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

Counties in South Carolina by job destruction rate

Abbeville County had the highest job destruction rate of 46 counties in 2017, at 25.443%. Barnwell County had the lowest, at 4.537%. The median was 10.96% and the figure for South Carolina was 11.259%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest25.443Abbeville County
Lowest4.537Barnwell County
Median10.9646 counties
South Carolina11.259History

Map of counties, 2017

Abbeville County: 25.443 %Aiken County: 14.938 %Allendale County: 6.791 %Anderson County: 10.11 %Bamberg County: 10.901 %Barnwell County: 4.537 %Beaufort County: 13.627 %Berkeley County: 11.534 %Calhoun County: 17.401 %Charleston County: 11 %Cherokee County: 9.685 %Chester County: 7.479 %Chesterfield County: 7.862 %Clarendon County: 15.605 %Colleton County: 9.748 %Darlington County: 11.052 %Dillon County: 15.429 %Dorchester County: 9.956 %Edgefield County: 9.429 %Fairfield County: 7.96 %Florence County: 9.459 %Georgetown County: 11.347 %Greenville County: 10.919 %Greenwood County: 10.272 %Hampton County: 12.467 %Horry County: 11.617 %Jasper County: 10.743 %Kershaw County: 14.39 %Lancaster County: 13.751 %Laurens County: 9.691 %Lee County: 21.553 %Lexington County: 11.214 %McCormick County: 10.192 %Marion County: 9.729 %Marlboro County: 17.218 %Newberry County: 11.927 %Oconee County: 9.266 %Orangeburg County: 12.507 %Pickens County: 16.176 %Richland County: 11.754 %Saluda County: 4.755 %Spartanburg County: 11.875 %Sumter County: 13.077 %Union County: 8.747 %Williamsburg County: 9.736 %York County: 9.968 %
  • Under 9.3
  • 9.3 to 10
  • 10 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 15
  • 15 and over
%, 2017. 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, 2017

Abbeville County: 25.443 %Abbeville County25.443Lee County: 21.553 %Lee County21.553Calhoun County: 17.401 %Calhoun County17.401Marlboro County: 17.218 %Marlboro County17.218Pickens County: 16.176 %Pickens County16.176Clarendon County: 15.605 %Clarendon County15.605Dillon County: 15.429 %Dillon County15.429Aiken County: 14.938 %Aiken County14.938Kershaw County: 14.39 %Kershaw County14.39Lancaster County: 13.751 %Lancaster County13.751Beaufort County: 13.627 %Beaufort County13.627Sumter County: 13.077 %Sumter County13.077Orangeburg County: 12.507 %Orangeburg County12.507Hampton County: 12.467 %Hampton County12.467Newberry County: 11.927 %Newberry County11.927Spartanburg County: 11.875 %Spartanburg County11.875Richland County: 11.754 %Richland County11.754Horry County: 11.617 %Horry County11.617Berkeley County: 11.534 %Berkeley County11.534Georgetown County: 11.347 %Georgetown County11.347Lexington County: 11.214 %Lexington County11.214Darlington County: 11.052 %Darlington County11.052Charleston County: 11 %Charleston County11Greenville County: 10.919 %Greenville County10.919Bamberg County: 10.901 %Bamberg County10.901Jasper County: 10.743 %Jasper County10.743Greenwood County: 10.272 %Greenwood County10.272McCormick County: 10.192 %McCormick County10.192Anderson County: 10.11 %Anderson County10.11York County: 9.968 %York County9.968Dorchester County: 9.956 %Dorchester County9.956Colleton County: 9.748 %Colleton County9.748Williamsburg County: 9.736 %Williamsburg County9.736Marion County: 9.729 %Marion County9.729Laurens County: 9.691 %Laurens County9.691Cherokee County: 9.685 %Cherokee County9.685Florence County: 9.459 %Florence County9.459Edgefield County: 9.429 %Edgefield County9.429Oconee County: 9.266 %Oconee County9.266Union County: 8.747 %Union County8.747Fairfield County: 7.96 %Fairfield County7.96Chesterfield County: 7.862 %Chesterfield County7.862Chester County: 7.479 %Chester County7.479Allendale County: 6.791 %Allendale County6.791Saluda County: 4.755 %Saluda County4.755Barnwell County: 4.537 %Barnwell County4.537Abbeville County: 25.443 %Abbeville County25.443Lee County: 21.553 %Lee County21.553Calhoun County: 17.401 %Calhoun County17.401Marlboro County: 17.218 %Marlboro County17.218Pickens County: 16.176 %Pickens County16.176Clarendon County: 15.605 %Clarendon County15.605Dillon County: 15.429 %Dillon County15.429Aiken County: 14.938 %Aiken County14.938Kershaw County: 14.39 %Kershaw County14.39Lancaster County: 13.751 %Lancaster County13.751Beaufort County: 13.627 %Beaufort County13.627Sumter County: 13.077 %Sumter County13.077Orangeburg County: 12.507 %Orangeburg County12.507Hampton County: 12.467 %Hampton County12.467Newberry County: 11.927 %Newberry County11.927Spartanburg County: 11.875 %Spartanburg County11.875Richland County: 11.754 %Richland County11.754Horry County: 11.617 %Horry County11.617Berkeley County: 11.534 %Berkeley County11.534Georgetown County: 11.347 %Georgetown County11.347Lexington County: 11.214 %Lexington County11.214Darlington County: 11.052 %Darlington County11.052Charleston County: 11 %Charleston County11Greenville County: 10.919 %Greenville County10.919Bamberg County: 10.901 %Bamberg County10.901Jasper County: 10.743 %Jasper County10.743Greenwood County: 10.272 %Greenwood County10.272McCormick County: 10.192 %McCormick County10.192Anderson County: 10.11 %Anderson County10.11York County: 9.968 %York County9.968Dorchester County: 9.956 %Dorchester County9.956Colleton County: 9.748 %Colleton County9.748Williamsburg County: 9.736 %Williamsburg County9.736Marion County: 9.729 %Marion County9.729Laurens County: 9.691 %Laurens County9.691Cherokee County: 9.685 %Cherokee County9.685Florence County: 9.459 %Florence County9.459Edgefield County: 9.429 %Edgefield County9.429Oconee County: 9.266 %Oconee County9.266Union County: 8.747 %Union County8.747Fairfield County: 7.96 %Fairfield County7.96Chesterfield County: 7.862 %Chesterfield County7.862Chester County: 7.479 %Chester County7.479Allendale County: 6.791 %Allendale County6.791Saluda County: 4.755 %Saluda County4.755Barnwell County: 4.537 %Barnwell County4.537
%. 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

