South Carolina's Economic Engine

[The_sandlapper]

Okay there has been a lot of speculation as too who is the economic engine in SC, and frankly I can only put up with soo much. Well I did a bit of research and found out pretty much what we already know that certain areas of the state lead in different industries but the county with the majority of top industries has been overlooked. But then again to those residents who actually live or grew up there it will probablly come as no surprise. Can we guess who? Keep in mind that even though this county leads the state in the numer of top industries the number it leads by is still a very small margin. Which once again proves that in SC we are still spliting hairs and crying over spilled milk, ("we are the good sandlappers, yes were the good sandlappers")! Anyway these are actual census numbers so if anyone has a problem with it they can take it up with them

I'll post more later just wanted to do this so I wouldn't forget.

Pick your poison! Could it be?

York

Greenville

Horry

Charleston

Richland

Spartanburg

Anderson

Lexington

Dorchester

Beaufort???????????????

[krazeeboi]

Hey, my county tops the list! Nothing like that good ol' Charlotte economic spillover.

No question about Beaufort. In those POLICOM economic rankings we were discussing, the Beaufort-Hilton Head micropolitan area has the 2nd strongest economy of micropolitan areas nationwide.

[The_sandlapper]

York, doesn't exactlly top the list. These are just random counties listed not in any particular order. But I still say that some may be surprised!

[g-man430]

Tough choices but i'll have to go with Greenville because of ICAR, BMW, Michelin, etc. Richland and Charleston are pretty good candidates too though.

[krazeeboi]

Oh, those are CHOICES....I gotcha. But York does get substantial economic spillover from Charlotte, with the effects mostly felt in the Ft. Mill area. Western York is still pretty rural and economically depressed, however.

Well, what I will say is that, from what I can remember, in just about every economic ranking I've seen, Columbia has ranked the highest among all of the state's metro areas; the only exception I can think of is Forbes' latest list. As a matter of fact, in the book Cities Ranked and Rated, Columbia is the first SC city listed as "Best Place to Live" at #50.

[Spartan]

I'll remind g-man that BMW is in Spartanburg County, so its contribution would be counted there. Michelin has operations in Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Lexington, and one other county that escapes me. While the HQ counts for a lot, there other operations have to count for something.

I am going to say Spartanburg County is the one that has been over looked. Besides the fact that we are overlooked on a daily basis, we do have quite a few companies that have their HQ or some other operation in the county.

The "majority of top industries" is what intrigues me. So how long do you plan to make us suffer for the answer?

[upstate29650]

Knowing Sandlapper, it's gotta be Richaland!

Then again, what is the basis being used to classify a business as a "top industry"?

[Charleston native]

Knowing Sandlapper, it's gotta be Richland!

I was thinking the exact same thing! Well, I vote for Chas or Greenville, maybe even Horry, but I just know he's going to say Richland!

[Spartan]

Horry County could be the #1 economic engine in terms of raw dollars. But thats 95% tourism. This specifically says "a majority of top industries."

[goodbye]

It would most likely be one of the two Upstate counties (Greenville, Spartanburg), Horry or Charleston on the Coast, or maybe Richland in the Midlands. I'm inclined to say Greenville county, but that would diminish the power of the Upstate Alliance, which I believe has incredible strength in recruiting companies to this state.

[Spartan]

I think that it is not Greenville. He said it was often over looked, and I think we rarely overlook Greenville. THe only other possibility that I see is Lexington.

[upstate29650]

I think that it is not Greenville. He said it was often over looked, and I think we rarely overlook Greenville. THe only other possibility that I see is Lexington.

Isn't that the home of the dog food plant that makes "killer" dog food?

[Spartan]

So what is it sandlapper? The suspense is killing me! And by 'killing' I mean not affecting me that much. But I am curious to know what you have learned

[goodbye]

According to Sanford's politically guided comment, the "Upstate is the epicenter of business in South Carolina."

[g-man430]

Here you go: http://www.westerwelle.net/Greenville_development.htm

[GvilleSC]

Did we ever find out?

[Spartan]

Nope. Still waiting on sandlapper to let us know

[The_sandlapper]

Sorry guys work keeps interfering with research but that's why I created the thread as a reminder. I started out with the big three counties but then considered other counties as possibilities so that's what's been taking so long. Still though I think it will be a suprise. But then again not too much. I'll try to get it posted before the weekend is up!

Gotta watch the UK, Carolina game tomorrow at Rupp! I'm torn who to root for?

[krazeeboi]

Maybe Carolina will win with their 1-game winning streak...LOL.

Just getting their 1st SEC win. That ain't good...Odom needs to light a fire under those guys!

[waccamatt]

Sorry guys work keeps interfering with research but that's why I created the thread as a reminder. I started out with the big three counties but then considered other counties as possibilities so that's what's been taking so long. Still though I think it will be a suprise. But then again not too much. I'll try to get it posted before the weekend is up!

Gotta watch the UK, Carolina game tomorrow at Rupp! I'm torn who to root for?

Sandy, I hope you pull for the Cocks, UK has won 43 SEC championships and we've only won 1.

BTW, I have a hard time believing it's Richland County, most people here work in State jobs, Federal jobs, Finance or Insurance, although we do have a surprising number of manufacturing plants here too. I really have no idea who the winner is.

[goodbye]

I'll wager it's Greenville County, but I don't have the numbers to back it up.

[Spartan]

That would be my first thought, and since he said it was a suprise, I am thinking it must not be Greenville, because that would not be a suprise. I guess we'll have to wait and see....

[Jerseyman4]

I know it will not be Marlboro County.

[sonofaque86]

It's going to be Marion County

Sike

[knightrider162]

I did some research of my own and i didnt find many suprises at all... but that might just be my perspective.

this information might be old but it is from the 2002 economic census.

Economic diversity (from selected counties - # of different types of industries)

Greenville ................1,108

Richland ..................985

Charleston ...............976

Spartanburg .............790

Horry .......................698

Lexington .................674

York ........................578

Beaufort ...................557

Anderson .................517

Berkeley ..................380

Dorchester ...............327

Number of establishments:

Greenville ..............24,199

Charleston .............21,596

Richland ................17,736

Lexington ..............14,237

Horry .....................13,860

Spartanburg ...........13,749

Beaufort .................9,886

York .......................9,579

Anderson ................8,825

Berkeley .................6,562

Dorchester ...............5,419

Total receipts:

Greenville ..............1,270,848,000

Charleston ............1,050,676,000

Richland .................819,195,000

Horry .....................646,584,000

Spartanburg ...........599,346,000

Lexington ...............599,184,000

Beaufort .................539,568,000

York ......................398,677,000

Anderson ...............351,346,000

Berkeley ................206,818,000

Dorchester .............193,661,000

This is from the 2002 economic census on census.gov

I'll try to add more counties later.