Counties in South Carolina by poverty rate

Allendale County had the highest poverty rate of 46 counties in 2018, at 37.3%. York County had the lowest, at 9.8%. The median was 18.5% and the figure for South Carolina was 15.2%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest37.3Allendale County
Lowest9.8York County
Median18.546 counties
South Carolina15.2History

All counties, 2018

CSVChart (SVG)

Allendale CountyAllendale County: 37.3 %37.3Dillon CountyDillon County: 32.1 %32.1Marlboro CountyMarlboro County: 30 %30Lee CountyLee County: 28.1 %28.1Bamberg CountyBamberg County: 26.7 %26.7Clarendon CountyClarendon County: 26.4 %26.4Williamsburg CountyWilliamsburg County: 26 %26Orangeburg CountyOrangeburg County: 25.9 %25.9Hampton CountyHampton County: 25.8 %25.8Marion CountyMarion County: 25.5 %25.5Fairfield CountyFairfield County: 23.7 %23.7Darlington CountyDarlington County: 23.5 %23.5Barnwell CountyBarnwell County: 22.4 %22.4Chesterfield CountyChesterfield County: 20.9 %20.9Union CountyUnion County: 20.4 %20.4Colleton CountyColleton County: 20 %20Laurens CountyLaurens County: 19.7 %19.7Georgetown CountyGeorgetown County: 19.6 %19.6Abbeville CountyAbbeville County: 19.1 %19.1Jasper CountyJasper County: 19 %19Sumter CountySumter County: 18.7 %18.7McCormick CountyMcCormick County: 18.6 %18.6Edgefield CountyEdgefield County: 18.5 %18.5Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 18.4 %18.4Greenwood CountyGreenwood County: 18.3 %18.3Chester CountyChester County: 18.2 %18.2Florence CountyFlorence County: 18 %18Newberry CountyNewberry County: 17.1 %17.1Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 16.8 %16.8Richland CountyRichland County: 16.7 %16.7Pickens CountyPickens County: 16.6 %16.6Aiken CountyAiken County: 15 %15Saluda CountySaluda County: 14.9 %14.9Anderson CountyAnderson County: 14.6 %14.6Kershaw CountyKershaw County: 14.5 %14.5Oconee CountyOconee County: 14.4 %14.4Horry CountyHorry County: 14.3 %14.3Charleston CountyCharleston County: 14.2 %14.2Spartanburg CountySpartanburg County: 13.6 %13.6Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 13.3 %13.3Berkeley CountyBerkeley County: 12.8 %12.8Lexington CountyLexington County: 12.5 %12.5Greenville CountyGreenville County: 11.1 %11.1Dorchester CountyDorchester County: 11 %11Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 10.9 %10.9York CountyYork County: 9.8 %9.8
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018 (%)Change on 2017
1Allendale County37.3+0.6 pts
2Dillon County32.1+2.3 pts
3Marlboro County30+2 pts
4Lee County28.1+2.3 pts
5Bamberg County26.7+0.2 pts
6Clarendon County26.4+3.2 pts
7Williamsburg County26-0.8 pts
8Orangeburg County25.9+1.5 pts
9Hampton County25.8+0.7 pts
10Marion County25.5-2 pts
11Fairfield County23.7+4.4 pts
12Darlington County23.5+1.6 pts
13Barnwell County22.4-5.3 pts
14Chesterfield County20.9-1.2 pts
15Union County20.4+2.4 pts
16Colleton County20-2.4 pts
17Laurens County19.7-2.2 pts
18Georgetown County19.6+2.5 pts
19Abbeville County19.1-1.2 pts
20Jasper County19-0.9 pts
21Sumter County18.7-0.4 pts
22McCormick County18.6+0.1 pts
23Edgefield County18.5+1.2 pts
24Calhoun County18.4+0.2 pts
25Greenwood County18.30 pts
26Chester County18.2-1.1 pts
27Florence County18-0.6 pts
28Newberry County17.1-1.9 pts
29Cherokee County16.8-3.4 pts
30Richland County16.7-0.2 pts
31Pickens County16.6+1.3 pts
32Aiken County15+0.2 pts
33Saluda County14.9-3.1 pts
34Anderson County14.6+0.2 pts
35Kershaw County14.5+0.1 pts
36Oconee County14.4-1.6 pts
37Horry County14.3-1.8 pts
38Charleston County14.2+0.9 pts
39Spartanburg County13.6-0.1 pts
40Lancaster County13.3-0.3 pts
41Berkeley County12.8+1.1 pts
42Lexington County12.5+0.8 pts
43Greenville County11.1-1.3 pts
44Dorchester County11+1 pts
45Beaufort County10.9+0.2 pts
46York County9.8-1.4 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People living in families or alone with income below the official US poverty thresholds, as a percentage of people whose poverty status can be determined. United States: Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), all ages.

Absolute thresholds set by the US government, so not comparable with the EU at_risk_of_poverty_rate.

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. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe/datasets/2018/2018-state-and-county/est18all.txt. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in South Carolina by poverty rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"poverty_rate","level":"province","within":"South Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=poverty_rate&level=province&within=South%20Carolina&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest poverty rate?

Allendale County, with 37.3% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

York County, with 9.8% in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE): percent of people of all ages in poverty, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Poverty rate (US official measure): other rankings

Counties in South Carolina: more rankings