RankCounties2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Abbeville County25.443+17.38 pts
2Lee County21.553+4.79 pts
3Calhoun County17.401+9.82 pts
4Marlboro County17.218+2.18 pts
5Pickens County16.176-2.74 pts
6Clarendon County15.605+4.05 pts
7Dillon County15.429+4.4 pts
8Aiken County14.938+6.86 pts
9Kershaw County14.39-2.24 pts
10Lancaster County13.751-1.43 pts
11Beaufort County13.627+3.79 pts
12Sumter County13.077+2.86 pts
13Orangeburg County12.507+2.19 pts
14Hampton County12.467-5.59 pts
15Newberry County11.927+7.27 pts
16Spartanburg County11.875+3.5 pts
17Richland County11.754+1.63 pts
18Horry County11.617+2.01 pts
19Berkeley County11.534+0.29 pts
20Georgetown County11.347-0.5 pts
21Lexington County11.214+2.42 pts
22Darlington County11.052+2.23 pts
23Charleston County11+1.03 pts
24Greenville County10.919+0.11 pts
25Bamberg County10.901+4.37 pts
26Jasper County10.743+1.59 pts
27Greenwood County10.272-1.35 pts
28McCormick County10.192+2.38 pts
29Anderson County10.11+2.86 pts
30York County9.968+1.08 pts
31Dorchester County9.956+0.96 pts
32Colleton County9.748+1.29 pts
33Williamsburg County9.736-6.5 pts
34Marion County9.729-5.25 pts
35Laurens County9.691-0.51 pts
36Cherokee County9.685-0.91 pts
37Florence County9.459-1.81 pts
38Edgefield County9.429+3.65 pts
39Oconee County9.266+0.73 pts
40Union County8.747+3.76 pts
41Fairfield County7.96-4.24 pts
42Chesterfield County7.862+1.7 pts
43Chester County7.479-0.49 pts
44Allendale County6.791-2.73 pts
45Saluda County4.755-2.91 pts
46Barnwell County4.537-3.98 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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/south-carolina-counties?period=2017.
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?

Abbeville County, with 25.443% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Barnwell County, with 4.537% in 2017.

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