About one in three people with a credit file in Calhoun County, South Carolina, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Calhoun County, 36.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 88% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 88% of U.S. counties.
What drives Calhoun County's score
In Calhoun County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 89.6. People with a car or retail loan behind: 12.4%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 86.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Calhoun County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Calhoun County does better than most counties on one measure: adults 25 to 54 not working (16.9%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 89.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind9.4% · August 202593rd percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind12.4% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score50.3% · second quarter of 202680th percentile
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- 86.4 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent28.1% · 2020 to 202494th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income24.1% · fiscal year 202778th percentile
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- 77.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector36.5% · August 202588th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people169.2 · 202566th percentile
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- 63.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line14.8% · 202463rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line21.5% · 202470th percentile
- People with a disability17.5% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- People without health insurance8.1% · 2020 to 202452nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$61,091 · 202467th percentile
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- 50.6 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.7% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202674th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.9% · 2020 to 202426th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Calhoun County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Calhoun County, 24.4% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Calhoun County
South Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Calhoun County had its largest rise, from 21.0% in 2004 to 28.0% in 2009.
In Calhoun County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 28.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in twice as much as benefit checks
In Calhoun County, South Carolina, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 28.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 19.4% in 2016 to 15.7% in 2017.
The share of households in Calhoun County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2016 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 12.2% in 2010. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Calhoun County, South Carolina.
How Calhoun County has changed
Calhoun County's population had its largest rise, from 13,677 in 1994 to 14,961 in 1999.
Calhoun County's population rose 40% from 1969 to 2024
High on the chart: 15,268 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Calhoun County, South Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Calhoun County rose 30% from 1990 to 2025, with most of the change between 1990 and 1995
High on the chart: 4,582 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Calhoun County, South Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 6.4% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 20.0% | 2024 14.8% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $20,680 | 2024 $61,091 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.7% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Calhoun County's history
1908
The county was formed in 1908 from portions of Lexington and Orangeburg counties. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 18,384. The 2020 Census counted 14,119, 77% of the peak. Census Bureau
1990
A tornado in October 1990 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in October 2015 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Calhoun County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Calhoun County beside its neighbors
Of the five counties that border Calhoun County, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Calhoun County ranks 4th of the six; Clarendon County is highest, at 37.8%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orangeburg County, SC | 96 | 21.0% | 37.0% |
| Sumter County, SC | 93 | 16.7% | 31.3% |
| Clarendon County, SC | 89 | 17.4% | 37.8% |
| Calhoun County, SC | 88 | 14.8% | 28.0% |
| Richland County, SC | 85 | 15.8% | 22.0% |
| Lexington County, SC | 47 | 11.3% | 20.5% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Calhoun County the poorest county in South Carolina?
No, Calhoun County's poverty rate was 14.8% in 2024, 31st highest of 46 in South Carolina (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Allendale County, at 31.6%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Calhoun County ranks 18th of 46 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Calhoun County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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South Carolina Legal Services
Legal aid
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Pro Bono Legal Services — SC Bar
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Calhoun County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Calhoun County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.