About half people with a credit file in Hampton County, South Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Hampton County, 47.4% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 99% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 81% of U.S. counties.
What drives Hampton County's score
In Hampton County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 95.0. People with a credit card behind: 13.2%, August 2025, higher than in 95% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 85.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Hampton 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.
Hampton County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (77.3, 2025) and adults 25 to 54 not working (16.5%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 95.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind13.2% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a car or retail loan behind13.3% · August 2025top 5%
- People with a subprime credit score62.6% · second quarter of 2026top 5%
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- 85.2 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line20.5% · 202488th percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.9% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability22.0% · 2020 to 202488th percentile
- People without health insurance10.1% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$49,822 · 202491st percentile
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- 59.3 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector47.4% · August 2025top 5%
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people77.3 · 202523rd percentile
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- 53.0 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 rent18.0% · 2020 to 202449th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income21.3% · fiscal year 202756th percentile
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- 51.8 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.9% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202679th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working16.5% · 2020 to 202424th 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 Hampton 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 Hampton County, 19.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Hampton County
South Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Hampton County, benefit checks' share of income has more than tripled since 1969, but pay from work still brings in 36% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Hampton County, South Carolina, benefit checks' share of income more than tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 36.3%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Hampton County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 15.0% in 2010 to 18.9% in 2011.
The share of households in Hampton County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2013 and has since fallen to 19.4%
Low on the chart: 13.4% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Hampton County, South Carolina.
How Hampton County has changed
Hampton County's population had its largest rise, from 18,207 in 1989 to 19,763 in 1994.
Hampton County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1999 and is down 14% since
High on the chart: 21,209 in 1999. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Hampton County, South Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Hampton County had its largest drop, from 6,390 in 2000 to 5,364 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Hampton County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 6,390 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Hampton County, South Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 4.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 23.6% | 2024 20.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,505 | 2024 $49,822 |
The table uses 4.4% for 2025; the score uses 4.9% 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 Hampton County's history
1910
The county's largest recorded population was the 1910 Census count of 25,126. The 2020 Census counted 18,561, 74% of the peak. Census Bureau
2020
A tornado in April 2020 killed five people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Hampton County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Hampton County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Hampton County, in South Carolina and Georgia, three score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Hampton County ranks 2nd of the seven; Allendale County is highest, at 40.4%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screven County, GA | 94 | 21.1% | 36.1% |
| Colleton County, SC | 92 | 21.0% | 35.4% |
| Allendale County, SC | 90 | 31.6% | 40.4% |
| Hampton County, SC | 81 | 20.5% | 36.3% |
| Jasper County, SC | 74 | 14.5% | 30.4% |
| Effingham County, GA | 45 | 7.8% | 19.2% |
| Beaufort County, SC | 38 | 8.4% | 19.7% |
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 Hampton County the poorest county in South Carolina?
No, Hampton County's poverty rate was 20.5% in 2024, 11th 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, Hampton County ranks 22nd of 46 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Hampton 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 Hampton 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 Hampton County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.