Florence is the county seat of and largest city in Florence County^GR6 South Carolina, United States. This 1997 All-America City finalist, with its historic homes and towering medical center towers, come together to form a cultural and regional center for the northeastern portion of South Carolina ". As of the 2000 census, the city population was 30,248. The Florence metropolitan statistical area, which consists of Florence and Darlington counties, was estimated at 197,256 inhabitants in 2004 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Florence is the primary city of "Pee Dee" region of South Carolina, an area that includes the eight counties of northeastern South Carolina along with sections in southeastern North Carolina.

Florence is on Interstate Highway I-95 between New York and Miami, with I-20 and intersecting with I-95 in Florence and ending itself in Florence. The city is located 80 miles east from the state capital Columbia and 70 miles west from Myrtle Beach.