South Carolina ranks #25 among US states for total patents filed in 2018, with 3,411 patents from 1,864 inventors across 147 cities. On a per-capita basis that is 0.7 patents per 1,000 residents, a standard benchmark for comparing state-level R&D intensity.
Top Cities in South Carolina 2018
| Rank ↑ | City ↕ | Patents ↕ | Inventors ↕ |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Greenville, SC | 509 | 249 |
| #2 | Simpsonville, SC | 402 | 200 |
| #3 | Columbia, SC | 325 | 119 |
| #4 | Charleston, SC | 253 | 116 |
| #5 | Greer, SC | 220 | 116 |
| #6 | Anderson, SC | 109 | 71 |
| #7 | Summerville, SC | 94 | 38 |
| #8 | Fort Mill, SC | 93 | 55 |
| #9 | Mount Pleasant, SC | 92 | 36 |
| #10 | Spartanburg, SC | 73 | 46 |
| #11 | Clemson, SC | 61 | 33 |
| #12 | Aiken, SC | 56 | 40 |
| #13 | Florence, SC | 56 | 39 |
| #14 | Easley, SC | 52 | 39 |
| #15 | North Charleston, SC | 52 | 12 |
| #16 | Lexington, SC | 47 | 35 |
| #17 | Taylors, SC | 42 | 21 |
| #18 | Rock Hill, SC | 38 | 19 |
| #19 | Irmo, SC | 31 | 22 |
| #20 | Piedmont, SC | 30 | 21 |
| #21 | Seneca, SC | 29 | 19 |
| #22 | Greenwood, SC | 24 | 19 |
| #23 | Myrtle Beach, SC | 24 | 17 |
| #24 | West Columbia, SC | 24 | 17 |
| #25 | Ladson, SC | 23 | 14 |