South Carolina ranks #26 among US states for total patents filed in 2017, with 3,168 patents from 1,719 inventors across 153 cities. On a per-capita basis that is 0.6 patents per 1,000 residents, a standard benchmark for comparing state-level R&D intensity.
Top Cities in South Carolina 2017
| Rank ↑ | City ↕ | Patents ↕ | Inventors ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Greenville, SC | 524 | 250 |
| #2 | Simpsonville, SC | 378 | 204 |
| #3 | Columbia, SC | 348 | 123 |
| #4 | Greer, SC | 208 | 113 |
| #5 | Charleston, SC | 151 | 76 |
| #6 | Anderson, SC | 101 | 59 |
| #7 | Spartanburg, SC | 91 | 57 |
| #8 | Fort Mill, SC | 81 | 42 |
| #9 | Summerville, SC | 62 | 24 |
| #10 | Rock Hill, SC | 61 | 27 |
| #11 | Easley, SC | 54 | 24 |
| #12 | Mount Pleasant, SC | 52 | 34 |
| #13 | Clemson, SC | 47 | 33 |
| #14 | Aiken, SC | 42 | 32 |
| #15 | Lexington, SC | 40 | 31 |
| #16 | Fairfax, SC | 37 | 25 |
| #17 | Florence, SC | 32 | 24 |
| #18 | Fountain Inn, SC | 31 | 12 |
| #19 | Irmo, SC | 30 | 15 |
| #20 | Mauldin, SC | 30 | 18 |
| #21 | Taylors, SC | 29 | 18 |
| #22 | Moore, SC | 28 | 16 |
| #23 | Tega Cay, SC | 28 | 12 |
| #24 | Seneca, SC | 28 | 18 |
| #25 | Travelers Rest, SC | 25 | 18 |