schoolsbycounty

State district guide

South Carolina public school districts

Compare district systems across South Carolina by enrollment scale, school count, county context, generated guide coverage, and the parent checks that matter before choosing where to live.

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Direct answer for parents

What this district ranking can and cannot tell you

If you are searching for the best school districts in South Carolina, start with the largest and most data-rich district systems below, then verify the specific school assigned to each address. SchoolsByCounty orders districts by reported enrollment and school count because those fields are consistent in NCES. It does not convert district size into a quality rating.

Start with scale

Greenville 01

77,978 reported students

Check county context

Fairfield County

63/100 county score

Verify locally

Address fit

Attendance boundaries and transfers are not in NCES

District table

Largest public school districts in South Carolina

The first 60 rows show the largest district systems by reported enrollment. Open district guides where available, or use the county profile when a detailed district page is not generated yet.

90 districts in state file

South Carolina public school districts ranked by reported enrollment.
RankDistrictStudents
1
Greenville 01

LEA ID 4502310

Greenville County92 schools
77,978
2
Charleston 01

LEA ID 4501440

Charleston County82 schools
49,929
3
Horry 01

LEA ID 4502490

Horry County57 schools
47,357
4
Berkeley 01

LEA ID 4501170

Berkeley County46 schools
37,932
5
Richland 02

LEA ID 4503390

Richland County32 schools
28,510
6
Lexington 01

LEA ID 4502700

Lexington County31 schools
28,031
7
Dorchester 02

LEA ID 4502010

Dorchester County25 schools
26,135
8
Aiken 01

LEA ID 4500720

Aiken County40 schools
23,181
9
Charter Institute at Erskine

LEA ID 4503909

Abbeville County24 schools
22,535
10
Richland 01

LEA ID 4503360

Richland County48 schools
22,037
11
Beaufort 01

LEA ID 4501110

Beaufort County32 schools
21,439
12
York 04

LEA ID 4503900

York County20 schools
18,191
13
SC Public Charter School District

LEA ID 4503901

Greenville County38 schools
17,601
14
Lexington 05

LEA ID 4502820

Richland County23 schools
17,463
15
York 03

LEA ID 4503870

York County25 schools
16,493
16
Pickens 01

LEA ID 4503330

Pickens County24 schools
16,310
17
Florence 01

LEA ID 4502130

Florence County24 schools
15,723
18
Lancaster 01

LEA ID 4502580

Lancaster County23 schools
15,114
19
Sumter 01

LEA ID 4503902

Sumter County25 schools
14,800
20
Anderson 05

LEA ID 4500900

Anderson County19 schools
12,560
21
Spartanburg 02

LEA ID 4503510

Spartanburg County14 schools
11,740
22
Spartanburg 06

LEA ID 4503630

Spartanburg County14 schools
11,687
23
Kershaw 01

LEA ID 4502550

Kershaw County17 schools
11,138
24
Orangeburg

LEA ID 4503910

Orangeburg County27 schools
10,979
25
Anderson 01

LEA ID 4500780

Anderson County14 schools
10,839
26
Spartanburg 05

LEA ID 4503600

Spartanburg County12 schools
10,386
27
Oconee 01

LEA ID 4503060

Oconee County17 schools
10,217
28
York 02

LEA ID 4503840

York County10 schools
9,087
29
Darlington 01

LEA ID 4501860

Darlington County19 schools
9,042
30
Lexington 02

LEA ID 4502730

Lexington County13 schools
8,626
31
Greenwood 50

LEA ID 4502340

Greenwood County13 schools
8,610
32
Georgetown 01

LEA ID 4502280

Georgetown County19 schools
8,429
33
Cherokee 01

LEA ID 4501500

Cherokee County15 schools
7,925
34
Spartanburg 07

LEA ID 4503660

Spartanburg County10 schools
7,371
35
Chesterfield 01

LEA ID 4501560

Chesterfield County16 schools
7,019
36
Newberry 01

LEA ID 4503030

Newberry County14 schools
5,806
37
Spartanburg 01

LEA ID 4503480

Spartanburg County10 schools
5,458
38
Laurens 55

LEA ID 4502610

Laurens County9 schools
5,344
39
York 01

LEA ID 4503810

York County9 schools
5,038
40
Colleton 01

LEA ID 4501830

Colleton County9 schools
4,946
41
Chester 01

LEA ID 4501530

Chester County12 schools
4,767
42
Dillon 04

LEA ID 4501920

Dillon County8 schools
3,880
43
Marion 10

LEA ID 4503908

Marion County10 schools
3,875
44
Union 01

LEA ID 4503750

Union County7 schools
3,788
45
Marlboro 01

LEA ID 4502970

Marlboro County7 schools
3,549
46
Lexington 04

LEA ID 4502790

Lexington County7 schools
3,544
47
Anderson 02

LEA ID 4500810

Anderson County7 schools
3,494
48
Edgefield 01

LEA ID 4502070

Edgefield County8 schools
3,100
49
Anderson 04

LEA ID 4500870

Anderson County6 schools
3,005
50
Florence 03

LEA ID 4502190

Florence County8 schools
2,993
51
Williamsburg 01

LEA ID 4503780

Williamsburg County11 schools
2,946
52
Spartanburg 04

LEA ID 4503570

Spartanburg County4 schools
2,901
53
Abbeville 60

LEA ID 4500690

Abbeville County9 schools
2,864
54
Spartanburg 03

LEA ID 4503540

Spartanburg County5 schools
2,784
55
Anderson 03

LEA ID 4500840

Anderson County5 schools
2,737
56
Laurens 56

