Bamberg County area

Bamberg County, South Carolina covers 395.6 square miles: 393.4 square miles of land and 2.195 square miles of water. Its county seat is Bamberg. An estimated 12,796 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 450092026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area393.4 mi²
Water area2.195 mi²
Population (2025)12,796
People per mi²33

County outline

Generalized outline of Bamberg County, South Carolina
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Bamberg County is located

Bamberg County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 99.4% of Bamberg County’s measured area and water for 0.6%. Its combined area converts to 1,024.5 square kilometers or approximately 253,160 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land393.3671,018.816251,754.9
Water2.1955.6851,404.8
Total395.5621,024.501253,159.7

How Bamberg County compares

By original Census land area, Bamberg County ranks #43 of 46 in South Carolina and #2559 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 0.638 times the South Carolina county-equivalent median of 616.9 square miles. It accounts for 1.3% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete South Carolina ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Bamberg County

The Census Bureau estimates that 12,796 people lived in Bamberg County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #2,302 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #44 of 46 in South Carolina. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 13,311, the population has declined by 515 (−3.9%), compared with +8.8% for South Carolina as a whole.

With 393.4 square miles of land, that is 33 people per square mile (13 per km²), placing Bamberg County #1,930 nationally for density and #41 in South Carolina. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the South Carolina median is 78. Put another way, there are about 20 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate13,25913,12412,94712,96412,83612,796
Change—−135−177+17−128−40

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.

Cities and towns in Bamberg County

5 incorporated places lie at least partly in Bamberg County. Together they are home to 6,666 people (52.1%); the other 6,130 (47.9%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Denmark city, with 3,059 residents in the county. The county seat, Bamberg town, has 2,920 residents.

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Denmark city3,059−3.8%3.764
Bamberg townCounty seat2,920−4.9%3.582
Ehrhardt town432−5.1%3.171
Olar town201−4.3%0.793
Govan town54−1.8%0.786

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Bamberg County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Bamberg County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.

ZIP codes

8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Bamberg County; 4 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

2900329042290812908229432294812981729843

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.

Counties bordering Bamberg County

Bamberg County shares a land border with 4 county equivalents. Each of them has more land than Bamberg County. The largest neighbor is Orangeburg County (1,106.4 mi²) and the smallest is Allendale County (408.1 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Bamberg County forms a block of 3,512.7 mi² of land, of which it holds 11.2%.

Map of Bamberg County and the 4 county equivalents that border it Orangeburg County, South Carolina: 1,106.4 mi² landBarnwell County, South Carolina: 548.4 mi² landColleton County, South Carolina: 1,056.5 mi² landAllendale County, South Carolina: 408.1 mi² land
Bamberg County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. BambergCompare
Orangeburg County1,106.42.8× largerCompare
Colleton County1,056.52.7× largerCompare
Barnwell County548.41.4× largerCompare
Allendale County408.1about the sameCompare

How big is Bamberg County compared with U.S. states?

Bamberg County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 2.6 times as much. South Carolina’s county land could hold about 76 areas the size of Bamberg County.

Land area: Bamberg County and the closest-sized states
Bamberg County393.4 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 19.8 miles (31.9 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.

State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.

What stands out about Bamberg County?

Bamberg County has more land than 663 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Bamberg County393.4 mi²
South Carolina median616.9 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Bamberg County at #2,621 nationally by total area, 62 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 0.6%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.6 percentage points lower. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Bamberg County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#2558Doniphan County, Kansas393.5Compare
#2559Bamberg County, South Carolina393.4This county
#2560Floyd County, Kentucky393.3Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 33.203021, -81.053161. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,018,815,082 m²; AWATER: 5,686,290 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Bamberg County?

Bamberg County, South Carolina has 393.4 square miles (1,018.8 km²) of land and 2.195 square miles of water, for a total area of 395.6 square miles. It ranks #2559 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Bamberg County the largest county in South Carolina?

No. Bamberg County ranks #43 of 46 in South Carolina by land area. The largest is Horry County, with 1,133.1 square miles of land.

What counties border Bamberg County?

Bamberg County shares a land border with Orangeburg County, Barnwell County, Colleton County, and Allendale County.

What is the population of Bamberg County?

The Census Bureau estimates Bamberg County had 12,796 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #2,302 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 33 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Bamberg County?

The county seat of Bamberg County is Bamberg.

What cities and towns are in Bamberg County?

Bamberg County has 5 incorporated places. The most populous are Denmark city, Bamberg town, Ehrhardt town, Olar town, and Govan town; 6,130 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is Bamberg County part of a metropolitan area?

No. Bamberg County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.

How many ZIP codes are in Bamberg County?

8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Bamberg County, and 4 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Bamberg County compare with U.S. states?

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 2.6 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Bamberg County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 251,755 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 253,160 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

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