About two in five people with a credit file in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Orangeburg County, 44.5% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 98% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 96% of U.S. counties.
What drives Orangeburg County's score
In Orangeburg County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 97.0. People with a credit card behind: 11.4%, August 2025, higher than in 97% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 89.2.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Orangeburg 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.
Orangeburg County does better than most counties on two measures: people with a disability (15.1%, 2020 to 2024) and rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income (20.5%, fiscal year 2027).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 97.0 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind11.4% · August 202597th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind11.5% · August 202595th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score61.3% · second quarter of 202697th percentile
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- 89.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year6.3% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202695th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.5% · 2020 to 202483rd percentile
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- 85.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector44.5% · August 202598th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people193.2 · 202572nd 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 line21.0% · 202489th percentile
- Children below the poverty line29.0% · 202490th percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance9.7% · 2020 to 202464th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$52,964 · 202486th percentile
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- 64.5 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 rent23.6% · 2020 to 202480th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202748th 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 Orangeburg 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 Orangeburg County, 20.9% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Orangeburg County
South Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Orangeburg County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 37.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a third more than benefit checks
In Orangeburg County, South Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 37.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Orangeburg County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 18.1% in 2011 to 20.1% in 2012.
The share of households in Orangeburg County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen to 20.7%
Low on the chart: 17.2% 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, Orangeburg County, South Carolina.
How Orangeburg County has changed
Orangeburg County's population rose most sharply from its first year (69,786 in 1969) to 76,698 in 1974.
Orangeburg County's population was at its highest on the chart in 2009 and is down 10% since
High on the chart: 92,755 in 2009. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Orangeburg County, South Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Orangeburg County had its largest rise, from 31,536 in 1995 to 35,064 in 2000.
The number of jobs located in Orangeburg County was at its highest on the chart in 2000 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 35,064 in 2000. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Orangeburg County, South Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.7% | 2025 6.4% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 26.9% | 2024 21.0% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $18,839 | 2024 $52,964 |
The table uses 6.4% for 2025; the score uses 6.3% 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 Orangeburg County's history
1800
Enslaved African Americans forcibly relocated to Deep South from Upper South for cotton plantation labor. Wikipedia
1868
In 1868, under the revised state constitution during Reconstruction, South Carolina districts were organized as counties, including Orangeburg County. Wikipedia
2010
The county's largest recorded population was the 2010 Census count of 92,501. The 2020 Census counted 84,223, 91% of the peak. Census Bureau
2012
A thunderstorm in May 2012 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in October 2015 did $20 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
A tornado in April 2020 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2024
A flood in November 2024 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
31 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Orangeburg County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Orangeburg County beside its neighbors
Of the nine counties that border Orangeburg County, one scores higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Orangeburg County ranks 4th of the 10; Barnwell County is highest, at 39.7%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bamberg County, SC | 97 | 24.2% | 38.5% |
| Orangeburg County, SC | 96 | 21.0% | 37.0% |
| Barnwell County, SC | 93 | 20.3% | 39.7% |
| Colleton County, SC | 92 | 21.0% | 35.4% |
| Clarendon County, SC | 89 | 17.4% | 37.8% |
| Calhoun County, SC | 88 | 14.8% | 28.0% |
| Aiken County, SC | 68 | 13.7% | 26.1% |
| Dorchester County, SC | 62 | 9.1% | 23.2% |
| Berkeley County, SC | 58 | 8.9% | 19.1% |
| Lexington County, SC | 47 | 11.3% | 20.5% |
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 Orangeburg County the poorest county in South Carolina?
No, Orangeburg County's poverty rate was 21.0% in 2024, 9th 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, Orangeburg County ranks 6th of 46 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Orangeburg 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 Orangeburg 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 Orangeburg County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.