About one in eight people in Greenville County, South Carolina, has a disability
In Greenville County, 12.4% of people reported a disability. That is lower than in 82% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 56% of U.S. counties.
What drives Greenville County's score
In Greenville County, housing costs are the highest-scoring part, at 66.8. Income and the safety net is the lowest part, at 30.4. The typical household earns $82,531 a year (2024), more than in 83% of U.S. counties.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Greenville 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.
Greenville County isn't among the worst-off quarter of U.S. counties on any measure.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 66.8 of 100
Housing costs
Biggest factorRenters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent21.8% · 2020 to 202471st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.9% · fiscal year 202762nd percentile
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- 56.5 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind5.9% · August 202557th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind6.8% · August 202571st percentile
- People with a subprime credit score37.8% · second quarter of 202640th percentile
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- 38.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector26.6% · August 202562nd percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people60.7 · 202515th percentile
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- 38.4 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202648th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working17.3% · 2020 to 202428th percentile
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- 30.4 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line9.9% · 202421st percentile
- Children below the poverty line13.3% · 202429th percentile
- People with a disability12.4% · 2020 to 202417th percentile
- People without health insurance10.0% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$82,531 · 202416th 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 Greenville 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 Greenville County, 16.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Greenville County
South Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Greenville County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 14.8% in 2004 to 19.4% in 2009.
In Greenville County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 19.2% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about three times as much as benefit checks
In Greenville County, South Carolina, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 19.2%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Greenville County getting SNAP food aid moved most in two steps: 9.7% in 2011 to 10.6% in 2012; 10.6% in 2017 to 9.7% in 2018.
The share of households in Greenville County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a third
Low on the chart: 7.6% in 2023. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Greenville County, South Carolina.
How Greenville County has changed
Greenville County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 519,882 in 2019 to 570,745 in 2024.
Greenville County's population more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 570,745, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1979 to 1984, reaching 299,823. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Greenville County, South Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Greenville County nearly doubled to 302,324, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2020 to 2025, reaching 302,324. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Greenville County, South Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 3.8% | 2025 3.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 10.3% | 2024 9.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $29,650 | 2024 $82,531 |
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Greenville County's history
1786
Formed in 1786 from the state legislature. Wikipedia
1950
Greenville textile manufacturing from late 1800s to late 1900s: city had up to 19 mills and was called The Textile Capital of the World. Wikipedia
1963
Donaldson Air Force Base closed in 1963, land became South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center. Wikipedia
1991
A thunderstorm in June 1991 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1996
A thunderstorm in March 1996 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2006
A thunderstorm in August 2006 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2014
A flash flood in August 2014 did $1.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 525,534, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
24 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Greenville County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Greenville County beside its neighbors
Of the seven counties that border Greenville County, in South Carolina and North Carolina, five score higher. Of the group, Greenville County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Laurens County gets the largest, at 36.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laurens County, SC | 80 | 16.9% | 36.9% |
| Pickens County, SC | 67 | 15.6% | 25.5% |
| Spartanburg County, SC | 66 | 12.5% | 22.1% |
| Anderson County, SC | 56 | 13.1% | 26.6% |
| Transylvania County, NC | 44 | 12.0% | 27.3% |
| Greenville County, SC | 43 | 9.9% | 19.2% |
| Henderson County, NC | 31 | 9.8% | 26.8% |
| Polk County, NC | 23 | 12.3% | 27.3% |
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 Greenville County the poorest county in South Carolina?
No, Greenville County's poverty rate was 9.9% in 2024, 42nd 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, Greenville County ranks 42nd of 46 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Greenville 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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Greenville County Human Relations Commission
HUD-approved housing counselor
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South Carolina Legal Services, Greenville office
Legal aid
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South Carolina Legal Services
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 Greenville 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 Greenville County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.