# Cherokee County, South Carolina: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Gaffney and Blacksburg Cherokee County sits inside the data center build-out. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Cherokee County. Cherokee County is home to Gaffney and Blacksburg. Unemployment was 5.4% in August 2026, against 3.0% in 2019. Employers here counted 18,221 jobs in 2025, down 13.7% from 2019. Its power plants have 1,928 MW of capacity, 99% of it natural gas, the 5th largest fleet in South Carolina. 1 data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map -13.7% total jobs since 2019, now 18,221 1,928 MW of operating power plants, mostly natural gas ## Cities and towns in Cherokee County Cherokee County is home to Gaffney and Blacksburg. Gaffney12,583 residents Blacksburg1,965 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Cherokee Falls, East Gaffney. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Cherokee County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in South Carolina | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 56,225 | 58,275 | ▲ 3.6% | 24th of 46 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 21,104 | 18,221 | ▼ 13.7% | 44th of 46 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $36,085 | $50,376 | ▲ 39.6% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 1,033 | 900 | ▼ 12.9% | 22nd of 25 by growth | | Electric utility jobs (2019 → 2025) | 84 | 78 | ▼ 7.1% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.0% | 5.4% | ▲ 2.4pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 5 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 1 MW | | — | Construction employs 900, down 12.9% since 2019. 1 MW has retired here since 2019, including Gaston Shoals (hydro, 1 MW, 2025). 5 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC is the largest utility serving Cherokee County, one of 5 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 13.99¢/kWh in 2024, below the 14.59¢ median for South Carolina utilities. 58,275 people live here, up 3.6% since 2020. ## Who powers Cherokee County ### Utilities with service territory in Cherokee County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC | Investor Owned | Bundled | 568,586 | 13.99¢ | 28% | | York Electric Coop Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 65,244 | 12.65¢ | 22% | | Broad River Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 23,140 | 15.91¢ | 11% | | City of Gaffney - (SC) | Municipal | Bundled | 6,314 | 12.39¢ | 43% | | Lockhart Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 4,976 | 13.42¢ | 75% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Natural gas | 1,902 MW | 99% | | Hydro | 22 MW | 1% | | Solar | 5 MW | 0% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Broad River Energy Center | Broad River Energy LLC | Natural gas | 985 MW | 2000 | | Mill Creek (SC) | Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC | Natural gas | 799 MW | 2002 | | Cherokee County Cogen | Cherokee County Cogen Partners LLC | Natural gas | 118 MW | 1998 | | 99 Islands | Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC | Hydro | 12 MW | 1910 | | Gaston Shoals | Northbrook Carolina Hydro II, LLC | Hydro | 5 MW | 1908 | | Mohea Solar Energy Center, LLC | SunStrong Management | Solar | 5 MW | 2020 | ### Retired since 2019 | Plant | Technology | MW | Year | |---|---|---|---| | Gaston Shoals | Hydro | 1 MW | 2025 | ## The Cherokee County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 18,221 | $50,376 | 1.00 | | Construction | 900 | $77,876 | 0.93 | | Electric utilities | 78 | $109,220 | 1.58 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Cherokee County 1 data center in Cherokee County is on the SAVRN Data Center Map. ## Cherokee County and its neighbors Of the 5 counties that border Cherokee County, York County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Cherokee County | 58,275 | ▼ 13.7% | 1,928 MW | — | 1 | — | | Cleveland County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-carolina/cleveland-county) NC | 103,325 | ▲ 0.9% | 2,982 MW | — | 1 | — | | Rutherford County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/north-carolina/rutherford-county) NC | 65,745 | ▼ 3.1% | 127 MW | 60 MW | 3 | — | | Spartanburg County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/spartanburg-county) | 380,857 | ▲ 6.7% | 63 MW | — | 3 | 3 | | Union County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/union-county) | 26,799 | ▼ 12.4% | 51 MW | — | — | — | | York County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/york-county) | 306,887 | ▲ 5.9% | 2,476 MW | — | 5 | 1 | ## More of South Carolina [All South Carolina countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina)[Spartanburg County380,857 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/spartanburg-county)[York County306,887 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/york-county)[Union County26,799 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/union-county) ## Cherokee County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Cherokee County, South Carolina? 5 utilities have service territory in Cherokee County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, York Electric Coop Inc, Broad River Electric Coop, Inc, City of Gaffney - (SC). The largest, Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, charged residential customers 13.99¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Gaffney, SC in? Gaffney is in Cherokee County, South Carolina. About 12,583 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Cherokee County? 7 operating plants with 1,928 MW of capacity. The largest is Broad River Energy Center (985 MW, natural gas). ### Are there data centers in Cherokee County? Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 1 data center in Cherokee County. ### Is Cherokee County adding jobs? Employers counted 18,221 jobs in 2025 against 21,104 in 2019 (-13.7%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 1,033 to 900. ### Does Cherokee County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Cherokee County. South Carolina has 22 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/cherokee-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).