LEA ID 4502640

Laurens County6 schools
2,715
57
Jasper 01

LEA ID 4502520

Jasper County4 schools
2,635
58
Saluda 01

LEA ID 4503460

Saluda County5 schools
2,480
59
Hampton

LEA ID 4503912

Hampton County10 schools
2,399
60
Fairfield 01

LEA ID 4502100

Fairfield County8 schools
2,278

— = enrollment not reported in the district record. District rows are informational and must be paired with local assignment tools before a housing decision.

Methodology

How to use district rankings without overreading them

District-level data is useful because it shows the operating system around a public school search: how many schools exist, which county record anchors the district, how much enrollment is reported, and whether a detailed district guide is available. It is not enough to decide where a student should enroll.

Ranking basis

Rows are ordered by reported enrollment, then school count. The method favors broad, data-rich systems because those are the districts parents most often need to research before relocation.

County context

Each district is attached to a primary county record when available. County school scores are context signals, not district ratings, and nearby counties can still matter for commute and housing decisions.

Grade pathway

Elementary, middle, and high school counts help parents spot whether a district looks like a full K-12 pathway or a narrower operating unit. Feeder patterns still require local verification.

Address verification

The final decision happens at the address level. Confirm attendance zones, open-enrollment rules, magnet admissions, charter lotteries, and transfer windows with official district sources.

County context

Districts anchored in higher-scoring county contexts

These rows pair district records with the county-level SchoolsByCounty score. Treat this as a shortlist for deeper research, not a district quality ranking.

Fairfield 01

Fairfield County

63

Students
2,278
Schools
8

Darlington 01

Darlington County

53

Students
9,042
Schools
19
Open district guide

Governor's School for Science and Mathematics

Darlington County

53

Students
257
Schools
1

Aiken 01

Aiken County

51

Students
23,181
Schools
40
Open district guide

Beaufort 01

Beaufort County

51

Students
21,439
Schools
32
Open district guide

Dorchester 02

Dorchester County

47

Students
26,135
Schools
25
Open district guide

Parent checklist before relying on a district ranking

Use this page to narrow the field, then answer these local questions before treating any district as a fit for a specific home.

Which school does this address actually feed into?

Use the district address lookup and confirm edge cases near attendance-zone borders.

What happens at transition grades?

A strong elementary fit can split into several middle or high school paths.

Are choice programs realistic for this student?

Magnet, charter, virtual, and transfer options can involve lotteries, applications, or deadlines.

Is the county context aligned with housing tradeoffs?

Pair school research with taxes, commute, home prices, and safety before choosing where to live.

Frequently Asked Questions About South Carolina School Districts

What are the best school districts in South Carolina?
Greenville 01, Charleston 01, Horry 01 are the largest South Carolina district systems by reported enrollment in the NCES file. SchoolsByCounty does not call them the best districts; use this page to find data-rich district systems, then verify assigned schools, program rules, and local fit.
How are South Carolina districts ranked here?
Districts are ordered by reported student enrollment, then school count, using NCES public school district records. This is a research-priority ranking, not a quality rating.
Why do only 47 South Carolina districts have district guide links?
SchoolsByCounty statically generates detailed district guides for the largest district systems nationally so the pages stay fast and substantive. Districts without guide links remain represented through county and state context pages.
Do these district pages show attendance boundaries?
No. Attendance zones, transfer rules, magnet eligibility, charter admission, transportation, and program availability must be verified with official district or local assignment tools before choosing a home.
Does a large district mean better schools?
No. Larger districts usually have more school options and more public data, but enrollment size is not a school-quality measure. Compare school-level records and official local sources before treating a district as a fit.
How many districts are included for South Carolina?
This page includes 90 South Carolina public school districts from the current NCES district file, alongside county context and generated district-guide availability where available.
By Evan Brooks, Data EditorPublished

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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