Market rankings · South Carolina
Clothing and shoe stores in South Carolina
Markets across South Carolina ranked by the Groundwork market score for clothing and shoe stores, with competitor counts and household spending for each.
- Listings
- 3,673
- 1,512 chain locations (41%)
- Official establishments
- 1,938
- −7.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $3.9B
- On clothing, shoes and related services
- Listings per 10k households
- 17.3
- 7% above the U.S.
- Spending per listing
- $1.1M
- 17% below the U.S.
- Rank among states
- #43 of 51
- Market score 34 · Lower middle
A site report maps the clothing and shoe stores on map listings around any address in South Carolina by name and distance, and the spending within reach.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
As of September 2026, map listings count 3,673 clothing and shoe stores in South Carolina. Of those, 1,512 are chain locations, or 41%, against 44% across the U.S. That is 17.3 per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 16.2.
At $1,838 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in South Carolina spend about $3.9B a year on clothing, shoes and related services. Spread across 3,673 clothing and shoe stores, that is $1.1M per store, 17% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. That spending covers all clothing, shoes and related services, which clothing and shoe stores share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in South Carolina was 1,938 in 2023, down 7.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,093 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count fell 12.2% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 36 SBA-backed loans worth $10.4M have gone to businesses classed as clothing and shoe stores in South Carolina.
Among the 50 states and DC, South Carolina ranks #43 for clothing and shoe stores, with a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle). Of the 10 scored metro areas in or partly in South Carolina, the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area scores highest (59). Of the 6 scored small-town markets in or partly in South Carolina, the Seneca area scores highest (75).
Every market in South Carolina for clothing and shoe stores
Download the ranking (CSV)Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in South Carolina, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.
Metro areas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 59 | 1,734 | 16.1 | $1.3M | +10.1% | #142 of 387 |
| 1Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 56 | 568 | 14.8 | $1.3M | +9.0% | #169 of 387 |
| 2Spartanburg, SC | 55 | 214 | 14.9 | $1.2M | +14.3% | #176 of 387 |
| 3Columbia, SC | 46 | 534 | 15.7 | $1.2M | +6.0% | #230 of 387 |
| 4Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 42 | 738 | 22.0 | $927K | +10.7% | #258 of 387 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 39 | 424 | 18.3 | $1M | +4.7% | #274 of 387 |
| 5Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 38 | 241 | 25.2 | $810K | +12.0% | #283 of 387 |
| 6Sumter, SC | 27 | 62 | 15.1 | $1.1M | −0.3% | #329 of 387 |
| 7Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 25 | 457 | 28.8 | $612K | +20.9% | #343 of 387 |
| 8Florence, SC | 13 | 181 | 23.1 | $726K | +0.9% | #377 of 387 |
Small-town markets
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Seneca, SC | 75 | 31 | 9.0 | $2M | +6.3% | #62 of 536 |
| 2Newberry, SC | 63 | 18 | 11.7 | $1.4M | +4.8% | #160 of 536 |
| 3Greenwood, SC | 40 | 57 | 15.1 | $1.1M | +1.7% | #356 of 536 |
| 4Murrells Inlet, SC | 39 | 63 | 23.2 | $801K | +3.8% | #373 of 536 |
| 5Orangeburg, SC | 29 | 55 | 16.6 | $928K | −0.9% | #450 of 536 |
| 6Gaffney, SC | 22 | 57 | 25.8 | $605K | +3.7% | #498 of 536 |
Counties
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dorchester County, SC | 88 | 42 | 6.6 | $2.9M | +10.1% | #43 of 2,087 |
| 2Berkeley County, SC | 84 | 70 | 7.5 | $2.6M | +18.7% | #93 of 2,087 |
| 3Jasper County, SC | 83 | 7 | 5.3 | $3.3M | +32.2% | #106 of 2,087 |
| 4Lancaster County, SC | 83 | 27 | 6.7 | $2.9M | +18.3% | #111 of 2,087 |
| 5York County, SC | 80 | 116 | 10.2 | $2M | +8.1% | #162 of 2,087 |
| 6Kershaw County, SC | 74 | 27 | 10.0 | $1.8M | +11.6% | #270 of 2,087 |
| 7Laurens County, SC | 70 | 20 | 7.4 | $2.2M | +6.2% | #379 of 2,087 |
| 8Oconee County, SC | 69 | 31 | 9.0 | $2M | +6.3% | #408 of 2,087 |
| 9Edgefield County, SC | 65 | 11 | 11.3 | $1.6M | +16.1% | #535 of 2,087 |
| 10Pickens County, SC | 61 | 58 | 11.1 | $1.6M | +5.7% | #655 of 2,087 |
| 11Abbeville County, SC | 59 | 10 | 10.2 | $1.7M | +2.3% | #714 of 2,087 |
| 12Chesterfield County, SC | 57 | 19 | 10.8 | $1.4M | +3.4% | #794 of 2,087 |
| 13Newberry County, SC | 57 | 18 | 11.7 | $1.4M | +4.8% | #796 of 2,087 |
| 14Aiken County, SC | 56 | 99 | 14.2 | $1.3M | +7.3% | #836 of 2,087 |
| 15Chester County, SC | 55 | 11 | 8.4 | $1.9M | +2.2% | #846 of 2,087 |
| 16Anderson County, SC | 55 | 107 | 12.8 | $1.4M | +7.7% | #868 of 2,087 |
| 17Clarendon County, SC | 51 | 13 | 10.5 | $1.5M | +0.7% | #1,011 of 2,087 |
