South Carolina’s Economy is #1 in America—Here’s Why and How We Can Keep It
You may have seen this map going around social media lately.
It visualizes data from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis for the first quarter (Q1) of 2025 (January to March), tracking the Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of each state.
If you look closer, you can see the Southeast leading the nation with the highest GDP growth during those three months on an annualized basis, and South Carolina takes the crown for the highest GDP growth in the first quarter of the year. That’s a good thing, right? But what does it all actually mean?
Real GDP measures the value of the goods and services produced in a place (in this instance, in each state), adjusted for inflation. The chart above measures the percentage change in GDP from the 2024 Q4 GDP statistics. Economists use Real GDP as a measure of a particular economy’s health and a rough estimate of total spending in an economy. It is a valuable way to compare economies, particularly over time.
So, the 1.7 number for South Carolina in the Visual Capitalist graphic above means that, according to the federal Bureau of Economic Advisors, if our state’s economic growth measurement during Q1 2025 were to recur for four quarters, our state’s economy would enjoy an annual (annualized) growth rate of 1.7%.
The takeaway? South Carolina is on the way to becoming an economic powerhouse, even outpacing our competitors in Florida for Q1, and our boom is making a national impact.
In January 2025, South Carolina led the U-Haul report for the first time ever, meaning that more moving trucks ended up in South Carolina than anywhere else in the nation.
Given that report, it makes sense that the leading contributor to growth in South Carolina during Q1 of 2025 was real estate, rental, and leasing.
And when it comes to personal income increases during those same months (a stat in which South Carolina is ranked #4 nationally), it’s no surprise that construction was the leading contributor to the increase in earnings. The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) ranks South Carolina #8 on its economic performance (GDP, migration, and employment).
South Carolina is doing well on a number of national rankings as of late, including #4 in the nation in resisting federal overreach and insisting on state legislative review of state agency actions, #3 in North America for economic freedom, #5 in the nation for resisting political agendas in state pension systems, and #8 in the nation for election integrity.
Clearly freedom-loving Americans are taking note and flocking to the Palmetto State!
We should celebrate this progress while realizing that there is still work to be done.
That ALEC report card ranks South Carolina #29 for economic outlook—meaning we have been doing well, but if more of the same continues, we won’t be able to stay competitive.
Here’s our short list of to-dos to keep South Carolina competitive and make sure our GDP continues to flourish:
- Cut the personal income tax
- Stop stifling business with our high commercial and manufacturing tax rates and business stock tax
- Reduce state and local debt service as a percentage of tax revenue
- Fix the state’s looming unfunded pension liabilities
- Get government out of the way and stop the over-regulation of certain professions
- And most of all continue work on our state’s unfair tort system (billboard lawyer lawsuit) costs
So, there’s the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let’s celebrate the good and double down on fixing the bad and the ugly. Our Palmetto Freedom Agenda lays out a plan to get there, and we look forward to working with the South Carolina General Assembly to advance freedom, opportunity, and prosperity in our state.
