in the nation. The state’s 2025 GDP in current dollars reached $286.8 billion — the highest in South Carolina history.

## What drove South Carolina’s GDP growth

Five sectors account for roughly 70% of South Carolina’s year-over-year expansion, according to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce analysis of the BEA report. Three of the five carried most of the weight.

**Manufacturing led the way.** South Carolina’s manufacturing base has been built over two decades of recruiting major operations to the state — Boeing’s commercial aircraft work in Charleston, BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, Volvo’s vehicle assembly in Berkeley County, and Michelin’s tire production anchored in the upstate. Medical device makers and component suppliers have followed those anchors. The sector was the single largest contributor to the state’s growth in the period.

Real estate, rental and leasing came in second. The category captures residential and commercial property activity, equipment leasing, and related services — a sector tied directly to population growth and construction.

The information sector, which covers data services, telecommunications, publishing, and software, ranked third. Healthcare and social assistance, along with professional, scientific and technical services, also added to growth.

The sector pattern points to a broad-based expansion rather than one driven by a single industry. That makes the growth less vulnerable to a downturn in any one sector.

## What it means for Horry County

Two of the top growth drivers run directly through Horry County.

Real estate, rental and leasing is the engine of the Grand Strand economy. Coastal Carolina’s population growth, the steady arrival of retirees, the second-home market, and the tourist-rental sector all flow through this category. When the BEA reports that real estate is one of the state’s fastest-growing sectors, Horry County is one of the places where that growth is happening.

The Grand Strand remains one of South Carolina’s fastest-growing regions by population. New rooftops, new commercial construction, and rising property values are visible across Carolina Forest, Conway, North Myrtle Beach and the unincorporated stretches between them.

The tourism economy benefits indirectly from manufacturing strength elsewhere in the state. More South Carolina households with paychecks tied to growing employers in the upstate and the Lowcountry means more weekend trips to the beach, more shoulder-season bookings, and more spending at Horry County restaurants and attractions.

The local exposure cuts both ways. Tourism and hospitality jobs are a major share of Horry County employment, and many pay below the national average. The wage gap is the part of the growth story that does not show up in the BEA’s top-line ranking.

## The per-capita gap

The same BEA data that places South Carolina first in growth places the state 44th in real GDP per capita.

Real GDP per person in South Carolina in 2025 was approximately $51,500 — up 1.7% from 2024 but well below the national average. Forty-three other states produce more economic output per resident. That is the honest counterweight to the growth ranking.

South Carolina is growing fast from a lower base. A 3.5% year-over-year expansion on a smaller per-capita economy still puts the state at the front of the pack for growth, but it does not mean South Carolina residents are wealthier on a per-person basis than residents of states growing more slowly. Closing the gap requires sustained years of above-average growth — exactly what the recent BEA numbers suggest is now happening.

For Horry County, the per-capita gap is felt most clearly in service-sector wages. The growth ranking is real, and the investment pipeline is real, but the lift to household budgets is slower and more uneven than the headline number suggests.

## What residents are feeling

A Winthrop Poll released on May 28, 2026, found that roughly six in ten South Carolina residents rate the state’s economy as “fairly bad” or “very bad,” despite the federal data showing record growth.

The poll, conducted by Winthrop University and reported by Fox Carolina, documented widespread cost-of-living strain across the state. Respondents cited grocery prices, housing costs, insurance premiums and utility bills as the most-felt pressures on their finances.

The gap between the top-line GDP number and household experience is one of the central features of this economic moment. South Carolina’s output is rising. Its population is rising. Its capital investment is rising. But the cost of housing, food and insurance has risen alongside them, and for many households the gains have not yet outpaced the bills.

That gap is the story underneath the ranking. It does not erase the growth — but it explains why the news of a #1 ranking has not changed the mood at most kitchen tables.

## Population and investment context

The growth ranking arrives alongside two other measures pointing in the same direction.

The U.S. Census Bureau ranked South Carolina as the nation’s fastest-growing state from July 2024 to July 2025, with population up roughly 1.5% — an increase of approximately 80,000 residents in a single year. No other state grew its population at a faster rate over that period.

The South Carolina Department of Commerce reported $9.12 billion in announced capital investment and more than 8,100 announced new jobs from recruited projects in 2025. The department called it the third-highest year on record for industry recruitment in the state.

Population growth, capital investment and economic output are reinforcing each other. New residents bring demand. New plants bring jobs. Higher output supports higher state tax receipts. The pattern is the same one that has driven South Carolina’s rise up the regional growth tables since the late 2010s.

## The 2026 outlook

TD Economics forecasts South Carolina real GDP growth at 2.5% in 2026 — described in the firm’s state forecast as “one of the better showings in the region,” though slower than 2025’s record pace.

The forecast notes some softening in late 2025 in trade-exposed sectors, with tariff uncertainty cited as a factor in manufacturer planning. The Commerce Department’s investment pipeline — including expansions tied to existing employers like Boeing and BMW, plus several announced megaprojects — provides a counterweight on the upside.

The BEA’s next quarterly state GDP release, scheduled for later in 2026, will offer the first read on whether the year-over-year growth lead has held. Readers can watch for the report, along with updates from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, to see whether the gap between top-line growth and household experience starts to close.

## Further Reading

South Carolina GDP growth – U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Gross Domestic Product by State and Personal Income by State, 3rd Quarter 2025 (released January 23, 2026)

South Carolina GDP growth – U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — GDP (Third Estimate), Industries, Corporate Profits, State GDP, and State Personal Income, 4th Quarter and Year 2025 (released April 9, 2026)

South Carolina GDP growth – SC Department of Employment and Workforce — Quarter Three, 2025: South Carolina Outpaces Neighbors in Year-Over-Year GDP and Personal Income Growth (February 18, 2026)

South Carolina GDP growth – SC Department of Commerce — State Economy / Economic Outlook

South Carolina GDP growth – U.S. Census Bureau — 2024-2025 state population estimates

South Carolina GDP growth – Business Stats / BEA — U.S. Real GDP Growth by State 2026: Florida and South Carolina Lead at 3.1%

South Carolina GDP growth – Live5 News — South Carolina reports record rural economic development in 2025 (January 15, 2026)

South Carolina GDP growth – FITSNews — South Carolina Income Levels Gained Modest Ground in 2024 (April 18, 2026)

South Carolina GDP growth – Fox Carolina — Pushed to the brink: New poll shows widespread cost of living strain in SC (May 28, 2026 Winthrop Poll)

South Carolina GDP growth – TD Economics — State Economic Forecast

South Carolina GDP growth – Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond — South Carolina Economic Snapshot

South Carolina GDP growth – St. Louis Fed FRED — Gross Domestic Product: All Industry Total in South Carolina (SCNGSP)