Cherokee County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 56,216. The county seat is Gaffney. The county was formed in 1897 from parts of York, Union, and Spartanburg counties. It was named for the Cherokee people who historically occupied this area prior to European encounter. Cherokee County comprises the Gaffney, SC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area.