Union County, South Carolina

Union County population, land area and income

Union County had 26,678 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimate, on 513.6 square miles of land. It ranks 35th of 46 in South Carolina by population and 32nd by land area. That works out to 51.9 people per square mile, below the US average of 96.3, and above the national county median.

The median county-equivalent in South Carolina has 60,098 residents, so Union County has 44% of the typical county's population.

Its SAIPE 2023 median household income of $40,008 is in the bottom quarter among 3,143 counties with an estimate.

How Union County's population changed since 2020

Union County lost 504 residents between the July 2020 and July 2024 estimates, a drop of 1.9%. That ranks 37th 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, Union County recorded 1,036 births and 2,048 deaths, a natural change of -1,012. Net international migration added +111 and net domestic migration, people moving to or from other US counties, came to +329. The largest single component was natural change, which removed 1,012 people.

Where Union County is

The Census internal point of Union County is at 34.690400, -81.615900. 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 Union County outlined. Dots are towns of 1,000+ people with residents in it.

Towns in Union County

One incorporated place of 1,000+ people has residents in Union County, 7,988 people together, or 30% of the county. Each figure counts only the part of the town inside Union County; towns marked "part" extend into another county. The largest is Union with 7,988.

Counties bordering Union County

The Census 2024 county adjacency file lists 7 neighbors for Union County. The most populous is Spartanburg County, SC, with 369,256 residents. Distances run between Census internal points in a straight line.

• Spartanburg County

  369,256 people

  27 mi NW

• York County

  303,001 people

  31 mi NE

• Laurens County

  70,545 people

  26 mi WSW

• Cherokee County

  57,770 people

  25 mi N

• Newberry County

  39,203 people

  28 mi S

• Chester County

  32,323 people

  26 mi E

• Fairfield County

  20,369 people

  34 mi SE

Distance to Columbia and the nearest big city

Columbia is 58.0 miles SE of Union County's internal point in a straight line. The nearest place of 100,000 or more is Charlotte, NC (population 943,476), 57.1 miles away. The nearest place of 10,000 or more is Spartanburg, SC (population 39,606), 24.9 miles away.

Union County FIPS code

The FIPS code of Union County is 45087: state code 45 for South Carolina plus county code 087. Use it as text, with the leading zero, when joining Census, BLS, or CDC county tables. SAIPE lists its 2023 median household income as $40,008.