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 2023, at 49%. Marlboro County had the lowest, at 8.7%. The median was 22.3% and the figure for South Carolina was 31.5%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest49Charleston County
Lowest8.7Marlboro County
Median22.346 counties
South Carolina31.5History

All counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Charleston CountyCharleston County: 49 %49Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 44.8 %44.8Richland CountyRichland County: 41.1 %41.1Greenville CountyGreenville County: 40 %40York CountyYork County: 38.1 %38.1Lexington CountyLexington County: 33.1 %33.1Georgetown CountyGeorgetown County: 32.5 %32.5Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 31.2 %31.2Aiken CountyAiken County: 31.1 %31.1Dorchester CountyDorchester County: 30 %30Berkeley CountyBerkeley County: 29.9 %29.9Oconee CountyOconee County: 28.5 %28.5Pickens CountyPickens County: 27.3 %27.3Horry CountyHorry County: 26.6 %26.6Anderson CountyAnderson County: 26.4 %26.4Jasper CountyJasper County: 25.9 %25.9Spartanburg CountySpartanburg County: 25.7 %25.7Greenwood CountyGreenwood County: 25.6 %25.6Florence CountyFlorence County: 23.7 %23.7Newberry CountyNewberry County: 23.5 %23.5Sumter CountySumter County: 23.2 %23.2McCormick CountyMcCormick County: 23.1 %23.1Kershaw CountyKershaw County: 22.8 %22.8Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 21.8 %21.8Edgefield CountyEdgefield County: 21.4 %21.4Saluda CountySaluda County: 19.9 %19.9Darlington CountyDarlington County: 19.7 %19.7Orangeburg CountyOrangeburg County: 19.4 %19.4Abbeville CountyAbbeville County: 19.3 %19.3Bamberg CountyBamberg County: 18.8 %18.8Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 18.4 %18.4Laurens CountyLaurens County: 17.9 %17.9Clarendon CountyClarendon County: 17.7 %17.7Colleton CountyColleton County: 16.7 %16.7Williamsburg CountyWilliamsburg County: 15.4 %15.4Fairfield CountyFairfield County: 15.3 %15.3Marion CountyMarion County: 13.8 %13.8Chester CountyChester County: 13.7 %13.7Union CountyUnion County: 13.5 %13.5Allendale CountyAllendale County: 13.3 %13.3Chesterfield CountyChesterfield County: 13.2 %13.2Barnwell CountyBarnwell County: 12.8 %12.8Lee CountyLee County: 12.8 %12.8Hampton CountyHampton County: 11.8 %11.8Dillon CountyDillon County: 11.7 %11.7Marlboro CountyMarlboro County: 8.7 %8.7
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Charleston County49+0.9 pts
2Beaufort County44.8+1.4 pts
3Richland County41.1+0.9 pts
4Greenville County40+0.7 pts
5York County38.1+1.3 pts
6Lexington County33.1+0.5 pts
7Georgetown County32.5+1.5 pts
8Lancaster County31.2+1.1 pts
9Aiken County31.1+1.4 pts
10Dorchester County30+0.5 pts
11Berkeley County29.9+1.6 pts
12Oconee County28.5+0.7 pts
13Pickens County27.3-0.2 pts
14Horry County26.6+1.2 pts
15Anderson County26.4+0.3 pts
16Jasper County25.9+2.6 pts
17Spartanburg County25.7+0.5 pts
18Greenwood County25.6+1.3 pts
19Florence County23.7-0.2 pts
20Newberry County23.5+1 pts
21Sumter County23.2+0.1 pts
22McCormick County23.1+1.8 pts
23Kershaw County22.8+1.5 pts
24Calhoun County21.8+2.6 pts
25Edgefield County21.4+1.6 pts
26Saluda County19.9+0.7 pts
27Darlington County19.7+0.7 pts
28Orangeburg County19.4+0.2 pts
29Abbeville County19.3+0.3 pts
30Bamberg County18.8+1 pts
31Cherokee County18.4+1.2 pts
32Laurens County17.9-0.1 pts
33Clarendon County17.7+1.1 pts
34Colleton County16.7+1 pts
35Williamsburg County15.4+0.1 pts
36Fairfield County15.3+0.6 pts
37Marion County13.8+0.1 pts
38Chester County13.7-0.1 pts
39Union County13.5-0.5 pts
40Allendale County13.3+2.6 pts
41Chesterfield County13.2+0.3 pts
42Barnwell County12.8-1.5 pts
43Lee County12.8-1.7 pts
44Hampton County11.8+0.2 pts
45Dillon County11.7-0.2 pts
46Marlboro County8.7+0.4 pts

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/2023/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2023-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

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

Charleston County, with 49% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Marlboro County, with 8.7% in 2023.

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