Beaufort SC Business News
As South Carolina's state capital, Columbia's economy is anchored by the largest concentration of state, federal, and military government employment in the Palmetto State — a recession-resistant base that has sustained the metro through every economic cycle. The county economy was a $45.0 billion engine (2023 estimate). Unemployment ran at 4.0% through 2024, against a state rate of 4.1%. South Carolina is a right-to-work state.
What anchors the Beaufort economy
- Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort (MCAS Beaufort).
- Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
- Naval Hospital Beaufort.
- Beaufort Memorial Hospital.
Beyond the headlines
The economy reaches into Insurance & Financial Services, Healthcare Delivery & Biomedical, Higher Education, and Military & Defense. Beaufort is corporate home to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, Technical College of the Lowcountry, and Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce. The single largest taxpayer in the county is BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina (I-20 at Alpine Rd campus, plus multiple facilities).
Trade & infrastructure
- Columbia Metropolitan Airport.
Talent pipeline
Workforce flows out of University of South Carolina Beaufort and Technical College of the Lowcountry — feeding the engineering, healthcare, finance, and skilled-trade jobs that Beaufort employers fill every year.
Who moves the room
Major institutional power centers shaping local business decisions include Technical College of the Lowcountry Board, USCB Board of Visitors, and Lowcountry Economic Alliance. HERE Beaufort covers their boards, agendas, and announcements.
How HERE Beaufort covers it
We track every layer of the Beaufort economy: corporate relocations, retail openings, restaurant launches, workforce trends, commercial real estate, supplier announcements, hospital and university capital projects, and the local, state, and federal government decisions that shape how businesses here grow. If it affects business in Beaufort County, it's HERE.
HERE Beaufort Economic Indicators
August 21, 2026HERE'S What's Breaking in Business
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St. Francis Center gets new signs after county dispute
New roadside signs are now directing customers to the St. Francis Center, a nonprofit thrift store on St. Helena Island, following a dispute with Beaufort County over business licensing requirements. The signs are located on Fripp and Mattis roads along the Sea Island Parkway. Sister Pamela Smith, a member of the St. Francis Center governing […]
Beaufort Memorial has been recognized as a leading hospital in South Carolina, according to Forbes’ inaugural Top Hospitals by State…
The S&P 500 ended a three-day losing streak on Wednesday, with bond yields declining after the Treasury Department announced an…
US government bond yields have been increasing for nearly two months, leading to higher costs for the nation’s growing debt.…
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BEAUFORT, SC — Around MCAS Beaufort and Parris Island, the businesses that show up in AI search results and the businesses that stay invisible are increasingly different lists. When a customer asks ChatGPT, Google's AI...
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