Data / Rankings / Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over / Counties in South Carolina

Counties in South Carolina by share of adults with a bachelor's degree

Charleston County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 46 counties in 2021, at 46.7%. Marlboro County had the lowest, at 8%. The median was 20.1% and the figure for South Carolina was 29.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest46.7Charleston County
Lowest8Marlboro County
Median20.146 counties
South Carolina29.8History

All counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Charleston CountyCharleston County: 46.7 %46.7Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 42.4 %42.4Richland CountyRichland County: 39.7 %39.7Greenville CountyGreenville County: 37.9 %37.9York CountyYork County: 35.9 %35.9Lexington CountyLexington County: 31.5 %31.5Georgetown CountyGeorgetown County: 30.7 %30.7Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 30 %30Dorchester CountyDorchester County: 29.5 %29.5Aiken CountyAiken County: 28.8 %28.8Oconee CountyOconee County: 27.9 %27.9Berkeley CountyBerkeley County: 27.3 %27.3Pickens CountyPickens County: 27.1 %27.1Spartanburg CountySpartanburg County: 24.9 %24.9Anderson CountyAnderson County: 24.7 %24.7Horry CountyHorry County: 24.5 %24.5Florence CountyFlorence County: 24.3 %24.3Greenwood CountyGreenwood County: 24.2 %24.2Jasper CountyJasper County: 23.5 %23.5Sumter CountySumter County: 22.4 %22.4Kershaw CountyKershaw County: 21.2 %21.2Newberry CountyNewberry County: 21 %21McCormick CountyMcCormick County: 20.7 %20.7Edgefield CountyEdgefield County: 19.4 %19.4Saluda CountySaluda County: 19.3 %19.3Orangeburg CountyOrangeburg County: 19 %19Darlington CountyDarlington County: 18.6 %18.6Abbeville CountyAbbeville County: 18.2 %18.2Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 18.1 %18.1Bamberg CountyBamberg County: 17.5 %17.5Laurens CountyLaurens County: 17.2 %17.2Colleton CountyColleton County: 16.2 %16.2Lee CountyLee County: 15.9 %15.9Fairfield CountyFairfield County: 15.7 %15.7Williamsburg CountyWilliamsburg County: 15.6 %15.6Clarendon CountyClarendon County: 15.6 %15.6Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 14.6 %14.6Barnwell CountyBarnwell County: 14 %14Union CountyUnion County: 13.6 %13.6Chester CountyChester County: 13 %13Chesterfield CountyChesterfield County: 12.6 %12.6Marion CountyMarion County: 12.3 %12.3Dillon CountyDillon County: 12.2 %12.2Hampton CountyHampton County: 11 %11Allendale CountyAllendale County: 10.4 %10.4Marlboro CountyMarlboro County: 8 %8
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Charleston County46.7
2Beaufort County42.4
3Richland County39.7
4Greenville County37.9
5York County35.9
6Lexington County31.5
7Georgetown County30.7
8Lancaster County30
9Dorchester County29.5
10Aiken County28.8
11Oconee County27.9
12Berkeley County27.3
13Pickens County27.1
14Spartanburg County24.9
15Anderson County24.7
16Horry County24.5
17Florence County24.3
18Greenwood County24.2
19Jasper County23.5
20Sumter County22.4
21Kershaw County21.2
22Newberry County21
23McCormick County20.7
24Edgefield County19.4
25Saluda County19.3
26Orangeburg County19
27Darlington County18.6
28Abbeville County18.2
29Calhoun County18.1
30Bamberg County17.5
31Laurens County17.2
32Colleton County16.2
33Lee County15.9
34Fairfield County15.7
35Williamsburg County15.6
36Clarendon County15.6
37Cherokee County14.6
38Barnwell County14
39Union County13.6
40Chester County13
41Chesterfield County12.6
42Marion County12.3
43Dillon County12.2
44Hampton County11
45Allendale County10.4
46Marlboro County8

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a bachelor's, master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Excludes associate degrees and college without a degree. Not comparable with EU tertiary attainment, which includes short-cycle tertiary education and usually covers ages 25 to 64. Calculated from counts in ACS table B15003, which are stored as inputs.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Rank Counties in South Carolina by share of adults with a bachelor's degree using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Charleston County, with 46.7% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Marlboro County, with 8% in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over: other rankings

Counties in South Carolina: more rankings