South Carolina ranks #29 among US states for total patents filed in 2021, with 2,906 patents from 1,711 inventors across 142 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 2021
| Rank | City | Patents | Inventors |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Greenville, SC | 426 | 237 |
| #2 | Simpsonville, SC | 288 | 158 |
| #3 | Columbia, SC | 231 | 116 |
| #4 | Greer, SC | 177 | 102 |
| #5 | Charleston, SC | 163 | 101 |
| #6 | Anderson, SC | 126 | 74 |
| #7 | Fort Mill, SC | 96 | 58 |
| #8 | Summerville, SC | 81 | 42 |
| #9 | Spartanburg, SC | 57 | 37 |
| #10 | Mount Pleasant, SC | 56 | 36 |
| #11 | Easley, SC | 52 | 30 |
| #12 | Taylors, SC | 48 | 24 |
| #13 | Rock Hill, SC | 47 | 23 |
| #14 | Lexington, SC | 46 | 34 |
| #15 | North Charleston, SC | 46 | 24 |
| #16 | Clemson, SC | 43 | 30 |
| #17 | Tega Cay, SC | 42 | 24 |
| #18 | Florence, SC | 36 | 33 |
| #19 | Piedmont, SC | 33 | 11 |
| #20 | Myrtle Beach, SC | 30 | 13 |
| #21 | Fairfax, SC | 30 | 20 |
| #22 | Aiken, SC | 29 | 24 |
| #23 | Irmo, SC | 28 | 19 |
| #24 | Seneca, SC | 23 | 16 |
| #25 | West Columbia, SC | 22 | 13 |