Counties in South Carolina by poverty rate

Allendale County had the highest poverty rate of 46 counties in 2021, at 35.4%. York County had the lowest, at 9.7%. The median was 17.6% and the figure for South Carolina was 14.5%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest35.4Allendale County
Lowest9.7York County
Median17.646 counties
South Carolina14.5History

All counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Allendale CountyAllendale County: 35.4 %35.4Marion CountyMarion County: 29.2 %29.2Orangeburg CountyOrangeburg County: 26.5 %26.5Dillon CountyDillon County: 26.1 %26.1Bamberg CountyBamberg County: 25.9 %25.9Lee CountyLee County: 25.9 %25.9Marlboro CountyMarlboro County: 24.1 %24.1Hampton CountyHampton County: 23.5 %23.5Barnwell CountyBarnwell County: 23 %23Williamsburg CountyWilliamsburg County: 21.2 %21.2Colleton CountyColleton County: 20.9 %20.9Darlington CountyDarlington County: 20.9 %20.9Clarendon CountyClarendon County: 20.8 %20.8Fairfield CountyFairfield County: 20.6 %20.6Chesterfield CountyChesterfield County: 20.2 %20.2Union CountyUnion County: 20.1 %20.1Sumter CountySumter County: 20 %20McCormick CountyMcCormick County: 19.5 %19.5Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 18.8 %18.8Florence CountyFlorence County: 18.8 %18.8Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 18.7 %18.7Laurens CountyLaurens County: 18.5 %18.5Pickens CountyPickens County: 17.8 %17.8Chester CountyChester County: 17.3 %17.3Richland CountyRichland County: 17 %17Edgefield CountyEdgefield County: 16.8 %16.8Saluda CountySaluda County: 16.5 %16.5Oconee CountyOconee County: 16.4 %16.4Jasper CountyJasper County: 16.1 %16.1Anderson CountyAnderson County: 15.9 %15.9Greenwood CountyGreenwood County: 15.9 %15.9Aiken CountyAiken County: 15.5 %15.5Newberry CountyNewberry County: 14.9 %14.9Abbeville CountyAbbeville County: 14.8 %14.8Georgetown CountyGeorgetown County: 14.7 %14.7Kershaw CountyKershaw County: 14 %14Charleston CountyCharleston County: 13.8 %13.8Spartanburg CountySpartanburg County: 13.7 %13.7Horry CountyHorry County: 12.6 %12.6Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 11.8 %11.8Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 11.3 %11.3Lexington CountyLexington County: 11.1 %11.1Greenville CountyGreenville County: 10.9 %10.9Berkeley CountyBerkeley County: 10.2 %10.2Dorchester CountyDorchester County: 9.9 %9.9York CountyYork County: 9.7 %9.7
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Allendale County35.4+3.8 pts
2Marion County29.2+7.4 pts
3Orangeburg County26.5+7.4 pts
4Dillon County26.1+3.9 pts
5Bamberg County25.9+4.9 pts
5Lee County25.9+2.9 pts
7Marlboro County24.1-1.9 pts
8Hampton County23.5+3.9 pts
9Barnwell County23+1.4 pts
10Williamsburg County21.2-4.2 pts
11Colleton County20.9+0.8 pts
11Darlington County20.9+2 pts
13Clarendon County20.8+2.4 pts
14Fairfield County20.6+3 pts
15Chesterfield County20.2+0.5 pts
16Union County20.1+5.2 pts
17Sumter County20-0.5 pts
18McCormick County19.5+2.5 pts
19Cherokee County18.8+4.2 pts
19Florence County18.8+1.7 pts
21Calhoun County18.7+3.2 pts
22Laurens County18.5+0.1 pts
23Pickens County17.8+2.5 pts
24Chester County17.3-1 pts
25Richland County17+1 pts
26Edgefield County16.80 pts
27Saluda County16.5-0.9 pts
28Oconee County16.4+5.3 pts
29Jasper County16.1-2.3 pts
30Anderson County15.9+1.9 pts
30Greenwood County15.9-0.5 pts
32Aiken County15.5+2.5 pts
33Newberry County14.9-1.5 pts
34Abbeville County14.8-0.5 pts
35Georgetown County14.7-0.4 pts
36Kershaw County14-0.4 pts
37Charleston County13.8+1.9 pts
38Spartanburg County13.7-0.5 pts
39Horry County12.6-0.2 pts
40Lancaster County11.8+0.4 pts
41Beaufort County11.3+1.7 pts
42Lexington County11.1+0.7 pts
43Greenville County10.9-1.2 pts
44Berkeley County10.2-0.9 pts
45Dorchester County9.9-2.2 pts
46York County9.7+0.9 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/2021/2021-state-and-county/est21all.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 35.4% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest poverty rate?

York County, with 9.7% 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, 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