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

Counties in South Carolina by job destruction rate

Pickens County had the highest job destruction rate of 46 counties in 2016, at 18.915%. Newberry County had the lowest, at 4.66%. The median was 9.725% and the figure for South Carolina was 10.134%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest18.915Pickens County
Lowest4.66Newberry County
Median9.72546 counties
South Carolina10.134History

Map of counties, 2016

Abbeville County: 8.065 %Aiken County: 8.074 %Allendale County: 9.518 %Anderson County: 7.254 %Bamberg County: 6.529 %Barnwell County: 8.518 %Beaufort County: 9.841 %Berkeley County: 11.245 %Calhoun County: 7.58 %Charleston County: 9.974 %Cherokee County: 10.592 %Chester County: 7.973 %Chesterfield County: 6.159 %Clarendon County: 11.551 %Colleton County: 8.463 %Darlington County: 8.825 %Dillon County: 11.028 %Dorchester County: 8.995 %Edgefield County: 5.782 %Fairfield County: 12.196 %Florence County: 11.269 %Georgetown County: 11.844 %Greenville County: 10.81 %Greenwood County: 11.617 %Hampton County: 18.06 %Horry County: 9.609 %Jasper County: 9.156 %Kershaw County: 16.63 %Lancaster County: 15.183 %Laurens County: 10.198 %Lee County: 16.763 %Lexington County: 8.794 %McCormick County: 7.81 %Marion County: 14.982 %Marlboro County: 15.042 %Newberry County: 4.66 %Oconee County: 8.531 %Orangeburg County: 10.319 %Pickens County: 18.915 %Richland County: 10.124 %Saluda County: 7.663 %Spartanburg County: 8.373 %Sumter County: 10.22 %Union County: 4.989 %Williamsburg County: 16.234 %York County: 8.884 %
  • Under 7.7
  • 7.7 to 8.5
  • 8.5 to 9.7
  • 9.7 to 11
  • 11 to 14
  • 14 and over
%, 2016. 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, 2016

Pickens County: 18.915 %Pickens County18.915Hampton County: 18.06 %Hampton County18.06Lee County: 16.763 %Lee County16.763Kershaw County: 16.63 %Kershaw County16.63Williamsburg County: 16.234 %Williamsburg County16.234Lancaster County: 15.183 %Lancaster County15.183Marlboro County: 15.042 %Marlboro County15.042Marion County: 14.982 %Marion County14.982Fairfield County: 12.196 %Fairfield County12.196Georgetown County: 11.844 %Georgetown County11.844Greenwood County: 11.617 %Greenwood County11.617Clarendon County: 11.551 %Clarendon County11.551Florence County: 11.269 %Florence County11.269Berkeley County: 11.245 %Berkeley County11.245Dillon County: 11.028 %Dillon County11.028Greenville County: 10.81 %Greenville County10.81Cherokee County: 10.592 %Cherokee County10.592Orangeburg County: 10.319 %Orangeburg County10.319Sumter County: 10.22 %Sumter County10.22Laurens County: 10.198 %Laurens County10.198Richland County: 10.124 %Richland County10.124Charleston County: 9.974 %Charleston County9.974Beaufort County: 9.841 %Beaufort County9.841Horry County: 9.609 %Horry County9.609Allendale County: 9.518 %Allendale County9.518Jasper County: 9.156 %Jasper County9.156Dorchester County: 8.995 %Dorchester County8.995York County: 8.884 %York County8.884Darlington County: 8.825 %Darlington County8.825Lexington County: 8.794 %Lexington County8.794Oconee County: 8.531 %Oconee County8.531Barnwell County: 8.518 %Barnwell County8.518Colleton County: 8.463 %Colleton County8.463Spartanburg County: 8.373 %Spartanburg County8.373Aiken County: 8.074 %Aiken County8.074Abbeville County: 8.065 %Abbeville County8.065Chester County: 7.973 %Chester County7.973McCormick County: 7.81 %McCormick County7.81Saluda County: 7.663 %Saluda County7.663Calhoun County: 7.58 %Calhoun County7.58Anderson County: 7.254 %Anderson County7.254Bamberg County: 6.529 %Bamberg County6.529Chesterfield County: 6.159 %Chesterfield County6.159Edgefield County: 5.782 %Edgefield County5.782Union County: 4.989 %Union County4.989Newberry County: 4.66 %Newberry County4.66Pickens County: 18.915 %Pickens County18.915Hampton County: 18.06 %Hampton County18.06Lee County: 16.763 %Lee County16.763Kershaw County: 16.63 %Kershaw County16.63Williamsburg County: 16.234 %Williamsburg County16.234Lancaster County: 15.183 %Lancaster County15.183Marlboro County: 15.042 %Marlboro County15.042Marion County: 14.982 %Marion County14.982Fairfield County: 12.196 %Fairfield County12.196Georgetown County: 11.844 %Georgetown County11.844Greenwood County: 11.617 %Greenwood County11.617Clarendon County: 11.551 %Clarendon County11.551Florence County: 11.269 %Florence County11.269Berkeley County: 11.245 %Berkeley County11.245Dillon County: 11.028 %Dillon County11.028Greenville County: 10.81 %Greenville County10.81Cherokee County: 10.592 %Cherokee County10.592Orangeburg County: 10.319 %Orangeburg County10.319Sumter County: 10.22 %Sumter County10.22Laurens County: 10.198 %Laurens County10.198Richland County: 10.124 %Richland County10.124Charleston County: 9.974 %Charleston County9.974Beaufort County: 9.841 %Beaufort County9.841Horry County: 9.609 %Horry County9.609Allendale County: 9.518 %Allendale County9.518Jasper County: 9.156 %Jasper County9.156Dorchester County: 8.995 %Dorchester County8.995York County: 8.884 %York County8.884Darlington County: 8.825 %Darlington County8.825Lexington County: 8.794 %Lexington County8.794Oconee County: 8.531 %Oconee County8.531Barnwell County: 8.518 %Barnwell County8.518Colleton County: 8.463 %Colleton County8.463Spartanburg County: 8.373 %Spartanburg County8.373Aiken County: 8.074 %Aiken County8.074Abbeville County: 8.065 %Abbeville County8.065Chester County: 7.973 %Chester County7.973McCormick County: 7.81 %McCormick County7.81Saluda County: 7.663 %Saluda County7.663Calhoun County: 7.58 %Calhoun County7.58Anderson County: 7.254 %Anderson County7.254Bamberg County: 6.529 %Bamberg County6.529Chesterfield County: 6.159 %Chesterfield County6.159Edgefield County: 5.782 %Edgefield County5.782Union County: 4.989 %Union County4.989Newberry County: 4.66 %Newberry County4.66
%. 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

