County food-access profile · South Carolina
Berkeley County, SC
Distance to a supermarket is a real obstacle for a meaningful share of Berkeley County residents. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert here and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).
- 29.0%
- low-access pop.
- 12
- food-desert tracts
- 7.1%
- on SNAP
- 247K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
29.0% of Berkeley County residents live in a low-access area, and 12 of its 44 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 23
- low-access tracts
- 16K
- food-desert residents
- 4.0%
- households, no vehicle
- 9.9%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
USDA data puts Berkeley County's low-access share at 29.0%, above the national share. 23 of the county's 44 census tracts are classified low-access, meaning residents there live far from a supermarket, an area covering about 51,630 people. 12 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 16,048 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Berkeley County compares nationally
Relative to the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA food-access data, Berkeley County's 29.0% low-access share is elevated, higher than 68% of them and ranked #1,004 most-affected nationwide.
Berkeley County: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 44 census tracts in Berkeley County, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Berkeley County vs. other South Carolina counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in South Carolina
- Berkeley
Berkeley County, SC
29 % low-access
- Abbeville
Abbeville County, SC
20.4 % low-access
- Aiken
Aiken County, SC
29.1 % low-access
- Allendale 2.3
Allendale County, SC
2.3 % low-access
- Anderson
Anderson County, SC
36.1 % low-access
- Bamberg
Bamberg County, SC
27.1 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 44 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 177,843 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 23 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 12 |
| Low-Access Population | 51,630 |
| Low-Access Share | 29.0%above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 16,048 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 246,802 |
| Median Household Income | $84,358 |
| Poverty Rate | 9.9%below the national average |
| SNAP Households | 6,615 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 7.1%well below the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 4.0%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 1.6% |
About 7.1% of Berkeley County households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 29.0% of residents are low-access, above the national share for U.S. counties.
- 7.1% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 6,615 households here.
- 4.0% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 12 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Berkeley County
above the national share
12 of Berkeley County's 44 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 27.3% of all its tracts.
A further 11 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 23.
An estimated 51,630 residents, roughly 29.0% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 16,048 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 21 tracts (47.7%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Berkeley County
Berkeley County has 160 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 10 store categories. Convenience Store lead with 73 locations (46% of the total), followed by combination grocery/other.
Convenience Store · 73
- 7-eleven 40387h, goose creek
- 7-eleven 40482, goose creek
- 7-eleven 40484h, goose creek
- 7-eleven 42080h, summerville
- 7-eleven #42307a 42307a, summerville
- 7-eleven 40373a, moncks corner
- aplus 40478, summerville
- aplus 40385, goose creek
- bonn grocery, bonneau
- billys sc, pineville
- circle k 2705128, summerville
- circle k 2723362, bonneau
- circle k 2723796, charleston
- circle k 2723875, jamestown
- circle k 2723880, moncks corner
- circle k 272446, ladson
- circle k 272448, summerville
- circle k 8110, goose creek
- circle k 8115, goose creek
- country corner # 15, moncks corner
- country corner #14, moncks corner
- country corner #5, ladson
- cricket express, moncks corner
- cypress mart, moncks corner
- fast stop, saint stephen
- flying j travel plaza 1068, summerville
- hop-in, goose creek
- jai bhavani wildwood, moncks corner
- joe's kwik mart 7014, goose creek
- kwik food store, moncks corner
- lees quick stop, saint stephen
- marathon, cross
- marts to go 2, moncks corner
- mk food mart, bonneau
- moncks corner express, moncks corner
- murphy usa 6622, goose creek
- palmetto foods, saint stephen
- parker's 103, ladson
