Financial Stress · South Carolina
South Carolina — financial stress by county
The Financial Stress Index (FSI) combines renter cost burden, eviction rate, and debt in collections into a 0–100 score. 41 of 46 South Carolina counties have all three inputs and receive a score. The state average FSI across reporting counties is 67.9. Richland, SC has the highest score at 92.
Data note: The eviction rate component draws from the Princeton Eviction Lab's last national county release (2018). Post-pandemic eviction trends are not reflected in these scores — counties with high pre-2020 eviction activity may score differently if updated data were available. Rent burden and debt figures use 2024 ACS and Urban Institute data.
National comparison · South Carolina
How does South Carolina compare nationally?
Among states with reliable FSI coverage (≥60% of counties scored), South Carolina ranks #2 of 36 states. The state average FSI of 67.9 is 29% above the national average FSI of 52.6.
South Carolina ranks #2 of 12 in the Southeast by average FSI score.
Top 10 — Most Stressed Counties
Counties in South Carolina ranked by FSI score
Related data
Financial stress — compare with other states
Click any state for county-level data and rankings.