Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in South Carolina

Counties in South Carolina by job destruction rate, 2023

Marlboro County had the highest job destruction rate of 46 counties in 2023, at 24.663%. Barnwell County had the lowest, at 2.653%. The median was 10.355% and the figure for South Carolina was 10.969%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest24.663Marlboro County
Lowest2.653Barnwell County
Median10.35546 counties
South Carolina10.969History

Map of counties, 2023

Abbeville County: 7.888 %Aiken County: 10.197 %Allendale County: 6.727 %Anderson County: 10.24 %Bamberg County: 13.084 %Barnwell County: 2.653 %Beaufort County: 13.381 %Berkeley County: 12.511 %Calhoun County: 7.578 %Charleston County: 11.297 %Cherokee County: 10.625 %Chester County: 11.243 %Chesterfield County: 6.848 %Clarendon County: 10.745 %Colleton County: 12.37 %Darlington County: 16.557 %Dillon County: 10.342 %Dorchester County: 9.595 %Edgefield County: 8.329 %Fairfield County: 14.141 %Florence County: 9.242 %Georgetown County: 9.809 %Greenville County: 10.46 %Greenwood County: 10.367 %Hampton County: 9.42 %Horry County: 10.868 %Jasper County: 13.703 %Kershaw County: 10.636 %Lancaster County: 14.421 %Laurens County: 9.574 %Lee County: 11.401 %Lexington County: 10.285 %McCormick County: 10.19 %Marion County: 12.928 %Marlboro County: 24.663 %Newberry County: 10.02 %Oconee County: 9.726 %Orangeburg County: 7.813 %Pickens County: 8.507 %Richland County: 12.707 %Saluda County: 7.295 %Spartanburg County: 9.093 %Sumter County: 13.573 %Union County: 8.046 %Williamsburg County: 12.841 %York County: 14.378 %
  • Under 8.2
  • 8.2 to 9.7
  • 9.7 to 10
  • 10 to 11
  • 11 to 13
  • 13 and over
%, 2023. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2023

