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

Counties in South Carolina by job destruction rate

Edgefield County had the highest job destruction rate of 46 counties in 2021, at 41.401%. Saluda County had the lowest, at 7.727%. The median was 13.244% and the figure for South Carolina was 14.472%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest41.401Edgefield County
Lowest7.727Saluda County
Median13.24446 counties
South Carolina14.472History

Map of counties, 2021

Abbeville County: 10.98 %Aiken County: 13.203 %Allendale County: 9.772 %Anderson County: 12.669 %Bamberg County: 14.688 %Barnwell County: 10.568 %Beaufort County: 16.206 %Berkeley County: 11.999 %Calhoun County: 14.777 %Charleston County: 18.49 %Cherokee County: 19.721 %Chester County: 12.252 %Chesterfield County: 11.39 %Clarendon County: 10.305 %Colleton County: 15.09 %Darlington County: 14.449 %Dillon County: 8.07 %Dorchester County: 12.457 %Edgefield County: 41.401 %Fairfield County: 18.173 %Florence County: 18.79 %Georgetown County: 11.352 %Greenville County: 14.321 %Greenwood County: 12.417 %Hampton County: 10.625 %Horry County: 17.377 %Jasper County: 12.407 %Kershaw County: 13.953 %Lancaster County: 10.186 %Laurens County: 10.548 %Lee County: 7.906 %Lexington County: 14.306 %McCormick County: 22.788 %Marion County: 14.986 %Marlboro County: 13.821 %Newberry County: 15.791 %Oconee County: 10.445 %Orangeburg County: 13.285 %Pickens County: 13.909 %Richland County: 13.808 %Saluda County: 7.727 %Spartanburg County: 13.838 %Sumter County: 12.745 %Union County: 10.984 %Williamsburg County: 11.62 %York County: 13.305 %
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%, 2021. 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, 2021

Edgefield County: 41.401 %Edgefield County41.401McCormick County: 22.788 %McCormick County22.788Cherokee County: 19.721 %Cherokee County19.721Florence County: 18.79 %Florence County18.79Charleston County: 18.49 %Charleston County18.49Fairfield County: 18.173 %Fairfield County18.173Horry County: 17.377 %Horry County17.377Beaufort County: 16.206 %Beaufort County16.206Newberry County: 15.791 %Newberry County15.791Colleton County: 15.09 %Colleton County15.09Marion County: 14.986 %Marion County14.986Calhoun County: 14.777 %Calhoun County14.777Bamberg County: 14.688 %Bamberg County14.688Darlington County: 14.449 %Darlington County14.449Greenville County: 14.321 %Greenville County14.321Lexington County: 14.306 %Lexington County14.306Kershaw County: 13.953 %Kershaw County13.953Pickens County: 13.909 %Pickens County13.909Spartanburg County: 13.838 %Spartanburg County13.838Marlboro County: 13.821 %Marlboro County13.821Richland County: 13.808 %Richland County13.808York County: 13.305 %York County13.305Orangeburg County: 13.285 %Orangeburg County13.285Aiken County: 13.203 %Aiken County13.203Sumter County: 12.745 %Sumter County12.745Anderson County: 12.669 %Anderson County12.669Dorchester County: 12.457 %Dorchester County12.457Greenwood County: 12.417 %Greenwood County12.417Jasper County: 12.407 %Jasper County12.407Chester County: 12.252 %Chester County12.252Berkeley County: 11.999 %Berkeley County11.999Williamsburg County: 11.62 %Williamsburg County11.62Chesterfield County: 11.39 %Chesterfield County11.39Georgetown County: 11.352 %Georgetown County11.352Union County: 10.984 %Union County10.984Abbeville County: 10.98 %Abbeville County10.98Hampton County: 10.625 %Hampton County10.625Barnwell County: 10.568 %Barnwell County10.568Laurens County: 10.548 %Laurens County10.548Oconee County: 10.445 %Oconee County10.445Clarendon County: 10.305 %Clarendon County10.305Lancaster County: 10.186 %Lancaster County10.186Allendale County: 9.772 %Allendale County9.772Dillon County: 8.07 %Dillon County8.07Lee County: 7.906 %Lee County7.906Saluda County: 7.727 %Saluda County7.727Edgefield County: 41.401 %Edgefield County41.401McCormick County: 22.788 %McCormick County22.788Cherokee County: 19.721 %Cherokee County19.721Florence County: 18.79 %Florence County18.79Charleston County: 18.49 %Charleston County18.49Fairfield County: 18.173 %Fairfield County18.173Horry County: 17.377 %Horry County17.377Beaufort County: 16.206 %Beaufort County16.206Newberry County: 15.791 %Newberry County15.791Colleton County: 15.09 %Colleton County15.09Marion County: 14.986 %Marion County14.986Calhoun County: 14.777 %Calhoun County14.777Bamberg County: 14.688 %Bamberg County14.688Darlington County: 14.449 %Darlington County14.449Greenville County: 14.321 %Greenville County14.321Lexington County: 14.306 %Lexington County14.306Kershaw County: 13.953 %Kershaw County13.953Pickens County: 13.909 %Pickens County13.909Spartanburg County: 13.838 %Spartanburg County13.838Marlboro County: 13.821 %Marlboro County13.821Richland County: 13.808 %Richland County13.808York County: 13.305 %York County13.305Orangeburg County: 13.285 %Orangeburg County13.285Aiken County: 13.203 %Aiken County13.203Sumter County: 12.745 %Sumter County12.745Anderson County: 12.669 %Anderson County12.669Dorchester County: 12.457 %Dorchester County12.457Greenwood County: 12.417 %Greenwood County12.417Jasper County: 12.407 %Jasper County12.407Chester County: 12.252 %Chester County12.252Berkeley County: 11.999 %Berkeley County11.999Williamsburg County: 11.62 %Williamsburg County11.62Chesterfield County: 11.39 %Chesterfield County11.39Georgetown County: 11.352 %Georgetown County11.352Union County: 10.984 %Union County10.984Abbeville County: 10.98 %Abbeville County10.98Hampton County: 10.625 %Hampton County10.625Barnwell County: 10.568 %Barnwell County10.568Laurens County: 10.548 %Laurens County10.548Oconee County: 10.445 %Oconee County10.445Clarendon County: 10.305 %Clarendon County10.305Lancaster County: 10.186 %Lancaster County10.186Allendale County: 9.772 %Allendale County9.772Dillon County: 8.07 %Dillon County8.07Lee County: 7.906 %Lee County7.906Saluda County: 7.727 %Saluda County7.727
%. 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