| 18Colleton County, SC | 51 | 18 | 11.0 | $1.5M | +2.2% | #1,012 of 2,087 |
| 19Spartanburg County, SC | 51 | 202 | 15.3 | $1.1M | +15.6% | #1,025 of 2,087 |
| 20Lexington County, SC | 50 | 173 | 14.2 | $1.3M | +7.7% | #1,052 of 2,087 |
| 21Greenville County, SC | 50 | 383 | 17.4 | $1.1M | +10.6% | #1,066 of 2,087 |
| 22Fairfield County, SC | 46 | 6 | 6.7 | $2.4M | −2.6% | #1,172 of 2,087 |
| 23Dillon County, SC | 42 | 11 | 10.2 | $1.5M | −2.9% | #1,323 of 2,087 |
| 24Richland County, SC | 40 | 322 | 19.2 | $946K | +4.6% | #1,411 of 2,087 |
| 25Beaufort County, SC | 39 | 234 | 28.4 | $737K | +8.9% | #1,456 of 2,087 |
Show all 46 counties
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26Darlington County, SC | 38 | 36 | 14.1 | $1.2M | +0.1% | #1,473 of 2,087 |
| 27Charleston County, SC | 36 | 626 | 35.0 | $609K | +6.4% | #1,557 of 2,087 |
| 28Barnwell County, SC | 35 | 11 | 13.6 | $1.1M | +0.4% | #1,565 of 2,087 |
| 29Marlboro County, SC | 32 | 8 | 8.2 | $1.7M | −3.8% | #1,640 of 2,087 |
| 30Georgetown County, SC | 31 | 63 | 23.2 | $801K | +3.8% | #1,686 of 2,087 |
| 31Union County, SC | 30 | 12 | 10.3 | $1.4M | −1.4% | #1,700 of 2,087 |
| 32Sumter County, SC | 30 | 62 | 15.1 | $1.1M | −0.3% | #1,708 of 2,087 |
| 33Horry County, SC | 30 | 457 | 28.8 | $612K | +20.9% | #1,730 of 2,087 |
| 34Greenwood County, SC | 27 | 47 | 16.9 | $958K | +1.5% | #1,792 of 2,087 |
| 35Orangeburg County, SC | 26 | 55 | 16.6 | $928K | −0.9% | #1,809 of 2,087 |
| 36Marion County, SC | 26 | 20 | 16.4 | $861K | −2.9% | #1,814 of 2,087 |
| 37Williamsburg County, SC | 22 | 14 | 11.4 | $1.3M | −4.0% | #1,898 of 2,087 |
| 38Hampton County, SC | 21 | 9 | 12.5 | $1.2M | −1.9% | #1,917 of 2,087 |
| 39Florence County, SC | 19 | 145 | 27.4 | $620K | +1.2% | #1,968 of 2,087 |
| 40Cherokee County, SC | 19 | 57 | 25.8 | $605K | +3.7% | #1,969 of 2,087 |
| Saluda County, SC | Not scored | 4 | 5.2 | $3.1M | +4.1% | |
| Lee County, SC | Not scored | 4 | 6.3 | $2.3M | −5.0% | |
| Calhoun County, SC | Not scored | 2 | 3.2 | $5.2M | +0.6% | |
| Bamberg County, SC | Not scored | 1 | 2.2 | $6.8M | −3.5% | |
| McCormick County, SC | Not scored | 2 | 4.8 | $3.3M | +7.3% | |
| Allendale County, SC | Not scored | 3 | 9.3 | $1.6M | −7.4% |
Markets with fewer than 5 clothing and shoe stores on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.
Questions
How many clothing and shoe stores are in South Carolina?
South Carolina has 3,673 clothing and shoe stores on map listings as of September 2026. 1,512 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count clothing, shoe and accessory stores and boutiques. Official counts show 1,938 businesses with payroll classed as clothing and shoe stores in 2023, down 7.5% from 2019. Another 3,785 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in South Carolina spend on clothing, shoes and related services?
About $3.9B a year, or $1,838 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3,673 clothing and shoe stores on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per store. The spending figure covers all clothing, shoes and related services, not only clothing and shoe stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,117,989 households in South Carolina and national spending patterns by income.
How does South Carolina compare with the U.S. for clothing and shoe stores?
South Carolina has 17.3 clothing and shoe stores per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 16.2. Spending per store is $1.1M, 17% below the U.S. figure of $1.3M. At the national ratio of clothing and shoe stores to household spending, South Carolina would have about 3,065, against 3,673 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,093 households, against one for every 1,273 across the U.S. The official count fell 7.5% from 2019 to 2023, against −12.2% for the U.S.
Which market in South Carolina has the highest market score for clothing and shoe stores?
Among 10 scored metro areas in or partly in South Carolina, the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro area scores highest, at 59 (upper middle). Among 6 scored small-town markets in or partly in South Carolina, the Seneca area scores highest, at 75 (high). Among 40 scored counties in South Carolina, Dorchester County scores highest, at 88 (high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. South Carolina scores 34 for clothing and shoe stores (lower middle), #43 of the 50 states and DC.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in South Carolina. It maps the clothing and shoe stores on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
Clothing and shoe stores in other states
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Top markets for clothing and shoe stores across the U.S. · All business types in South Carolina
Related business types in South Carolina
- Clothing, shoes and laundry4,864 listings
- Laundromats247 listings
- Dry cleaners261 listings
Screening a site or an acquisition in South Carolina?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.