South Carolina County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 46 counties in South Carolina, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 65.7. 25counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
South Carolina Snapshot
South Carolina County Map
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All 46 South Carolina counties colored by distress zone. Hover for details; click released counties for full reports.
Most & Least Distressed
Most Distressed
Least Distressed
Score Distribution
How South Carolina's 46 county scores are distributed across the 0–100 scale.
All South Carolina Counties
46 counties ranked by distress score. Click column headers to sort.
| State Rank | Nat'l Rank | County | Score | Zone | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | Williamsburg County | 81.1 | Crisis | Structural Poverty |
| 2 | 66 | Bamberg County | 79.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 3 | 91 | Orangeburg County | 78.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 4 | 117 | Darlington County | 77.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 5 | 119 | Barnwell County | 77.4 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 6 | 157 | Dillon County | 76.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 7 | 164 | Richland County | 75.5 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 8 | 177 | Colleton County | 75.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 9 | 198 | Fairfield County | 74.7 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 10 | 202 | Lee County | 74.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 11 | 213 | Clarendon County | 74.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 12 | 222 | Marlboro County | 74.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 13 | 224 | Sumter County | 74.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 14 | 256 | Hampton County | 73.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 15 | 290 | Florence County | 72.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 16 | 336 | Union County | 71.4 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 17 | 364 | Chesterfield County | 70.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 18 | 368 | Chester County | 70.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 19 | 524 | Dorchester County | 67.4 | Serious | Housing Cost Burden |
| 20 | 532 | Allendale County | 67.3 | Serious | Structural Poverty |
| 21 | 552 | Marion County | 66.9 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 22 | 565 | Calhoun County | 66.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 23 | 589 | Newberry County | 66.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 24 | 590 | Laurens County | 66.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 25 | 618 | Edgefield County | 65.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 26 | 662 | Kershaw County | 64.7 | Elevated | Legal Distress |
| 27 | 716 | Cherokee County | 63.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 28 | 745 | Berkeley County | 63.5 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 29 | 756 | Greenwood County | 63.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 30 | 821 | Horry County | 62.1 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 31 | 853 | Saluda County | 61.4 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 32 | 858 | Pickens County | 61.4 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 33 | 870 | Spartanburg County | 61.2 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 34 | 957 | Aiken County | 59.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 35 | 1,001 | Jasper County | 59.3 | Elevated | Economic Vitality |
| 36 | 1,074 | Abbeville County | 58.0 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 37 | 1,097 | Anderson County | 57.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 38 | 1,175 | York County | 56.5 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 39 | 1,209 | Lexington County | 55.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 40 | 1,235 | Charleston County | 55.5 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 41 | 1,342 | Greenville County | 53.9 | Elevated | Housing Cost Burden |
| 42 | 1,347 | Georgetown County | 53.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 43 | 1,620 | Lancaster County | 49.3 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 44 | 1,688 | Beaufort County | 48.4 | Normal | Economic Vitality |
| 45 | 1,779 | Oconee County | 47.0 | Normal | Housing Cost Burden |
| 46 | 1,799 | McCormick County | 46.7 | Normal | Structural Poverty |
How County Scores Work
Each county is scored 0–100 using PCA-weighted percentile-rank scoring across five statistically derived dimensions: Consumer Credit Distress, Housing Cost Burden, Structural Poverty, Economic Vitality, and Legal Distress. A score of 50 means the county falls at the national median. Higher scores indicate greater household financial distress.