Rock Hill region demographics are changing. One group continues to grow
Hispanic residents make up a growing share of the Rock Hill region, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday. The total count is significant, too.
York, Lancaster and Chester counties combine for an estimated 34,976 Hispanic residents. That’s within about 1,200 people of the entire population of Fort Mill. The Rock Hill region has about 2,600 more Hispanic residents than Chester County has total people.
The Hispanic population has grown by more than 10,000 residents since 2020, or a little more than the population of the city of York.
New figures estimate totals as of last summer. The Census Bureau asks residents for a variety of details including racial or ethnic background, but never asks about legal residency status.
Here’s a closer look at how local demographics are changing:
Rock Hill region’s Hispanic population
▪ An estimated 8.1% of York County is Hispanic. That’s up from 6.7% in 2020. York County ranks No. 11 out of 46 counties in South Carolina by percentage, up from No. 13 five years ago.
▪ York County’s Hispanic population is split almost evenly between men and women. Age 19 and younger make up 34.5% of it, while 24.7% is age 35 to 49.
▪ Lancaster County has the highest percentage of Hispanic population, at 8.3%. That’s up from 6.5% in 2020.
▪ Chester County has the lowest percentage in the region, at a 3.8% Hispanic population. That’s still up from 2.4% in 2020. While 56% of the Hispanic population in 2020 were men, now it’s an even split.
▪ York County has an estimated 24,460 Hispanic residents. That’s more than Lancaster and Chester counties combined, at 10,516 residents. York County has 68% of the region’s overall population, compared to 25% for Lancaster County and 7% for Chester County.
▪ Separate breakdowns by race show York County is 72.9% white, down 1.4% since 2020. The 4.1% Asian population is up 1.1% in that same time. Rates for Black (19.5%), multiple races (2.5%) and Native American (0.9%) populations remained flat.
▪ Of the more than 446,000 people across the three-county Rock Hill region, 72.2% are white and 20.6% are Black residents. Those figures are down 1.2% and 0.6% since 2020, respectively. The 3.9% Asian, 2.4% multiracial and 0.8% Native American populations are all up in the four-year span. The Asian population increased the most, at 1.4%.
Growing Hispanic presence in Rock Hill region
An increase in the area’s Hispanic population is evident in some of its busiest places, like Cherry Road in Rock Hill.
The Las Americas supermarket in Rock Hill is an area staple. In recent years nearby panadarias and pastelerias — Spanish for bakeries or pastry shops — have opened like Biscocho Bread.
Another grocery store, La Tapatia, opened on the opposite side of Cherry from Las Americas. A little north, Bajo Cero San Marcos has ice cream and paletas, or ice pops.
Las Americas even added a second site, on Mount Gallant Road. Recent years also brought an influx of new Mexican food restaurants across York and Lancaster counties.
Hispanic population growth in SC
The Rock Hill region growth in its Hispanic population is similar to the rate that the rest of South Carolina is seeing, only its higher.
The state’s 46 counties averaged 5.3% in 2020, for their shares of Hispanic population. York and Lancaster counties were higher at 6.7% and 6.5%, respectively. Chester County was lower at 2.4%.
Now, counties statewide average a 6.3% Hispanic rate. Lancaster is noticeably higher at 8.3%. So is York County at 8.1%.
Chester County at 3.8% is still lower than the state mark, but its growth is higher than what most other counties have seen.
This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
