Counties in South Carolina by unemployment rate

Williamsburg County had the highest unemployment rate of 46 counties in January 2026, at 9.5%. Charleston County had the lowest, at 4.4%. The median was 6.05% and the figure for South Carolina was 4.9%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median6.0546 counties
South Carolina4.9History

All counties, January 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Williamsburg CountyWilliamsburg County: 9.5 %9.5Marlboro CountyMarlboro County: 9.4 %9.4Allendale CountyAllendale County: 8.4 %8.4Marion CountyMarion County: 8 %8Clarendon CountyClarendon County: 7.8 %7.8Orangeburg CountyOrangeburg County: 7.8 %7.8Lee CountyLee County: 7.6 %7.6Bamberg CountyBamberg County: 7.2 %7.2Barnwell CountyBarnwell County: 7.2 %7.2Union CountyUnion County: 7.2 %7.2Cherokee CountyCherokee County: 7.1 %7.1Dillon CountyDillon County: 7.1 %7.1Horry CountyHorry County: 7 %7Chester CountyChester County: 6.8 %6.8Georgetown CountyGeorgetown County: 6.8 %6.8Sumter CountySumter County: 6.7 %6.7Chesterfield CountyChesterfield County: 6.5 %6.5McCormick CountyMcCormick County: 6.5 %6.5Colleton CountyColleton County: 6.4 %6.4Hampton CountyHampton County: 6.4 %6.4Darlington CountyDarlington County: 6.3 %6.3Fairfield CountyFairfield County: 6.3 %6.3Greenwood CountyGreenwood County: 6.2 %6.2Abbeville CountyAbbeville County: 5.9 %5.9Calhoun CountyCalhoun County: 5.9 %5.9Florence CountyFlorence County: 5.9 %5.9Lancaster CountyLancaster County: 5.8 %5.8Laurens CountyLaurens County: 5.8 %5.8Jasper CountyJasper County: 5.7 %5.7Richland CountyRichland County: 5.5 %5.5Spartanburg CountySpartanburg County: 5.5 %5.5Aiken CountyAiken County: 5.4 %5.4Kershaw CountyKershaw County: 5.4 %5.4Newberry CountyNewberry County: 5.4 %5.4Oconee CountyOconee County: 5.4 %5.4York CountyYork County: 5.4 %5.4Pickens CountyPickens County: 5.3 %5.3Beaufort CountyBeaufort County: 5.2 %5.2Anderson CountyAnderson County: 5.1 %5.1Saluda CountySaluda County: 5 %5Berkeley CountyBerkeley County: 4.9 %4.9Edgefield CountyEdgefield County: 4.9 %4.9Dorchester CountyDorchester County: 4.8 %4.8Greenville CountyGreenville County: 4.8 %4.8Lexington CountyLexington County: 4.7 %4.7Charleston CountyCharleston County: 4.4 %4.4
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesJanuary 2026 (%)Change on January 2025
1Williamsburg County9.5+2.2 pts
2Marlboro County9.4+2.4 pts
3Allendale County8.4+2.3 pts
4Marion County8+1.9 pts
5Clarendon County7.8+2.1 pts
5Orangeburg County7.8+1.7 pts
7Lee County7.6+1.5 pts
8Bamberg County7.2+1.4 pts
8Barnwell County7.2+1.3 pts
8Union County7.2+1.5 pts
11Cherokee County7.1+1.4 pts
11Dillon County7.1+1.1 pts
13Horry County7+1.3 pts
14Chester County6.8+1.2 pts
14Georgetown County6.8+1 pts
16Sumter County6.7+1.3 pts
17Chesterfield County6.5+1.7 pts
17McCormick County6.5+1.2 pts
19Colleton County6.4+1.6 pts
19Hampton County6.4+2.4 pts
21Darlington County6.3+1.4 pts
21Fairfield County6.3+1 pts
23Greenwood County6.2+1.1 pts
24Abbeville County5.9+1.6 pts
24Calhoun County5.9+1.3 pts
24Florence County5.9+1.4 pts
27Lancaster County5.8+1.3 pts
27Laurens County5.8+1.2 pts
29Jasper County5.7+1.3 pts
30Richland County5.5+1.1 pts
30Spartanburg County5.5+1.1 pts
32Aiken County5.4+1.2 pts
32Kershaw County5.4+1.2 pts
32Newberry County5.4+1 pts
32Oconee County5.4+1.3 pts
32York County5.4+1.1 pts
37Pickens County5.3+1.4 pts
38Beaufort County5.2+1 pts
39Anderson County5.1+1.2 pts
40Saluda County5+1.3 pts
41Berkeley County4.9+1.2 pts
41Edgefield County4.9+1.1 pts
43Dorchester County4.8+1.1 pts
43Greenville County4.8+1 pts
45Lexington County4.7+1.1 pts
46Charleston County4.4+0.9 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. 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 unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"South Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_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 unemployment rate?

Williamsburg County, with 9.5% in January 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Charleston County, with 4.4% in January 2026.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in South Carolina: more rankings