Counties in South Carolina by child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure)

Barnwell County had the highest child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure) of 46 counties in 2023, at 45.8%. York County had the lowest, at 12%. The median was 24.2% and the figure for South Carolina was 18.8%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest45.8Barnwell County
Lowest12York County
Median24.246 counties
South Carolina18.8History

All counties, 2023

Barnwell County: 45.8 %Barnwell County45.8Allendale County: 44.6 %Allendale County44.6Bamberg County: 36.3 %Bamberg County36.3Marion County: 35.9 %Marion County35.9Marlboro County: 35.6 %Marlboro County35.6Union County: 34.8 %Union County34.8Dillon County: 34.6 %Dillon County34.6Lee County: 33.8 %Lee County33.8Colleton County: 33.6 %Colleton County33.6Fairfield County: 33.1 %Fairfield County33.1McCormick County: 32.6 %McCormick County32.6Hampton County: 32.1 %Hampton County32.1Williamsburg County: 31.6 %Williamsburg County31.6Chester County: 30.8 %Chester County30.8Darlington County: 30.1 %Darlington County30.1Chesterfield County: 30 %Chesterfield County30Clarendon County: 29.7 %Clarendon County29.7Jasper County: 29.2 %Jasper County29.2Orangeburg County: 29.1 %Orangeburg County29.1Newberry County: 28.3 %Newberry County28.3Florence County: 28 %Florence County28Saluda County: 24.4 %Saluda County24.4Calhoun County: 24.3 %Calhoun County24.3Laurens County: 24 %Laurens County24Sumter County: 23.9 %Sumter County23.9Greenwood County: 23.7 %Greenwood County23.7Cherokee County: 23.5 %Cherokee County23.5Georgetown County: 22.8 %Georgetown County22.8Edgefield County: 22.4 %Edgefield County22.4Abbeville County: 22 %Abbeville County22Oconee County: 20.1 %Oconee County20.1Richland County: 19.9 %Richland County19.9Horry County: 19.8 %Horry County19.8Spartanburg County: 19.7 %Spartanburg County19.7Anderson County: 18.4 %Anderson County18.4Kershaw County: 17.8 %Kershaw County17.8Aiken County: 17.7 %Aiken County17.7Pickens County: 17.6 %Pickens County17.6Greenville County: 14.6 %Greenville County14.6Lexington County: 14.4 %Lexington County14.4Charleston County: 14.2 %Charleston County14.2Beaufort County: 14 %Beaufort County14Lancaster County: 13.7 %Lancaster County13.7Dorchester County: 12.8 %Dorchester County12.8Berkeley County: 12.6 %Berkeley County12.6York County: 12 %York County12
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people under age 18 in poverty, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Barnwell County45.8+12.3 pts
2Allendale County44.6-6.6 pts
3Bamberg County36.3-3 pts
4Marion County35.9-12 pts
5Marlboro County35.6-0.2 pts
6Union County34.8+9 pts
7Dillon County34.6-5.1 pts
8Lee County33.8-8 pts
9Colleton County33.6+3 pts
10Fairfield County33.1+2.7 pts
11McCormick County32.6-2.4 pts
12Hampton County32.1+2.3 pts
13Williamsburg County31.6-2.9 pts
14Chester County30.8+5.4 pts
15Darlington County30.1-0.7 pts
16Chesterfield County30+1.8 pts
17Clarendon County29.7+0.5 pts
18Jasper County29.2-0.5 pts
19Orangeburg County29.1-2.5 pts
20Newberry County28.3+4.2 pts
21Florence County28-0.8 pts
22Saluda County24.4+0.7 pts
23Calhoun County24.3+0.2 pts
24Laurens County24-2.5 pts
25Sumter County23.9+2.8 pts
26Greenwood County23.7-0.9 pts
27Cherokee County23.5+0.2 pts
28Georgetown County22.8-3.5 pts
29Edgefield County22.4-1.4 pts
30Abbeville County22-1.5 pts
31Oconee County20.1-1.4 pts
32Richland County19.9+0.9 pts
33Horry County19.8-0.5 pts
34Spartanburg County19.7-0.3 pts
35Anderson County18.4-2.4 pts
36Kershaw County17.8+0.9 pts
37Aiken County17.7-7 pts
38Pickens County17.6+2 pts
39Greenville County14.6+1.5 pts
40Lexington County14.4-1 pts
41Charleston County14.2-0.8 pts
42Beaufort County14-4.2 pts
43Lancaster County13.7+0.7 pts
44Dorchester County12.8-1.8 pts
45Berkeley County12.6+0.2 pts
46York County12+1.6 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People under 18 in families or living alone with income below the official US poverty thresholds, as a percentage of people under 18 whose poverty status can be determined. United States: Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) for the nation, states and counties.

A model-based single-year estimate; the national figure is the one-year American Community Survey estimate. The Census Bureau advises comparing years from 2006 on only. Absolute thresholds set by the US government, so not comparable with the EU at_risk_of_poverty_rate. The rate for all ages is poverty_rate.

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. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people under age 18 in poverty, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2023/2023-state-and-county/est23all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people under age 18 in poverty, nation, states and counties (Counties in South Carolina by child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure), 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2023/2023-state-and-county/est23all.txt

MLA 9

Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people under age 18 in poverty, nation, states and counties, Counties in South Carolina by child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure), 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Jan. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2023/2023-state-and-county/est23all.txt. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/child-poverty-rate-under-18/south-carolina-counties?period=2023. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people under age 18 in poverty, nation, states and counties. Counties in South Carolina by child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure), 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2023/2023-state-and-county/est23all.txt. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/child-poverty-rate-under-18/south-carolina-counties?period=2023.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people under age 18 in poverty, nation, states and counties, Counties in South Carolina by child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure), 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2023/2023-state-and-county/est23all.txt, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/child-poverty-rate-under-18/south-carolina-counties?period=2023 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people under age 18 in poverty, nation, states and counties: Counties in South Carolina by child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure), 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2023/2023-state-and-county/est23all.txt},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/child-poverty-rate-under-18/south-carolina-counties?period=2023. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people under age 18 in poverty, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2023/2023-state-and-county/est23all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people under age 18 in poverty, nation, states and counties: Counties in South Carolina by child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure), 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/01/27
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2023/2023-state-and-county/est23all.txt
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/child-poverty-rate-under-18/south-carolina-counties?period=2023
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/child-poverty-rate-under-18/south-carolina-counties?period=2023.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people under age 18 in poverty, nation, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2023/2023-state-and-county/est23all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in South Carolina by child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"child_poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"South Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=child_poverty_rate&level=province&within=South%20Carolina&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure)?

Barnwell County, with 45.8% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure)?

York County, with 12% 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, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people under age 18 in poverty, nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Child poverty rate, under 18 (US official measure): other rankings

Counties in South Carolina: more rankings