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

Counties in South Carolina by job destruction rate

Lee County had the highest job destruction rate of 46 counties in 2012, at 17.513%. Allendale County had the lowest, at 6.061%. The median was 11.364% and the figure for South Carolina was 11.24%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest17.513Lee County
Lowest6.061Allendale County
Median11.36446 counties
South Carolina11.24History

Map of counties, 2012

Abbeville County: 8.16 %Aiken County: 11.897 %Allendale County: 6.061 %Anderson County: 10.974 %Bamberg County: 13.901 %Barnwell County: 13.313 %Beaufort County: 12.59 %Berkeley County: 14.464 %Calhoun County: 11.129 %Charleston County: 12.386 %Cherokee County: 10.275 %Chester County: 11.65 %Chesterfield County: 6.742 %Clarendon County: 13.61 %Colleton County: 11.503 %Darlington County: 12.824 %Dillon County: 6.458 %Dorchester County: 12.013 %Edgefield County: 8.779 %Fairfield County: 16.189 %Florence County: 11.07 %Georgetown County: 10.806 %Greenville County: 11.134 %Greenwood County: 8.7 %Hampton County: 10.727 %Horry County: 12.083 %Jasper County: 16.704 %Kershaw County: 12.808 %Lancaster County: 9.194 %Laurens County: 10.161 %Lee County: 17.513 %Lexington County: 11.363 %McCormick County: 11.553 %Marion County: 12.76 %Marlboro County: 7.049 %Newberry County: 9.761 %Oconee County: 9.005 %Orangeburg County: 12.797 %Pickens County: 11.365 %Richland County: 12.742 %Saluda County: 6.566 %Spartanburg County: 9.933 %Sumter County: 9.163 %Union County: 15.022 %Williamsburg County: 12.75 %York County: 9.813 %
  • Under 8.9
  • 8.9 to 10
  • 10 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 13
  • 13 and over
%, 2012. 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, 2012

Lee County: 17.513 %Lee County17.513Jasper County: 16.704 %Jasper County16.704Fairfield County: 16.189 %Fairfield County16.189Union County: 15.022 %Union County15.022Berkeley County: 14.464 %Berkeley County14.464Bamberg County: 13.901 %Bamberg County13.901Clarendon County: 13.61 %Clarendon County13.61Barnwell County: 13.313 %Barnwell County13.313Darlington County: 12.824 %Darlington County12.824Kershaw County: 12.808 %Kershaw County12.808Orangeburg County: 12.797 %Orangeburg County12.797Marion County: 12.76 %Marion County12.76Williamsburg County: 12.75 %Williamsburg County12.75Richland County: 12.742 %Richland County12.742Beaufort County: 12.59 %Beaufort County12.59Charleston County: 12.386 %Charleston County12.386Horry County: 12.083 %Horry County12.083Dorchester County: 12.013 %Dorchester County12.013Aiken County: 11.897 %Aiken County11.897Chester County: 11.65 %Chester County11.65McCormick County: 11.553 %McCormick County11.553Colleton County: 11.503 %Colleton County11.503Pickens County: 11.365 %Pickens County11.365Lexington County: 11.363 %Lexington County11.363Greenville County: 11.134 %Greenville County11.134Calhoun County: 11.129 %Calhoun County11.129Florence County: 11.07 %Florence County11.07Anderson County: 10.974 %Anderson County10.974Georgetown County: 10.806 %Georgetown County10.806Hampton County: 10.727 %Hampton County10.727Cherokee County: 10.275 %Cherokee County10.275Laurens County: 10.161 %Laurens County10.161Spartanburg County: 9.933 %Spartanburg County9.933York County: 9.813 %York County9.813Newberry County: 9.761 %Newberry County9.761Lancaster County: 9.194 %Lancaster County9.194Sumter County: 9.163 %Sumter County9.163Oconee County: 9.005 %Oconee County9.005Edgefield County: 8.779 %Edgefield County8.779Greenwood County: 8.7 %Greenwood County8.7Abbeville County: 8.16 %Abbeville County8.16Marlboro County: 7.049 %Marlboro County7.049Chesterfield County: 6.742 %Chesterfield County6.742Saluda County: 6.566 %Saluda County6.566Dillon County: 6.458 %Dillon County6.458Allendale County: 6.061 %Allendale County6.061Lee County: 17.513 %Lee County17.513Jasper County: 16.704 %Jasper County16.704Fairfield County: 16.189 %Fairfield County16.189Union County: 15.022 %Union County15.022Berkeley County: 14.464 %Berkeley County14.464Bamberg County: 13.901 %Bamberg County13.901Clarendon County: 13.61 %Clarendon County13.61Barnwell County: 13.313 %Barnwell County13.313Darlington County: 12.824 %Darlington County12.824Kershaw County: 12.808 %Kershaw County12.808Orangeburg County: 12.797 %Orangeburg County12.797Marion County: 12.76 %Marion County12.76Williamsburg County: 12.75 %Williamsburg County12.75Richland County: 12.742 %Richland County12.742Beaufort County: 12.59 %Beaufort County12.59Charleston County: 12.386 %Charleston County12.386Horry County: 12.083 %Horry County12.083Dorchester County: 12.013 %Dorchester County12.013Aiken County: 11.897 %Aiken County11.897Chester County: 11.65 %Chester County11.65McCormick County: 11.553 %McCormick County11.553Colleton County: 11.503 %Colleton County11.503Pickens County: 11.365 %Pickens County11.365Lexington County: 11.363 %Lexington County11.363Greenville County: 11.134 %Greenville County11.134Calhoun County: 11.129 %Calhoun County11.129Florence County: 11.07 %Florence County11.07Anderson County: 10.974 %Anderson County10.974Georgetown County: 10.806 %Georgetown County10.806Hampton County: 10.727 %Hampton County10.727Cherokee County: 10.275 %Cherokee County10.275Laurens County: 10.161 %Laurens County10.161Spartanburg County: 9.933 %Spartanburg County9.933York County: 9.813 %York County9.813Newberry County: 9.761 %Newberry County9.761Lancaster County: 9.194 %Lancaster County9.194Sumter County: 9.163 %Sumter County9.163Oconee County: 9.005 %Oconee County9.005Edgefield County: 8.779 %Edgefield County8.779Greenwood County: 8.7 %Greenwood County8.7Abbeville County: 8.16 %Abbeville County8.16Marlboro County: 7.049 %Marlboro County7.049Chesterfield County: 6.742 %Chesterfield County6.742Saluda County: 6.566 %Saluda County6.566Dillon County: 6.458 %Dillon County6.458Allendale County: 6.061 %Allendale County6.061
%. 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

