While the U.S. is one of the most educated countries in the world, it doesn’t provide the same quality elementary school or secondary school education to all students. In many states, more affluent school districts receive a greater amount of funding per student than poorer districts, with one estimate claiming that low-income districts are underfunded by around $6,700 per pupil.
Discrepancies between the rich and poor have been exacerbated even more due to the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Low-income students have suffered the greatest “learning loss” due to partial or total remote learning. One contributing factor is that people in low-income districts are less likely to have the technological resources they need.
States that provide equitable funding to all school districts can help prevent poor students from having lower graduation rates, lower rates of pursuing higher education and smaller future incomes than their wealthy peers. The difference is dramatic: College graduates have $154 - $1,115 higher median weekly earnings than people with a high school diploma and no college experience, depending on the degree.
South Carolina has the 9th most equitable school districts in the U.S. overall, but some districts within the state are fairer than others. To find out where school funding is distributed most equitably, WalletHub scored 79 districts in South Carolina based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil.
Main Findings
Note: For visual purposes, we included only the top 7 school districts by enrollment from each category. Rank 1 on the “Expenditures Ranking” means highest expenditures and Rank 1 on “Income Ranking” means lowest income.
Most & Least Equitable School Districts in South Carolina
| Rank* | School District | Score | Expeditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools per Pupil | Income by School District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spartanburg 01 | 0.11 | $10,430 | $55,609 |
| 2 | Florence 05 | 0.54 | $11,211 | $52,798 |
| 3 | Barnwell 29 | 1.09 | $13,456 | $43,018 |
| 4 | Oconee 01 | 1.59 | $12,115 | $49,691 |
| 5 | Hampton 02 | 1.65 | $16,569 | $31,893 |
| 6 | Bamberg 01 | 2.42 | $13,530 | $44,431 |
| 7 | Kershaw 01 | 2.56 | $11,161 | $53,980 |
| 8 | Horry 01 | 2.80 | $11,111 | $51,570 |
| 9 | Spartanburg 02 | 2.98 | $9,837 | $59,484 |
| 10 | Spartanburg 06 | 3.05 | $11,747 | $51,876 |
| 11 | Spartanburg 03 | 3.21 | $12,875 | $44,310 |
| 12 | Florence 04 | 4.77 | $14,892 | $40,126 |
| 13 | Newberry 01 | 4.78 | $12,253 | $46,038 |
| 14 | Spartanburg 04 | 5.02 | $10,248 | $53,945 |
| 15 | Aiken 01 | 5.10 | $10,396 | $53,313 |
| 16 | Anderson 01 | 5.61 | $9,039 | $63,961 |
| 17 | Jasper 01 | 6.10 | $13,605 | $45,924 |
| 18 | Clarendon 03 | 6.52 | $9,785 | $55,069 |
| 19 | Georgetown 01 | 6.86 | $12,058 | $52,488 |
| 20 | Edgefield 01 | 7.06 | $12,081 | $52,491 |
| 21 | Bamberg 02 | 7.28 | $14,557 | $35,597 |
| 22 | York 01 | 7.76 | $11,682 | $54,429 |
| 23 | Lexington 02 | 7.86 | $11,477 | $47,641 |
| 24 | Florence 01 | 8.88 | $12,226 | $52,797 |
| 25 | Chester 01 | 8.91 | $12,263 | $43,985 |
| 26 | Calhoun 01 | 10.34 | $13,141 | $49,844 |
| 27 | Barnwell 19 | 10.47 | $12,552 | $42,067 |
| 28 | Anderson 05 | 10.53 | $11,056 | $48,025 |
| 29 | Greenwood 52 | 11.55 | $10,816 | $48,493 |
| 30 | Lee 01 | 11.56 | $14,722 | $32,851 |
| 31 | York 03 | 11.96 | $11,461 | $57,357 |
