Lee County, South Carolina

County Distress Index: Serious · 69.1 | 15,967 people · 12th most distressed in South Carolina

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Lee County, SC shows significant household financial distress with a score of 69.1 — 256th nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Income & Poverty, where poverty rates are high and household incomes lag well behind state and national medians. Within South Carolina, it ranks 12th of 46 counties. Among its 4 neighboring counties, 3 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Lee County's primary driver is Income & Poverty at 93.4 — worse than roughly 93% of U.S. counties.

Income & Poverty Primary driver 93.4
Poverty Rate 95
Income vs. State Median 91
Child Poverty Rate 95
Debt & Delinquency 87.2
Debt in Collections 95
Medical Debt 79
Student Loan Delinquency 95
Auto Loan Delinquency 95
Credit Card Delinquency 95
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 64
Community Vulnerability 64.2
Uninsured Rate 67
Disability Rate 61
Housing Cost Burden 56.8
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 50
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 56
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 53
Homeownership Rate 55
Rent-to-Income Ratio 70
Employment & Wages 43.9
Unemployment Rate 95
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 19
Business Formation Rate 17

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

Neighbors and Peers

How Lee County compares to its 4 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Lee County
Lee County, SC 69.1 Serious
Darlington County, SC 69.4 Serious +0.3
Sumter County, SC 67.1 Serious -2.0
Florence County, SC 63.4 Elevated -5.7
Kershaw County, SC 52.7 Elevated -16.3

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Lee County
Johnson County, KY 69.1 Serious +0.0
Jackson County, KY 69.0 Serious -0.0
Hughes County, OK 69.1 Serious +0.0
Scott County, TN 69.2 Serious +0.1
Washington County, MO 69.2 Serious +0.1

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