Electric Consumer

Editor: Katerine G., Editor & Data Researcher · Research & publishing: Electric Consumer Editorial Team · Data retrieved · Sources named on this page: EIA-861, Census ACS, DOE LEAD, FEMA National Risk Index, OpenFEMA NFIP · How we got these numbers · Report an error

Counties in South Carolina ranked

5.7%of income goes to home energy in Allendale County, the highest of 46 South Carolina counties

York County is lowest at 1.7%, a gap of 3.4 times. The median South Carolina county sits at 3.1%, against 3.3% for the median U.S. county. Source for South Carolina: DOE LEAD 2022.

South Carolina county map

South Carolina counties, shaded by quintile of the selected measureSaluda County: 3.2%Bamberg County: 4.8%Florence County: 2.5%Laurens County: 3.7%Lee County: 4.2%Beaufort County: 1.8%Charleston County: 1.8%Dorchester County: 2.4%Chester County: 3.3%Dillon County: 3.5%Lexington County: 2.6%Pickens County: 3.2%Newberry County: 2.9%Sumter County: 2.9%Abbeville County: 3.4%Aiken County: 3.0%Allendale County: 5.7%Anderson County: 2.2%Barnwell County: 4.5%Edgefield County: 3.0%Fairfield County: 3.7%Hampton County: 4.5%Horry County: 2.1%McCormick County: 3.8%Greenwood County: 3.1%Calhoun County: 3.5%Marion County: 3.9%Williamsburg County: 4.5%Chesterfield County: 3.5%York County: 1.7%Greenville County: 1.9%Kershaw County: 3.1%Oconee County: 2.8%Georgetown County: 2.7%Darlington County: 3.0%Orangeburg County: 4.1%Colleton County: 4.2%Marlboro County: 4.3%Richland County: 2.8%Lancaster County: 2.4%Jasper County: 2.6%Clarendon County: 3.4%Cherokee County: 3.1%Berkeley County: 2.1%Union County: 4.5%Spartanburg County: 2.3%
  • 1.7% to 2.4%
  • 2.4% to 3.0%
  • 3.0% to 3.4%
  • 3.4% to 4.2%
  • 4.2% to 5.7%

South Carolina counties, darker = higher. Click one for its page.

Highest energy burden in South Carolina

Allendale County leads South Carolina on burden at 5.7% of income and Bamberg County follows at 4.8%. For lower-income homes the top is Allendale County: 16.5% of income, against 11.1% in the median South Carolina county.

home energy burden, % of income, top 10 South Carolina counties

  • Allendale County5.7
  • Bamberg County4.8
  • Union County4.5
  • Barnwell County4.5
  • Williamsburg County4.5
  • Hampton County4.5
  • Marlboro County4.3
  • Colleton County4.2
  • Lee County4.2
  • Orangeburg County4.1
  • South Carolina median county3.1
South Carolina counties with the lowest home energy burden
Lowest burden in South CarolinaShare of income (SC)Residents (SC)
York County1.7%288,559
Beaufort County1.8%192,123
Charleston County1.8%414,711
Greenville County1.9%537,575
Horry County2.1%368,937

Storm reports and FEMA risk in South Carolina

NOAA logged 631 damaging-wind, tornado, tropical, ice, winter and heat reports in Colleton County from 2015 to 2025, 1,634 for every 100,000 residents: the most in South Carolina. FEMA scores Charleston County highest at 98.6 (relatively high). In South Carolina these are weather reports and an index, not outage counts.

South Carolina top 5: Storm reports per 100,000 residents
Top 5 in South Carolinareports 2015-2025 (SC)Residents (SC)Rank (SC)
Colleton County1,63438,6231st
Hampton County84618,5552nd
Allendale County8017,7383rd
McCormick County7739,7014th
Fairfield County74720,7415th
South Carolina top 5: FEMA risk score
Top 5 in South Carolinascore 0-100 (SC)Residents (SC)Rank (SC)
Charleston County98.6414,7111st
Horry County98.2368,9372nd
Beaufort County97.1192,1233rd
Berkeley County94.8238,7234th
Greenville County94.0537,5755th

Flood claims and flood insurance in South Carolina

Georgetown County has the most NFIP flood claims per 1,000 homes in South Carolina: 65.5 from 2015 to 2025, against 2.4 in the median South Carolina county. Beaufort County has the highest share of homes with flood insurance (39.7%, median county 0.5%). Claims are a record of insured losses, not outage counts.

South Carolina top 5: Flood claims per 1,000 homes
Top 5 in South Carolinaclaims 2015-2025 (SC)Residents (SC)Rank (SC)
Georgetown County65.564,2001st
Beaufort County51.8192,1232nd
Charleston County41.0414,7113rd
Horry County32.5368,9374th
Marion County30.428,9005th
South Carolina top 5: Flood insurance penetration
Top 5 in South Carolina% of homes insured (SC)Residents (SC)Rank (SC)
Beaufort County39.7%192,1231st
Charleston County31.7%414,7112nd
Georgetown County20.6%64,2003rd
Jasper County17.8%30,6584th
Horry County14.6%368,9375th

FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP, as of 8 Sep 2026. Flood claims by county.

Outliers: South Carolina counties far from the state median

10 county-measure pairs sit 3 or more scaled median-absolute-deviation units from the South Carolina median. Most extreme: Beaufort County, share of homes with flood insurance 39.7% against a median of 0.5%.

South Carolina outliers by deviation from the state median
CountyMeasureValueSouth Carolina medianDeviations
Beaufort CountyFlood insurance penetration39.7%0.5%+78.9
Charleston CountyFlood insurance penetration31.7%0.5%+62.8
Georgetown CountyFlood insurance penetration20.6%0.5%+40.6
Jasper CountyFlood insurance penetration17.8%0.5%+34.8
Horry CountyFlood insurance penetration14.6%0.5%+28.5
Georgetown CountyFlood claims per 1,000 homes65.52.4+20.1
Beaufort CountyFlood claims per 1,000 homes51.82.4+15.7
Colleton CountyFlood insurance penetration8.1%0.5%+15.3
Berkeley CountyFlood insurance penetration7.2%0.5%+13.4
Charleston CountyFlood claims per 1,000 homes41.02.4+12.3

Old homes, electric heat and utilities in South Carolina

Union County has the oldest stock: 62% of homes date from before 1980. Electric heat is most common in Clarendon County at 90% of homes, and Kershaw County lists 6 utilities, the most in South Carolina.

South Carolina top 5: Homes built before 1980
Top 5 in South Carolina% of homes (SC)Residents (SC)Rank (SC)
Union County62%26,9901st
Greenwood County56%69,3292nd
Bamberg County55%13,1643rd
Marlboro County54%26,2854th
Chester County53%32,1775th
South Carolina top 5: Homes heated by electricity
Top 5 in South Carolina% of homes (SC)Residents (SC)Rank (SC)
Clarendon County90%31,0371st
Darlington County89%62,7542nd
Dillon County88%28,0313rd
Horry County88%368,9374th
Georgetown County88%64,2005th

Find your South Carolina county

  • Pick a South Carolina county to see its ranks.