| 32 | Hampton 01 | 12.76 | $12,675 | $40,463 |
| 33 | Orangeburg | 12.80 | $13,584 | $36,802 |
| 34 | Greenville 01 | 12.90 | $10,390 | $62,101 |
| 35 | Laurens 55 | 12.96 | $11,491 | $45,103 |
| 36 | Spartanburg 07 | 13.81 | $15,251 | $43,092 |
| 37 | Abbeville 60 | 14.18 | $11,835 | $43,131 |
| 38 | Dorchester 04 | 14.61 | $14,725 | $45,588 |
| 39 | Anderson 02 | 15.13 | $10,506 | $47,989 |
| 40 | Allendale 01 | 16.37 | $15,830 | $26,074 |
| 41 | Spartanburg 05 | 16.57 | $10,723 | $62,559 |
| 42 | Pickens 01 | 17.07 | $9,509 | $51,032 |
| 43 | Dorchester 02 | 17.15 | $9,711 | $66,891 |
| 44 | Berkeley 01 | 17.71 | $10,141 | $65,443 |
| 45 | Lancaster 01 | 18.12 | $10,196 | $65,421 |
| 46 | Williamsburg 01 | 18.22 | $13,205 | $35,681 |
| 47 | Laurens 56 | 18.24 | $12,103 | $40,083 |
| 48 | Darlington 01 | 19.73 | $12,657 | $37,141 |
| 49 | Anderson 03 | 20.58 | $11,028 | $43,243 |
| 50 | Chesterfield 01 | 21.49 | $11,244 | $41,937 |
| 51 | Richland 01 | 21.85 | $15,710 | $45,170 |
| 52 | Lexington 04 | 21.98 | $11,178 | $41,964 |
| 53 | Sumter 01 | 22.37 | $9,979 | $46,570 |
| 54 | Florence 03 | 22.49 | $11,888 | $38,871 |
| 55 | Lexington 03 | 22.65 | $13,363 | $54,953 |
| 56 | Clarendon 02 | 23.19 | $11,062 | $41,838 |
| 57 | Florence 02 | 23.61 | $12,669 | $35,203 |
| 58 | Greenwood 51 | 24.85 | $11,735 | $38,333 |
| 59 | Saluda 01 | 26.68 | $10,717 | $41,520 |
| 60 | Colleton 01 | 26.87 | $11,886 | $36,748 |
| 61 | Greenwood 50 | 30.30 | $10,430 | $40,902 |
| 62 | Cherokee 01 | 30.54 | $11,265 | $37,445 |
| 63 | Richland 02 | 31.02 | $12,408 | $62,851 |
| 64 | Union 01 | 33.26 | $10,017 | $41,117 |
| 65 | Barnwell 45 | 34.27 | $11,453 | $34,874 |
| 66 | Dillon 04 | 37.00 | $10,584 | $37,024 |
| 67 | Clarendon 01 | 37.24 | $18,407 | $41,870 |
| 68 | Marion 10 | 37.41 | $12,092 | $30,791 |
| 69 | Anderson 04 | 37.99 | $12,471 | $65,993 |
| 70 | Charleston 01 | 38.10 | $12,187 | $67,182 |
| 71 | Marlboro 01 | 39.23 | $11,686 | $31,528 |
| 72 | Lexington 01 | 43.78 | $11,875 | $71,200 |
| 73 | Mccormick 01 | 46.68 | $18,174 | $47,402 |
| 74 | Fairfield 01 | 48.96 | $19,336 | $43,861 |
| 75 | Beaufort 01 | 49.79 | $12,547 | $71,438 |
| 76 | York 02 | 51.71 | $12,263 | $73,508 |
| 77 | Dillon 03 | 55.18 | $8,993 | $34,536 |
| 78 | Lexington 05 | 69.46 | $13,651 | $76,597 |
| 79 | York 04 | 91.35 | $10,147 | $101,281 |
*1=Most Equitable
Methodology
In order to rank the states with the most and least equitable school districts, WalletHub first scored 12,876 school districts throughout the U.S. based on two metrics: average household income and expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools per pupil.
For expenditures, for each 1 percent above the state's average we removed 1 point from a base score of 50 points for each district. For household income, for each 1 percent above the state's average we added 1 point to a base score of 50 points for each district. The inverse was true for each 1 percent below the state's average.
The final score for each district was calculated by taking the absolute difference between the score for expenditures and the score for household income. We then ranked the districts based on the total score, with the lowest value, representing the most equitable, being ranked 1.
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from of the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics.