In McCormick County, South Carolina, benefit checks have brought in more money than paychecks since 2009
In 2024, 46 cents of every dollar of income here came from benefit checks, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. That was a larger share than across the country.
More distressed than 52% of U.S. counties.
What drives McCormick County's score
In McCormick County, jobs weigh most: the score for jobs is 84.4. Unemployment averaged 5.4%, Oct 2025 to Sep 2026, higher than in 87% of U.S. counties. Income and the safety net comes next, at 55.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in McCormick 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.
McCormick County does better than most counties on two measures: people without health insurance (3.5%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (17.1%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 84.4 of 100
Jobs
Biggest factorUnemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year5.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202687th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.0% · 2020 to 202481st percentile
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- 55.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line13.4% · 202451st percentile
- Children below the poverty line28.9% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability17.8% · 2020 to 202466th percentile
- People without health insurance3.5% · 2020 to 20245th or lower percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$62,222 · 202463rd percentile
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- 51.8 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector23.5% · August 202551st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people130.8 · 202552nd percentile
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- 44.1 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.0% · August 202525th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.9% · August 202560th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.2% · second quarter of 202646th percentile
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- 21.6 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 rent14.6% · 2020 to 202429th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income17.1% · fiscal year 202714th 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 McCormick 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 McCormick County, 39.5% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
McCormick County
South Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In McCormick County, benefit checks have brought in more than pay since 2009
In McCormick County, South Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 45.6%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
SNAP food aid is one of the benefit checks counted in the income totals above.
The share of households in McCormick County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2018 and has since fallen by about half
Biggest drop: 2018 to 2019, reaching 16.9%. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, McCormick County, South Carolina.
How McCormick County has changed
McCormick County's population had its largest rise, from 7,500 in 1984 to 8,835 in 1989.
McCormick County's population fell to its lowest on the chart in 1984, then climbed past the 1969 level
Low on the chart: 7,500 in 1984. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, McCormick County, South Carolina.
The number of jobs located in McCormick County had its largest rise in the last span, from 1,576 in 2020 to 2,024 in 2025.
The number of jobs located in McCormick County fell 13% from 1990 to 2025, with its low point on the chart in 2020
Low on the chart: 1,576 in 2020. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, McCormick County, South Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.5% | 2025 5.3% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 22.7% | 2024 13.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,196 | 2024 $62,222 |
The table uses 5.3% for 2025; the score uses 5.4% 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 McCormick County's history
1916
Founded in 1916 with portions of Edgefield, Abbeville, and Greenwood counties. Wikipedia
1920
The county's largest recorded population was the 1920 Census count of 16,444. The 2020 Census counted 9,526, 58% of the peak. Census Bureau
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Since 1977
21 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered McCormick County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
McCormick County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border McCormick County, in South Carolina and Georgia, five score higher. Of the group, McCormick County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (45.6%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elbert County, GA | 82 | 17.7% | 35.4% |
| Edgefield County, SC | 70 | 16.8% | 29.3% |
| Greenwood County, SC | 67 | 16.3% | 31.6% |
| Abbeville County, SC | 63 | 16.7% | 34.9% |
| Lincoln County, GA | 61 | 14.1% | 32.9% |
| McCormick County, SC | 52 | 13.4% | 45.6% |
| Columbia County, GA | 30 | 6.6% | 20.0% |
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 McCormick County the poorest county in South Carolina?
No, McCormick County's poverty rate was 13.4% in 2024, 35th 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, McCormick County ranks 40th of 46 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in McCormick 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 McCormick 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 McCormick County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.