People in York County are shifting. One place in particular just keeps getting bigger.
In a year, Fort Mill added more residents than all but two other cities or towns in South Carolina.
The U.S. Census Bureau released new population estimates Thursday for municipalities across the nation. The figures show estimates as of July 1, 2021, compared to that same date in 2020. Of the 270 incorporated places in South Carolina, most of the ones in York and surrounding counties grew.
The estimated 27,991 residents in Fort Mill in mid-2021 is up 2,736 people in a year. Those estimates don’t include the vast number of people with Fort Mill addresses who aren’t in town limits, notably Baxter and the Carowinds corridor. Unincorporated, or township, numbers were released with the recent data.
Only the slightly larger municipalities of Bluffton (3,457 resident increase) and Greer (3,068) grew by more people than Fort Mill. If the number of new residents in Fort Mill alone were its own town, it would rank in the top 100 in the state (No. 95).
York County growth
In a year, York County grew by roughly the population of Clover. Yet much of the county’s population lives in unincorporated areas like Lake Wylie, or beyond the outskirts of Rock Hill and York.
Of the 288,595 estimated York County residents in mid-2021, about 54% live outside the nine cities and towns.
Rock Hill hasn’t grown in recent years at the rate Fort Mill has, but it’s still the largest population center in the county. The 74,102 estimated Rock Hill residents in mid-2021 is almost 26% of the county total. Yet the city population is down 55 residents in a year.
Fort Mill accounts for almost 10% of the York County population. Tega Cay is next at almost 5%.
Trends are visible dating back more than a decade. The 56% of York County residents who lived outside city or town limits in 2010 isn’t far off the 54% current mark. Yet a greater percentage of county residents each year come from the areas nearest Interstate 77 and the North Carolina border with Charlotte.
Rock Hill had 29% of the county population in 2010, 3% more than it does now. Fort Mill had less than 5%, about half what it has now. Tega Cay had about 3% of the county total, a little more than half what it has now.
Since 2010 the county has grown by more than 62,000 residents. Or, almost as many people as lived in Rock Hill in 2010. It’s a growth rate of almost 28%.
In that span, Fort Mill and Tega Cay combine to account for 41,269 more residents, or about two-thirds of that countywide growth rate. Rock Hill has grown by 7,948 residents since 2010.
While they aren’t reflected in the new data, years of new homebuilding trends in the area show similar growth in two other areas that border Charlotte. Lake Wylie in York County and Indian Land in Lancaster County remain some of the highest-growth areas in the region.
Both Lake Wylie and Indian Land are unincorporated areas. Their growth is reflected in countywide totals for their respective counties.
Here’s a look at one-year growth for municipalities in York, Lancaster and Chester counties:
