PlainFoodAccess

State food-access profile · 46 counties

Food access in South Carolina

How far South Carolina residents live from a supermarket, where the food deserts are, and the SNAP, poverty, and vehicle-access context, from the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019) and the Census ACS (2024).

28.7%
low-access pop.
218
food-desert tracts
10.5%
on SNAP
46
counties

The statewide picture

About 1.3M South Carolina residents - 28.7% - live in a low-access area, and 218 census tracts across the state are USDA-designated food deserts.

1.3M
low-access residents
451K
food-desert residents
5.7%
households, no vehicle
14.1%
below poverty line

Shares are population-weighted across the state's tracts, not an average of county percentages. Low access = >1 mile (urban) / >10 miles (rural) from a supermarket.

Where South Carolina stands nationally

Every state colored by its population-weighted low-access share, South Carolina is ringed. Click any state to compare.

AK 31 ME 13 VT 11 NH 28 WA 23 ID 26 MT 22 ND 29 MN 27 IL 20 WI 21 MI 23 NY 12 RI 24 MA 28 OR 17 NV 23 WY 30 SD 29 IA 20 IN 29 OH 25 PA 21 NJ 24 CT - CA 13 UT 24 CO 22 NE 22 MO 25 KY 20 WV 21 VA 20 MD 23 DE 27 AZ 27 NM 32 KS 26 AR 25 TN 27 NC 23 SC 29 DC 5 OK 25 LA 26 MS 26 AL 25 GA 31 HI 27 TX 25 FL 25

USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context

The USDA Food Access Research Atlas evaluates every census tract in South Carolina against the same rule used nationwide: a tract is low-access when many residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. Across 46 counties and 5.3M residents, South Carolina's population-weighted low-access share is 28.7%.

A tract becomes a food desert only when its low-access residents are also low-income. That applies to 218 tracts in South Carolina, home to roughly 451K low-income, low-access residents. SNAP participation across the state averages 10.5% of households, and 5.7% of households have no vehicle, the transport gap that turns distance into a real barrier. The county table below is sorted with the highest low-access share first, so the top rows are where distance, income, and vehicle gaps most consistently overlap.

46
Counties
28.7%
Low-access (pop-weighted)
1.3M
Low-access residents
10.5%
Avg. SNAP

Highest low-access counties in South Carolina

Share of the population living in low-access areas, by county

% low-access
Source USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas As of 2019 edition

All counties in South Carolina

County Low-accessSNAP
Beaufort County 49.0% 5.2%
Richland County 46.5% 10.6%
Pickens County 42.6% 8.3%
Colleton County 38.0% 23.4%
Anderson County 36.1% 10.6%
Greenville County 35.7% 7.6%
Spartanburg County 34.0% 10.9%
Kershaw County 33.5% 11.8%
Lexington County 32.8% 9.7%
York County 31.9% 6.5%
Edgefield County 29.8% 12.3%
Aiken County 29.1% 10.8%
Berkeley County 29.0% 7.1%
Newberry County 28.7% 12.8%
Lancaster County 28.5% 9.7%
Orangeburg County 28.4% 20.7%
Bamberg County 27.1% 24.1%
Georgetown County 26.4% 11.5%
Dorchester County 25.0% 8.9%
Fairfield County 23.4% 21.0%
Horry County 23.4% 7.5%
Oconee County 22.8% 11.4%
Charleston County 20.8% 6.4%
Marlboro County 20.6% 23.0%
Abbeville County 20.4% 14.5%
Sumter County 19.0% 15.7%
Florence County 17.8% 16.1%
Clarendon County 16.5% 17.1%
Chester County 15.9% 16.7%
Laurens County 15.7% 17.5%
Greenwood County 13.6% 13.6%
Hampton County 12.7% 19.4%
Darlington County 12.5% 19.5%
Cherokee County 11.5% 14.1%
Chesterfield County 11.1% 18.0%
Jasper County 9.8% 11.2%
Williamsburg County 8.0% 21.0%
Union County 7.9% 19.6%
McCormick County 6.3% 10.6%
Lee County 5.0% 27.4%
Dillon County 4.5% 24.0%
Saluda County 2.9% 13.9%
Allendale County 2.3% 28.7%
Calhoun County 1.0% 13.2%
Marion County 0.2% 22.3%
Barnwell County 0.0% 24.5%

Source: USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first. USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas (2019) + U.S. Census Bureau ACS (2024 5-year). Sorted by low-access share, highest first.

What this means for the state

  • 28.7% of South Carolina residents, about 1.3M people, live in a low-access area.
  • 218 census tracts are USDA food deserts, home to roughly 451K low-income, low-access residents.
  • 10.5% of households receive SNAP, and 5.7% have no vehicle.
  • Beaufort County has the state's highest low-access share at 49.0%.

USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); SNAP, poverty, and vehicle context is the Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What share of South Carolina has low food access?▼
28.7% of South Carolina residents live in low-access areas (population-weighted across the state's tracts), per the USDA Food Access Research Atlas (2019).
How many food deserts are in South Carolina?▼
218 census tracts in South Carolina are USDA-designated food deserts, both low-access and low-income, home to roughly 451K low-income residents.
What is the SNAP participation rate in South Carolina?▼
Across South Carolina counties, an average of 10.5% of households receive SNAP (Census ACS 2024), though rates vary between urban and rural areas.
Which county in South Carolina has the worst food access?▼
Beaufort County has the highest low-access share in South Carolina at 49.0%, with 5.2% SNAP participation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas (2019 edition), 9,228 of roughly 71,700 U.S. census tracts meet the low-income, low-access food-desert threshold. The state and county figures on this page are aggregated from that tract-level data and joined to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2024 5-Year Estimates, released in December 2025. See our methodology for how the population-weighted shares are computed.

Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage).

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