Sumter County, South Carolina

County Distress Index: Serious · 67.1 | 104,165 people · 16th most distressed in South Carolina

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Sumter County, SC shows significant household financial distress with a score of 67.1 — 373rd nationally out of 3144 counties. The primary driver is Debt & Delinquency, where residents carry heavy debt burdens with elevated delinquency and collections rates. Within South Carolina, it ranks 16th of 46 counties. Among its 6 neighboring counties, 4 show less distress.

The Numbers Behind the Score

The CDI measures five domains of financial distress. Sumter County's primary driver is Debt & Delinquency at 82.4 — worse than roughly 82% of U.S. counties.

Debt & Delinquency Primary driver 82.4
Debt in Collections 93
Medical Debt 55
Student Loan Delinquency 90
Auto Loan Delinquency 89
Credit Card Delinquency 92
Bankruptcy Filing Rate 75
Income & Poverty 70.6
Poverty Rate 76
Income vs. State Median 60
Child Poverty Rate 77
Housing Cost Burden 66.0
Rent-Burdened (30%+) 64
Severely Rent-Burdened (50%+) 46
Mortgage-Burdened (30%+) 49
Homeownership Rate 80
Rent-to-Income Ratio 90
Employment & Wages 61.9
Unemployment Rate 92
Wage-to-Rent Ratio 75
Business Formation Rate 19
Community Vulnerability 54.5
Uninsured Rate 68
Disability Rate 41

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

Neighbors and Peers

How Sumter County compares to its 6 neighboring counties and population peers.

Neighboring Counties

County Score Zone vs. Sumter County
Sumter County, SC 67.1 Serious
Clarendon County, SC 70.1 Serious +3.1
Lee County, SC 69.1 Serious +2.0
Florence County, SC 63.4 Elevated -3.7
Richland County, SC 61.5 Elevated -5.6
Calhoun County, SC 58.4 Elevated -8.7
Kershaw County, SC 52.7 Elevated -14.3

Population Peers

County Score Zone vs. Sumter County
Victoria County, TX 67.0 Serious -0.1
Navarro County, TX 67.0 Serious -0.1
Wichita County, TX 67.2 Serious +0.1
Madison County, TN 67.2 Serious +0.1
Mendocino County, CA 67.2 Serious +0.1

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