Berkeley County, South Carolina

County Distress Index: Elevated · 50.5 | 255,217 people · 39th most distressed in South Carolina

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Berkeley County, SC registers elevated household financial distress with a score of 50.5 — 1558th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Debt & Delinquency, where residents carry heavy debt burdens with elevated delinquency and collections rates. Within South Carolina, it ranks 39th of 46 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 5 show more distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Berkeley County's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 69.6 — above the national median.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 69.6
Debt in Collections 73
Medical Debt 76
Student Loan Delinquency 71
Auto Loan Delinquency 79
Credit Card Delinquency 80
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 39
Housing Cost Burden 69.3
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 68
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 68
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 74
Homeownership Rate 52
Rent-to-Income Ratio 85
Employment & Wages 52.4
Unemployment Rate 67
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 84
Business Formation Rate 7
Community Vulnerability 45.5
Uninsured Rate 64
Disability Rate 27
Income & Poverty 15.4
Poverty Rate 19
Income vs. State Median 5
Child Poverty Rate 22

Scores are percentile-based: 50 = national median, higher = more distressed. The median line is shown on each bar.

Neighbors and Peers

How Berkeley County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Berkeley County
Berkeley County, SC 50.5 Elevated
Williamsburg County, SC 74.5 Serious +24.1
Clarendon County, SC 70.1 Serious +19.7
Orangeburg County, SC 65.4 Serious +15.0
Dorchester County, SC 54.7 Elevated +4.2
Georgetown County, SC 52.6 Elevated +2.1
Charleston County, SC 46.5 Normal -3.9

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Berkeley County
Solano County, CA 50.7 Elevated +0.2
Sedgwick County, KS 50.0 Normal -0.5
Greene County, MO 51.0 Elevated +0.5
Seminole County, FL 51.1 Elevated +0.6
Canyon County, ID 51.1 Elevated +0.7

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