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Pickens County18.915+9.61 pts
2Hampton County18.06+5.64 pts
3Lee County16.763+5.09 pts
4Kershaw County16.63+7.99 pts
5Williamsburg County16.234+8.93 pts
6Lancaster County15.183+7.78 pts
7Marlboro County15.042+5.06 pts
8Marion County14.982+4.62 pts
9Fairfield County12.196+6.73 pts
10Georgetown County11.844+0.12 pts
11Greenwood County11.617+1.2 pts
12Clarendon County11.551+4.23 pts
13Florence County11.269+3.48 pts
14Berkeley County11.245+1.23 pts
15Dillon County11.028+2.74 pts
16Greenville County10.81+0.34 pts
17Cherokee County10.592+2.24 pts
18Orangeburg County10.319-2.77 pts
19Sumter County10.22+1.48 pts
20Laurens County10.198+2.84 pts
21Richland County10.124+0.25 pts
22Charleston County9.974-0.68 pts
23Beaufort County9.841-2.68 pts
24Horry County9.609-1.78 pts
25Allendale County9.518+1.6 pts
26Jasper County9.156-1.8 pts
27Dorchester County8.995-1.11 pts
28York County8.884-1.87 pts
29Darlington County8.825-1.48 pts
30Lexington County8.794-0.56 pts
31Oconee County8.531+0.71 pts
32Barnwell County8.518+0.74 pts
33Colleton County8.463-0.08 pts
34Spartanburg County8.373-0.21 pts
35Aiken County8.074-5.57 pts
36Abbeville County8.065+1.32 pts
37Chester County7.973-2.59 pts
38McCormick County7.81-1.34 pts
39Saluda County7.663+1.16 pts
40Calhoun County7.58-0.78 pts
41Anderson County7.254-3.26 pts
42Bamberg County6.529-5.81 pts
43Chesterfield County6.159-0.04 pts
44Edgefield County5.782-1.47 pts
45Union County4.989-2.57 pts
46Newberry County4.66-0.53 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, 2016) [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, 2016. 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=2016. 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, 2016. 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=2016.

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, 2016 [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=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  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=2016. 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, 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/south-carolina-counties?period=2016.
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?

Pickens County, with 18.915% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Newberry County, with 4.66% in 2016.

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