Barnwell County, South Carolina

Barnwell County population, land area and income

Barnwell County had 20,495 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 548.4 square miles of land. It ranks 38th of 46 in South Carolina by population and 31st by land area. That works out to 37.4 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and below the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in South Carolina has 60,098 residents, so Barnwell County has 34% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $46,482 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Barnwell County's population changed since 2020

Barnwell County lost 95 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 0.5%. That ranks 33rd of 46 in South Carolina for growth. The median South Carolina county changed by +2.9%, and the state as a whole by +6.8%.

Since the April 2020 estimates base, Barnwell County recorded 1,073 births and 1,339 deaths, a natural change of -266. Net international migration added +145 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +18. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 266 people.

Where Barnwell County is

The Census internal point of Barnwell County is at 33.260600, -81.434200. It sits in UTM zone 17N. The map shades South Carolina's 46 county-equivalents by population change from 2020 to 2024, darker for faster growth, with Barnwell County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Barnwell County

3 incorporated places of 1,000+ people have residents in Barnwell County, 9,374 people together, or 46% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Barnwell County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Barnwell with 4,589.

Counties bordering Barnwell County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 5 neighbors for Barnwell County, including 1 across a state line. The most populous is Aiken County, SC, with 179,245 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Aiken County

  179,245 people

  23 mi NNW

• Orangeburg County

  83,129 people

  38 mi ENE

• GA

  Burke County, GA

  24,472 people

  36 mi WSW

• Bamberg County

  12,870 people

  22 mi E

• Allendale County

  7,551 people

  20 mi SSE

Distance to Columbia and the nearest big city

Columbia is 56.1 miles NNE of Barnwell County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Augusta-Richmond County, GA (population 201,737), 37.6 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Aiken, SC (population 32,694), 25.2 miles away.

Barnwell County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Barnwell County is 45011: state code 45 for South Carolina plus county code 011. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $46,482.