RankCounties2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Edgefield County41.401+33.34 pts
2McCormick County22.788-13.01 pts
3Cherokee County19.721+10.41 pts
4Florence County18.79+7.09 pts
5Charleston County18.49+6.02 pts
6Fairfield County18.173+7.35 pts
7Horry County17.377+6.39 pts
8Beaufort County16.206+4.53 pts
9Newberry County15.791+9.47 pts
10Colleton County15.09+4.28 pts
11Marion County14.986-4.39 pts
12Calhoun County14.777+3.99 pts
13Bamberg County14.688+0.82 pts
14Darlington County14.449+2.09 pts
15Greenville County14.321+2.55 pts
16Lexington County14.306+4.74 pts
17Kershaw County13.953-2.29 pts
18Pickens County13.909+1.65 pts
19Spartanburg County13.838+3.94 pts
20Marlboro County13.821+2.11 pts
21Richland County13.808+0.49 pts
22York County13.305+2.74 pts
23Orangeburg County13.285+0.59 pts
24Aiken County13.203+1.95 pts
25Sumter County12.745+1.77 pts
26Anderson County12.669+3.75 pts
27Dorchester County12.457-1.63 pts
28Greenwood County12.417+3.62 pts
29Jasper County12.407+1.45 pts
30Chester County12.252+2.88 pts
31Berkeley County11.999+0.61 pts
32Williamsburg County11.62+0.49 pts
33Chesterfield County11.39+1.37 pts
34Georgetown County11.352-1.91 pts
35Union County10.984+0.69 pts
36Abbeville County10.98+4.15 pts
37Hampton County10.625-9.37 pts
38Barnwell County10.568+5.52 pts
39Laurens County10.548-0.81 pts
40Oconee County10.445+1.46 pts
41Clarendon County10.305-4.54 pts
42Lancaster County10.186+1.18 pts
43Allendale County9.772-15.23 pts
44Dillon County8.07+0.07 pts
45Lee County7.906-5.68 pts
46Saluda County7.727-0.83 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_south_carolina_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/south-carolina-counties?period=2021.
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?

Edgefield County, with 41.401% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Saluda County, with 7.727% in 2021.

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