RankCounties2012 (%)Change on 2011
1Lee County17.513+8.54 pts
2Jasper County16.704-4.32 pts
3Fairfield County16.189+3.42 pts
4Union County15.022+1.49 pts
5Berkeley County14.464+0.85 pts
6Bamberg County13.901+5.72 pts
7Clarendon County13.61-2.22 pts
8Barnwell County13.313+2.69 pts
9Darlington County12.824+0.13 pts
10Kershaw County12.808+4.02 pts
11Orangeburg County12.797+2.19 pts
12Marion County12.76-6.58 pts
13Williamsburg County12.75+2.63 pts
14Richland County12.742-0.86 pts
15Beaufort County12.59-2.73 pts
16Charleston County12.386+1.04 pts
17Horry County12.083-0.97 pts
18Dorchester County12.013-0.91 pts
19Aiken County11.897+1.89 pts
20Chester County11.65+2.78 pts
21McCormick County11.553+0.97 pts
22Colleton County11.503-4.03 pts
23Pickens County11.365+1.26 pts
24Lexington County11.363-0.68 pts
25Greenville County11.134-1.27 pts
26Calhoun County11.129-0.08 pts
27Florence County11.07+0.65 pts
28Anderson County10.974+0.35 pts
29Georgetown County10.806-1.24 pts
30Hampton County10.727+0.02 pts
31Cherokee County10.275+0.2 pts
32Laurens County10.161-2.7 pts
33Spartanburg County9.933-0.23 pts
34York County9.813-1.61 pts
35Newberry County9.761-1.08 pts
36Lancaster County9.194-3.56 pts
37Sumter County9.163-1.11 pts
38Oconee County9.005-0.03 pts
39Edgefield County8.779-2.05 pts
40Greenwood County8.7-2.03 pts
41Abbeville County8.16-5.08 pts
42Marlboro County7.049-7.25 pts
43Chesterfield County6.742-1.59 pts
44Saluda County6.566+0.07 pts
45Dillon County6.458-1.38 pts
46Allendale County6.061-5.18 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, 2012) [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, 2012. 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?period=2012. 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, 2012. 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?period=2012.

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, 2012 [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?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2012,
  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, 2012}},
  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?period=2012. 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, 2012
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?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/south-carolina-counties?period=2012.
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?

Lee County, with 17.513% in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Allendale County, with 6.061% in 2012.

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