Marlboro County: 24.663 %Marlboro County24.663Darlington County: 16.557 %Darlington County16.557Lancaster County: 14.421 %Lancaster County14.421York County: 14.378 %York County14.378Fairfield County: 14.141 %Fairfield County14.141Jasper County: 13.703 %Jasper County13.703Sumter County: 13.573 %Sumter County13.573Beaufort County: 13.381 %Beaufort County13.381Bamberg County: 13.084 %Bamberg County13.084Marion County: 12.928 %Marion County12.928Williamsburg County: 12.841 %Williamsburg County12.841Richland County: 12.707 %Richland County12.707Berkeley County: 12.511 %Berkeley County12.511Colleton County: 12.37 %Colleton County12.37Lee County: 11.401 %Lee County11.401Charleston County: 11.297 %Charleston County11.297Chester County: 11.243 %Chester County11.243Horry County: 10.868 %Horry County10.868Clarendon County: 10.745 %Clarendon County10.745Kershaw County: 10.636 %Kershaw County10.636Cherokee County: 10.625 %Cherokee County10.625Greenville County: 10.46 %Greenville County10.46Greenwood County: 10.367 %Greenwood County10.367Dillon County: 10.342 %Dillon County10.342Lexington County: 10.285 %Lexington County10.285Anderson County: 10.24 %Anderson County10.24Aiken County: 10.197 %Aiken County10.197McCormick County: 10.19 %McCormick County10.19Newberry County: 10.02 %Newberry County10.02Georgetown County: 9.809 %Georgetown County9.809Oconee County: 9.726 %Oconee County9.726Dorchester County: 9.595 %Dorchester County9.595Laurens County: 9.574 %Laurens County9.574Hampton County: 9.42 %Hampton County9.42Florence County: 9.242 %Florence County9.242Spartanburg County: 9.093 %Spartanburg County9.093Pickens County: 8.507 %Pickens County8.507Edgefield County: 8.329 %Edgefield County8.329Union County: 8.046 %Union County8.046Abbeville County: 7.888 %Abbeville County7.888Orangeburg County: 7.813 %Orangeburg County7.813Calhoun County: 7.578 %Calhoun County7.578Saluda County: 7.295 %Saluda County7.295Chesterfield County: 6.848 %Chesterfield County6.848Allendale County: 6.727 %Allendale County6.727Barnwell County: 2.653 %Barnwell County2.653Marlboro County: 24.663 %Marlboro County24.663Darlington County: 16.557 %Darlington County16.557Lancaster County: 14.421 %Lancaster County14.421York County: 14.378 %York County14.378Fairfield County: 14.141 %Fairfield County14.141Jasper County: 13.703 %Jasper County13.703Sumter County: 13.573 %Sumter County13.573Beaufort County: 13.381 %Beaufort County13.381Bamberg County: 13.084 %Bamberg County13.084Marion County: 12.928 %Marion County12.928Williamsburg County: 12.841 %Williamsburg County12.841Richland County: 12.707 %Richland County12.707Berkeley County: 12.511 %Berkeley County12.511Colleton County: 12.37 %Colleton County12.37Lee County: 11.401 %Lee County11.401Charleston County: 11.297 %Charleston County11.297Chester County: 11.243 %Chester County11.243Horry County: 10.868 %Horry County10.868Clarendon County: 10.745 %Clarendon County10.745Kershaw County: 10.636 %Kershaw County10.636Cherokee County: 10.625 %Cherokee County10.625Greenville County: 10.46 %Greenville County10.46Greenwood County: 10.367 %Greenwood County10.367Dillon County: 10.342 %Dillon County10.342Lexington County: 10.285 %Lexington County10.285Anderson County: 10.24 %Anderson County10.24Aiken County: 10.197 %Aiken County10.197McCormick County: 10.19 %McCormick County10.19Newberry County: 10.02 %Newberry County10.02Georgetown County: 9.809 %Georgetown County9.809Oconee County: 9.726 %Oconee County9.726Dorchester County: 9.595 %Dorchester County9.595Laurens County: 9.574 %Laurens County9.574Hampton County: 9.42 %Hampton County9.42Florence County: 9.242 %Florence County9.242Spartanburg County: 9.093 %Spartanburg County9.093Pickens County: 8.507 %Pickens County8.507Edgefield County: 8.329 %Edgefield County8.329Union County: 8.046 %Union County8.046Abbeville County: 7.888 %Abbeville County7.888Orangeburg County: 7.813 %Orangeburg County7.813Calhoun County: 7.578 %Calhoun County7.578Saluda County: 7.295 %Saluda County7.295Chesterfield County: 6.848 %Chesterfield County6.848Allendale County: 6.727 %Allendale County6.727Barnwell County: 2.653 %Barnwell County2.653
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Marlboro County24.663+11.44 pts
2Darlington County16.557+7.33 pts
3Lancaster County14.421+4.74 pts
4York County14.378+4.89 pts
5Fairfield County14.141-3.68 pts
6Jasper County13.703-2.91 pts
7Sumter County13.573+1.88 pts
8Beaufort County13.381+1.71 pts
9Bamberg County13.084-4.26 pts
10Marion County12.928-1.07 pts
11Williamsburg County12.841+4.24 pts
12Richland County12.707+0.71 pts
13Berkeley County12.511+1.33 pts
14Colleton County12.37+1.06 pts
15Lee County11.401-1.73 pts
16Charleston County11.297-0.47 pts
17Chester County11.243+0.2 pts
18Horry County10.868-0.57 pts
19Clarendon County10.745+3.95 pts
20Kershaw County10.636+1.01 pts
21Cherokee County10.625-2.62 pts
22Greenville County10.46-0.64 pts
23Greenwood County10.367+1.92 pts
24Dillon County10.342-5.96 pts
25Lexington County10.285-1.66 pts
26Anderson County10.24+1.22 pts
27Aiken County10.197+0.19 pts
28McCormick County10.19-2.87 pts
29Newberry County10.02+0.01 pts
30Georgetown County9.809-0.02 pts
31Oconee County9.726-2.37 pts
32Dorchester County9.595-3.48 pts
33Laurens County9.574-1.55 pts
34Hampton County9.42-2.18 pts
35Florence County9.242-6.31 pts
36Spartanburg County9.093-2.26 pts
37Pickens County8.507-2.36 pts
38Edgefield County8.329-2.51 pts
39Union County8.046-10.96 pts
40Abbeville County7.888-0.06 pts
41Orangeburg County7.813-4.12 pts
42Calhoun County7.578-2.79 pts
43Saluda County7.295-5.7 pts
44Chesterfield County6.848-2.03 pts
45Allendale County6.727-7.86 pts
46Barnwell County2.653-14.28 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Jobs lost at closing and shrinking establishments during the year, as a percentage of average employment in the two years. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics.

A gross flow: jobs added elsewhere are not subtracted, so the net change is job_creation_rate minus this rate. Not a layoff rate: it counts positions lost at establishments, not people who lost a job. The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

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. Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. 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. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (Counties in South Carolina by job destruction rate, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in South Carolina by job destruction rate, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/south-carolina-counties. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Counties in South Carolina by job destruction rate, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/south-carolina-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in South Carolina by job destruction rate, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/south-carolina-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in South Carolina by job destruction rate, 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/south-carolina-counties. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in South Carolina by job destruction rate, 2023
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/south-carolina-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/south-carolina-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest job destruction rate?

Marlboro County, with 24.663% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Barnwell County, with 2.653% 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, Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Job destruction rate: other rankings

Counties in South Carolina: more rankings