All 46 South Carolina counties, sortable

46 South Carolina counties, all measures
Abbeville County24,3523.4%12.2%14445.451%67%2no data0.1%35
Aiken County171,9493.0%11.2%12784.239%63%30.30.6%219
Allendale County7,7385.7%16.5%80135.549%71%21.20.1%62
Anderson County207,2182.2%8.5%6387.240%65%30.20.1%131
Bamberg County13,1644.8%15.2%41846.555%73%14.90.5%55
Barnwell County20,5654.5%15.2%33145.842%77%2no data0.1%68
Beaufort County192,1231.8%9.2%15997.117%81%251.839.7%306
Berkeley County238,7232.1%9.3%8294.820%78%45.37.2%196
Calhoun County14,1503.5%15.0%65022.639%83%3no data0.2%92
Charleston County414,7111.8%10.4%6998.635%77%241.031.7%285
Cherokee County56,2993.1%9.6%11769.747%70%5no data0.1%66
Chester County32,1773.3%10.1%17443.253%52%4no data0.2%56
Chesterfield County43,5753.5%10.2%31774.041%79%30.30.1%138
Clarendon County31,0373.4%11.3%40676.530%90%32.60.5%126
Colleton County38,6234.2%12.7%1,63485.536%80%226.38.1%631
Darlington County62,7543.0%9.8%23472.345%89%22.20.3%147
Dillon County28,0313.5%11.0%17184.343%88%28.20.8%48
Dorchester County164,3222.4%9.9%15993.720%77%311.65.0%262
Edgefield County26,5083.0%12.2%33222.033%74%20.80.4%88
Fairfield County20,7413.7%13.5%74740.847%68%44.51.6%155
Florence County136,9212.5%10.3%8789.642%84%36.30.9%119
Georgetown County64,2002.7%12.0%13192.528%88%365.520.6%84
Greenville County537,5751.9%8.2%2894.036%57%41.60.6%149
Greenwood County69,3293.1%9.3%10072.756%66%31.20.2%69
Hampton County18,5554.5%11.5%84664.840%82%21.10.8%157
Horry County368,9372.1%7.5%5098.217%88%332.514.6%183
Jasper County30,6582.6%11.5%64678.620%76%27.817.8%198
Kershaw County66,9243.1%11.4%19766.733%74%63.31.0%132
Lancaster County100,9052.4%10.9%14779.432%44%30.50.4%148
Laurens County67,9043.7%12.3%11876.243%64%30.50.2%80
Lee County16,3304.2%10.2%36736.044%87%31.90.2%60
Lexington County300,3702.6%9.9%13290.932%70%54.11.1%396
Marion County28,9003.9%11.1%22180.746%85%230.42.0%64
Marlboro County26,2854.3%11.4%31657.554%77%22.40.3%83
McCormick County9,7013.8%14.8%7739.547%82%2no data1.4%75
Newberry County38,1212.9%9.6%58262.049%66%50.60.6%222
Oconee County79,5662.8%11.2%13685.635%70%30.30.2%108
Orangeburg County83,5314.1%12.5%27887.746%81%42.40.5%232
Pickens County132,6043.2%10.7%6977.636%61%30.50.3%92
Richland County418,7252.8%11.9%10293.139%73%47.21.3%426
Saluda County18,9583.2%10.2%47540.140%72%30.50.3%90
Spartanburg County338,0962.3%8.4%4590.639%68%60.60.2%153
Sumter County104,8532.9%10.2%21381.737%85%35.01.0%223
Union County26,9904.5%12.6%25258.262%58%4no data0.0%68
Williamsburg County30,5174.5%13.6%16482.140%85%24.70.5%50
York County288,5591.7%7.8%3388.724%50%60.30.4%95

Download CSV, 46 rows

South Carolina: click a header to sort. Per-capita storm rates start at 5,000 residents.

Sources

South Carolina sources with periods and retrieval dates
SourcePeriodRetrieved
DOE LEAD (SC)20222 Oct 2026
FEMA NRI (SC)Dec 20252 Oct 2026
NOAA Storm Events (SC)2015 to 20252 Oct 2026
Census ACS (SC)2019 to 20232 Oct 2026
EIA-861 (SC)20241 Oct 2026

South Carolina LEAD figures are group estimates, not bills. Methodology.

Keep going

Other states: South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia.

Questions

Which South Carolina county has the highest home energy burden?

Allendale County: 5.7% of income, against 3.1% for the median South Carolina county (DOE LEAD 2022).

Which South Carolina county has the lowest energy burden?

York County at 1.7% of income.

How does South Carolina compare with the whole country?

The median South Carolina county has a burden of 3.1% and the median U.S. county 3.3%, across 46 South Carolina counties and 3,053 U.S. counties with data.

Where do storms cause the most trouble in South Carolina?

Colleton County has the most NOAA storm reports per 100,000 residents: 1,634 between 2015 and 2025.

Which South Carolina county has the highest FEMA risk score?

Charleston County: 98.6, rated relatively high by FEMA (Dec 2025).

Where are the oldest homes in South Carolina?

Union County: 62% of homes were built before 1980; the median South Carolina county is at 40% (Census ACS 2023).

Which South Carolina county relies most on electric heat?

Clarendon County: 90% of homes heat with electricity, against 75% in the median county.

Which South Carolina county has the most flood claims per home?

Georgetown County: 65.5 NFIP claims per 1,000 homes from 2015 to 2025; the median South Carolina county has 2.4 (FEMA OpenFEMA).

Are storm reports the same as power outages in South Carolina?

No: in South Carolina they are weather reports, not outage counts.

Where can South Carolina households get help with bills?

See the South Carolina help page. Highest burden: Allendale County.

Share this page

5.7% of income goes to home energy in Allendale County, the highest of 46 South Carolina counties