Unemployment in Union County, South Carolina, is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties
In Union County, 6.3% of the labor force was out of work, on average. That is higher than in 94% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 91% of U.S. counties.
What drives Union County's score
In Union County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 93.6. About three in five people (60.7%, Q2 2026) have a subprime credit score, a higher share than in 97% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 90.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Union 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.
Union County does better than most counties on two measures: renters paying half their income or more in rent (12.7%, 2020 to 2024) and bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (105.1, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 93.6 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind8.7% · August 202589th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind10.7% · August 202594th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score60.7% · second quarter of 202697th percentile
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- 90.3 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 working28.3% · 2020 to 202485th percentile
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- 83.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line18.7% · 202482nd percentile
- Children below the poverty line26.7% · 202486th percentile
- People with a disability21.7% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- People without health insurance10.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$50,730 · 202490th percentile
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- 65.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector38.1% · August 202591st percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people105.1 · 202538th percentile
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- 48.9 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 rent12.7% · 2020 to 202421st percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.7% · fiscal year 202776th 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 Union 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 Union County, 21.6% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Union County
South Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Union County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, but pay from work still brings in 18% more than benefit checks in 2024
In Union County, South Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 40.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid made its largest gain on the way to its 2023 high, from 17.0% in 2022 to 20.3% in 2023.
The share of households in Union County getting SNAP food aid fell to its lowest on the chart in 2020, then climbed past the 2009 level
Low on the chart: 13.0% in 2020. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Union County, South Carolina.
How Union County has changed
Union County's population had its largest drop, from 29,100 in 2009 to 27,998 in 2014.
Union County's population fell 12% from 1969 to 2024, reaching its lowest on the chart
High on the chart: 31,117 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Union County, South Carolina.
The number of jobs located in Union County fell most sharply after its 2000 high, from 10,275 in 2000 to 8,072 in 2005.
The number of jobs located in Union County fell by about a quarter from 1990 to 2025, reaching 7,318, with its low point on the chart in 2010
Low on the chart: 5,898 in 2010. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Union County, South Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 7.8% | 2025 5.9% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 12.9% | 2024 18.7% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $21,905 | 2024 $50,730 |
The table uses 5.9% 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 Union County's history
1755
Quakers arrived mid-1750s, established churches, left early 1800s due to opposition to slavery. Wikipedia
1762
Baptists relocated to Union County in 1762, established first Baptist church in South Carolina upcountry. Wikipedia
1785
Created 1785. Wikipedia
1799
Pinckneyville became ghost town after county court moved away following Reconstruction. Wikipedia
1940
The county's largest recorded population was the 1940 Census count of 31,360. The 2020 Census counted 27,244, 87% of the peak. Census Bureau
1993
A tornado in April 1993 did $5 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2011
A tornado in November 2011 did $1,000,000 in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2013
Lightning in September 2013 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2017
A tornado in April 2017 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
23 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Union County, 2 of them for flooding. FEMA
Union County beside its neighbors
Union County scores higher than all seven counties that border it. Of the group, Union County gets the largest share of its income from benefit checks (40.1%).
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield County, SC | 91 | 16.9% | 34.0% |
| Union County, SC | 91 | 18.7% | 40.1% |
| Chester County, SC | 86 | 16.4% | 33.6% |
| Cherokee County, SC | 82 | 16.4% | 32.6% |
| Laurens County, SC | 80 | 16.9% | 36.9% |
| Newberry County, SC | 67 | 17.3% | 29.9% |
| Spartanburg County, SC | 66 | 12.5% | 22.1% |
| York County, SC | 42 | 8.8% | 17.1% |
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 Union County the poorest county in South Carolina?
No, Union County's poverty rate was 18.7% in 2024, 13th 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, Union County ranks 14th of 46 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Union 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.
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 Union County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.