Hopkins is a census-designated place in Richland County, South Carolina, United States, that was founded circa 1836 and named after John Hopkins(1739-1775). It is located 11 miles southeast of …Hopkins is a census-designated place in Richland County, South Carolina, United States, that was founded circa 1836 and named after John Hopkins(1739-1775). It is located 11 miles southeast of downtown Columbia and is part of the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the Hopkins CDP was 2,882.