South Carolina County Distress Index
Financial distress scores for all 46 counties in South Carolina, scored 0–100 across five domains. Mean score: 65.6. 25counties are in Serious or Crisis.
Data: Census, BLS, Urban Institute, HUD, US Courts | Scores as of 2026-03-26
South Carolina Snapshot
46 Counties Scored
65.6 Mean Score
66.2 Median Score
81.1 Williamsburg County Most Distressed
46.7 McCormick County Least Distressed
1 Crisis 24 Serious 17 Elevated 4 Normal
Zone Distribution South Carolina County Map
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Healthy Normal Elevated Serious Crisis
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 | 50 | Williamsburg County | 81.1 | Crisis | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 2 | 66 | Bamberg County | 79.8 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 3 | 89 | Orangeburg County | 78.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 4 | 117 | Darlington County | 77.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 5 | 119 | Barnwell County | 77.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 6 | 156 | Dillon County | 76.0 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 7 | 169 | Richland County | 75.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 8 | 177 | Colleton County | 75.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 9 | 199 | Fairfield County | 74.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 10 | 201 | Lee County | 74.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 11 | 212 | Clarendon County | 74.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 12 | 222 | Marlboro County | 74.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 13 | 223 | Sumter County | 74.1 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 14 | 250 | Hampton County | 73.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 15 | 288 | Florence County | 72.5 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 16 | 333 | Union County | 71.4 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 17 | 364 | Chester County | 70.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 18 | 367 | Chesterfield County | 70.6 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 19 | 531 | Dorchester County | 67.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 20 | 534 | Allendale County | 67.3 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 21 | 553 | Marion County | 66.9 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 22 | 567 | Calhoun County | 66.7 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 23 | 592 | Laurens County | 66.2 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 24 | 594 | Newberry County | 66.2 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 25 | 628 | Edgefield County | 65.2 | Serious | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 26 | 667 | Kershaw County | 64.6 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 27 | 717 | Cherokee County | 63.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 28 | 747 | Berkeley County | 63.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 29 | 756 | Greenwood County | 63.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 30 | 820 | Horry County | 62.1 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 31 | 857 | Saluda County | 61.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 32 | 869 | Spartanburg County | 61.2 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 33 | 872 | Pickens County | 61.2 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 34 | 968 | Aiken County | 59.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 35 | 1,003 | Jasper County | 59.3 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 36 | 1,076 | Abbeville County | 58.0 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 37 | 1,107 | Anderson County | 57.6 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 38 | 1,178 | York County | 56.4 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 39 | 1,220 | Lexington County | 55.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 40 | 1,245 | Charleston County | 55.5 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 41 | 1,352 | Georgetown County | 53.9 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 42 | 1,356 | Greenville County | 53.8 | Elevated | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 43 | 1,618 | Lancaster County | 49.3 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 44 | 1,689 | Beaufort County | 48.4 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 45 | 1,783 | Oconee County | 46.9 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
| 46 | 1,802 | McCormick County | 46.7 | Normal | Consumer Credit Distress |
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.
Crisis (≥80) — Among the most distressed counties in the country
Serious (65–80) — More distressed than roughly 80% of counties
Elevated (50–65) — More distressed than roughly half of counties
Normal (35–50) — Near the national median
Healthy (<35) — Less distressed than most counties