According to new figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, South Carolina has claimed the title of the fastest-growing state in the United States. The state’s population rose by 1.5% from July 2024 to July 2025, surpassing all others in the country. Officials attribute this growth largely to an influx of domestic migrants, with many Americans opting for South Carolina’s appealing climate, economy, and cost of living.
“From July 2024 to July 2025, South Carolina gained 66,622 domestic migrants,” reported the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW). This means that many more people moved into the state than left it.
Interestingly, while the state has maintained steady growth over the past five years, DEW noted that the largest annual increase happened between July 2022 and July 2023, when the state saw more than 100,000 new arrivals.
However, growth isn’t evenly spread. Over 80% of the population increase since the 2020 Census has occurred in only ten counties: Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Lancaster, Lexington, Greenville, Horry, Richland, Spartanburg, and York.
Economists suggest that a robust and diverse economy is a significant factor attracting residents. The rapidly expanding healthcare and technology sectors in cities like Columbia and Greenville have turned the state into an attractive option for those looking for opportunities away from traditionally expensive coastal areas.
South Carolina’s growth mirrors a broader national trend where taxpayers are moving away from states with high taxes and costs. Mark Wilson, president and CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, recently remarked that the Sunshine State continues to attract significant wealth, pulling in over $4 million every hour.
Wilson noted, “States like New York, Illinois, and California are losing over $1 million each hour in revenue,” referring to the financial drain from Democratic-led states as resembling a “death spiral.”
Recent data from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) has illuminated this trend. Their analysis, which draws from IRS tax return information beginning in 2022, indicates that Texas and Florida remain popular destinations. At the same time, migration from high-tax states to more tax-friendly ones like North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee continues to gain momentum.
“As states diverge on tax policy, our ‘laboratories of democracy’ are undertaking distinctly different experiments,” said Andrew Wilford, director of national policy at NTUF. He believes that the IRS migration data provides honest feedback from taxpayers.
