Colleton County, South Carolina

A county in South Carolina, ranked 27 of 46 by population.

CountyFIPS 45029

Within South Carolina
Colleton County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Walterboro, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
39,382
+844 (+2.2%) since 2020
Land area
1,057
square miles. A further 6.7% of the total area is water
Population density
37.3
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Walterboro
Seat of county government.
Established
1800
225 years ago
Largest city
Walterboro city
Population 5,485.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Colleton County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Colleton County, South Carolina from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 785 by 800 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Colleton County ranks

Position among the 46 counties of South Carolina, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn South CarolinaNationally
Population39,38227th of 461,205th of 3,144
Land area1,057 sq mi5th of 46616th of 3,144
Population density37.3 per sq mi39th of 461,742nd of 3,144
Median household income$51,11430th of 462,712th of 3,143

Full data for Colleton County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population39,382Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202038,538Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?38,600Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area1,057 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area76.0 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area1,133 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?37.3 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$51,114American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$162,500American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age42.0American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households16,408American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units20,083American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-162
455 births, 617 deaths
Net migration
+113
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 7 areas bordering Colleton County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Dorchester CountySouth Carolina63 mi178,397
Charleston CountySouth Carolina58 mi436,200
Beaufort CountySouth Carolina56 mi204,433
Hampton CountySouth Carolina33 mi18,174
Bamberg CountySouth Carolina26 mi12,796
Orangeburg CountySouth Carolina0.6 mi83,177
Allendale CountySouth Carolinaa single point7,355

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 46 counties of South Carolina

Open the interactive South Carolina county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.