- parker's 121, moncks corner
- parker's 70, moncks corner
- parker's 72, moncks corner
- parker's 74, goose creek
- parker's 77, summerville
- parker's 81, moncks corner
- parker's 86, ladson
- parkers 84, summerville
- pineville food mart, pineville
- rainbow mart, goose creek
- refuel 1012, goose creek
- refuel 1018, daniel island
- refuel 1055, charleston
- refuel 1056, summerville
- refuel 71, summerville
- refuel 72, ridgeville
- scotchman 3073, moncks corner
- scotchman 3871, hanahan
- scotchman 3884, ladson
- short trip #107, ridgeville
- short trip #24, ladson
- speedway 2837, goose creek
- speedway 2855, summerville
- speedway 2861, ladson
- spinx 317, moncks corner
- spinx 341, charleston
- spinx 355, summerville
- spinx 358, moncks corner
- spinx 364, summerville
- spinx 369, moncks corner
- sunoco 2645 2645, goose creek
- sunoco 2662 2662, ladson
- tienda el paisano, goose creek
- vp racing fuels, moncks corner
- young's 3645, bonneau
Combination Grocery/Other · 44
- cvs pharmacy 3834, moncks corner
- cvs pharmacy 6410, goose creek
- cvs pharmacy 11442, daniel island
- cvs pharmacy 7568, goose creek
- dollar general 0736, goose creek
- dollar general 1191, goose creek
- dollar general 2848, ladson
- dollar general 2959, goose creek
- dollar general 4913, summerville
- dollar general 7850, moncks corner
- dollar general 8064, saint stephen
- dollartree 6920, summerville
- dollartree 8683, ladson
- dollar general 11507, bonneau
- dollar general 12872, cross
- dollar general 13390, moncks corner
- dollar general 15516, charleston
- dollar general 16053, saint stephen
- dollar general 17178, bonneau
- dollar general 19968, jamestown
- dollar general 24906, summerville
- dollar tree 2772, goose creek
- dollar tree 5865, goose creek
- dollar tree 6892, saint stephen
- dollar tree 7767, charleston
- dollar tree 898, moncks corner
- dollar tree 9004, goose creek
- family dollar 12072, summerville
- family dollar 12384, cross
- family dollar 13197, ladson
- family dollar 13873, bonneau
- family dollar 211, moncks corner
- family dollar 986, goose creek
- family dollar store 11470, moncks corner
- family dollar store 2892, moncks corner
- family dollar store 7847, ladson
- family dollar store 8441, goose creek
- h & j seafood, goose creek
- walgreens 10257, moncks corner
- walgreens 1072, summerville
- walgreens 11434, goose creek
- walgreens 18351, goose creek
- walgreens 9542, goose creek
- wright's grocery, cross
Supermarket · 18
- aldi 66141, goose creek
- brazilian market, goose creek
- earth fare 205, summerville
- food lion 1072, ladson
- food lion 1378, moncks corner
- food lion 410, goose creek
- food lion 2124, ladson
- food lion 2253, goose creek
- food lion 2851, summerville
- lowes foods #279 279, hanahan
- price wise foods 184, hanahan
- publix 1266, summerville
- publix 459, goose creek
- publix super market 1775, moncks corner
- publix super markets, inc. 1646, charleston
- publix super markets, inc. 1866, summerville
- publix super markets, inc. 2038, summerville
- publix super markets, inc. 2090, daniel island
Super Store · 12
- bj's wholesale club 378, summerville
- harris teeter 368, summerville
- kj's market-moncks corner 618, moncks corner
- lidl 1116, goose creek
- piggly wiggly 181, moncks corner
- st. stephen iga 658, saint stephen
- target store t-1493, summerville
- walmart neighborhood market 3646, goose creek
- walmart neighborhood market 3899, goose creek
- walmart supercenter 1146, moncks corner
- walmart supercenter 1037, summerville
- walmart supercenter 2928, goose creek
Meat/Poultry Specialty · 3
- black creek meat market, cross
- dc burbage retail meats, goose creek
- winningham meats, inc., ridgeville
Seafood Specialty · 3
- blue boat seafood market, summerville
- m and c seafood, summerville
- palmetto state seafood co., moncks corner
Small Grocery Store · 3
- carniceria la esperanza 2, llc 2, summerville
- pepe's seafood, hanahan
- village grocery, moncks corner
Medium Grocery Store · 2
- guadalajara supermarket llc 1, goose creek
- la tapatia bakery 1, hanahan
Food Buying Co-op · 1
- foodshare berkeley county, moncks corner
Military Commissary · 1
- charleston nws commissary 307, goose creek
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in South Carolina
Compare Berkeley County vs Abbeville County → · All South Carolina counties →
Food access nationally, South Carolina in context
Berkeley County sits inside South Carolina (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Berkeley County has low food access? ▼
What is the SNAP participation rate in Berkeley County? ▼
What is the poverty rate in Berkeley County? ▼
Is Berkeley County a food desert? ▼
What share of Berkeley County households lack a vehicle? ▼
Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.