About one in two people with a credit file in Williamsburg County, South Carolina, has unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Williamsburg County, 45.3% 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 99% of U.S. counties.
What drives Williamsburg County's score
In Williamsburg County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 99.2. People with a credit card behind: 14.4%, August 2025, higher than in 99% of U.S. counties. Jobs come next, at 91.3.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Williamsburg 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.
Williamsburg County is worse off than the typical U.S. county on every measure in the score.
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 99.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind14.4% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind15.4% · August 202599th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score63.9% · second quarter of 202698th percentile
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- 91.3 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year7.6% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202698th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working27.9% · 2020 to 202484th percentile
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- 87.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line25.5% · 202496th percentile
- Children below the poverty line33.9% · 202495th percentile
- People with a disability19.1% · 2020 to 202475th percentile
- People without health insurance10.9% · 2020 to 202472nd percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$46,174 · 202496th percentile
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- 82.7 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector45.3% · August 202598th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people170.6 · 202567th percentile
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- 79.4 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 rent25.2% · 2020 to 202487th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income23.0% · fiscal year 202771st 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 Williamsburg 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 Williamsburg County, 22.7% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Williamsburg County
South Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Williamsburg County, benefit checks' share of income has grown to about four times its 1969 level, reaching 39.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in about a fifth more than benefit checks
In Williamsburg County, South Carolina, benefit checks' share of income grew to about four times its 1969 level by 2024, reaching 39.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Williamsburg County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 26.2% in 2020 to 23.0% in 2021.
The share of households in Williamsburg County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2017 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 20.5% 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, Williamsburg County, South Carolina.
How Williamsburg County has changed
Williamsburg County's population had its largest rise, from 35,134 in 1974 to 38,599 in 1979.
Williamsburg County's population was at its highest on the chart in 1979 and has since fallen by about a quarter
High on the chart: 38,599 in 1979. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Williamsburg County, South Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Williamsburg County fell 41% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its lowest on the chart
Biggest drop: 2020 to 2025, reaching 6,466. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Williamsburg County, South Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 9.6% | 2025 7.7% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 29.6% | 2024 25.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $17,797 | 2024 $46,174 |
The table uses 7.7% for 2025; the score uses 7.6% 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 Williamsburg County's history
1950
The county's largest recorded population was the 1950 Census count of 43,807. The 2020 Census counted 31,026, 71% of the peak. Census Bureau
2015
A flood in October 2015 did $8 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1989
30 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Williamsburg County, 3 of them for flooding. FEMA
Williamsburg County beside its neighbors
Williamsburg County scores higher than all five counties that border it. For the share of income from benefit checks, Williamsburg County ranks 2nd of the six; Marion County is highest, at 39.9%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williamsburg County, SC | 99 | 25.5% | 39.0% |
| Marion County, SC | 94 | 30.8% | 39.9% |
| Florence County, SC | 89 | 17.5% | 27.7% |
| Clarendon County, SC | 89 | 17.4% | 37.8% |
| Georgetown County, SC | 66 | 17.4% | 28.5% |
| Berkeley County, SC | 58 | 8.9% | 19.1% |
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 Williamsburg County the poorest county in South Carolina?
No, Williamsburg County's poverty rate was 25.5% in 2024, 4th 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, Williamsburg County ranks 1st of 46 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Williamsburg 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 Williamsburg 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 Williamsburg County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.