About two in five people with a credit file in Laurens County, South Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Laurens County, 37.3% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 89% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 80% of U.S. counties.
What drives Laurens County's score
In Laurens County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 84.0. People with a car or retail loan behind: 8.9%, August 2025, higher than in 88% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 74.6.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Laurens 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.
Laurens County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (50.8, 2025) and renters paying half their income or more in rent (18.0%, 2020 to 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.4% · August 202578th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind8.9% · August 202588th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score52.6% · second quarter of 202685th percentile
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- 74.6 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line16.9% · 202475th percentile
- Children below the poverty line25.9% · 202484th percentile
- People with a disability17.5% · 2020 to 202463rd percentile
- People without health insurance12.4% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$60,433 · 202469th percentile
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- 74.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202672nd percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working25.3% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
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- 56.8 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 income22.2% · fiscal year 202764th percentile
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- 50.0 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector37.3% · August 202590th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people50.8 · 20259th 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 Laurens 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 Laurens County, 19.2% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Laurens County
South Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Laurens County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about five times its 1969 level, but pay from work still brings in 38% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Laurens County, South Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about five times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 36.9%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Laurens County getting SNAP food aid fell most sharply after its 2016 high, from 18.4% in 2016 to 16.8% in 2017.
The share of households in Laurens County getting SNAP food aid rose by about a quarter from 2009 to 2024, reaching 17.5%
High on the chart: 18.4% in 2016. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Laurens County, South Carolina.
How Laurens County has changed
Laurens County's population rose 42% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1994 to 1999, reaching 68,783. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Laurens County, South Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Laurens County made its largest gain on the way to its 2015 high, from 16,794 in 2010 to 21,583 in 2015.
The number of jobs located in Laurens County fell to its lowest on the chart in 2010, then climbed past the 1990 level
Low on the chart: 16,794 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Laurens County, South Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 4.8% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.1% | 2024 16.9% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $23,339 | 2024 $60,433 |
The table uses 4.8% for 2025; the score uses 4.6% 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 Laurens County's history
1785
Formed on March 12, 1785 as one of nine modern counties of Colonial Ninety-Six District. Wikipedia
1895
Lauren Cotton Mill founded 1895; Watts Mill founded 1902; Laurens Glass Company established 1910 operated for over 80 years. Wikipedia
1984
A tornado in March 1984 did $25 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A thunderstorm in March 1984 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
1984
A thunderstorm in March 1984 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2000
The county's largest recorded population was the 2000 Census count of 69,567. The 2020 Census counted 67,539, 97% of the peak. Census Bureau
2009
A thunderstorm in June 2009 did $1.24 million in property damage and killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Laurens County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Laurens County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Laurens County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Laurens County ranks 2nd of the seven; Union County is highest, at 40.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union County, SC | 91 | 18.7% | 40.1% |
| Laurens County, SC | 80 | 16.9% | 36.9% |
| Newberry County, SC | 67 | 17.3% | 29.9% |
| Greenwood County, SC | 67 | 16.3% | 31.6% |
| Spartanburg County, SC | 66 | 12.5% | 22.1% |
| Abbeville County, SC | 63 | 16.7% | 34.9% |
| Greenville County, SC | 43 | 9.9% | 19.2% |
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 Laurens County the poorest county in South Carolina?
No, Laurens County's poverty rate was 16.9% in 2024, 19th 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, Laurens County ranks 23rd of 46 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Laurens 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 Laurens 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 Laurens County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.