School Funding Equity in South Carolina

73 districts ranked by equity score — how equitably is school funding distributed? Equity is computed from NCES F-33 school finance data covering districts in all 50 states. See our methodology.

51
State Avg Score
49
National Avg Score
12
Highly Equitable (70+)
10
Low Equity (<30)
# District Score
1 Allendale 01 92
2 Lee 01 84
3 Dorchester 04 83
4 Abbeville 60 81
5 Lexington 03 79
6 Edgefield 01 78
7 Hampton 76
8 SC Public Charter School District 74
9 Fairfield 01 74
10 Dept of Juvenile Justice 74
11 Williamsburg 01 72
12 Spartanburg 07 70
13 Richland 01 69
14 Beaufort 01 67
15 Darlington 01 67
16 Laurens 56 67
17 Florence 02 67
18 Chester 01 66
19 Florence 03 66
20 Calhoun 01 65
21 Spartanburg 03 63
22 Florence 01 61
23 Marlboro 01 61
24 McCormick 01 61
25 Charleston 01 60
26 Greenwood 51 59
27 Georgetown 01 58
28 Charter Institute at Erskine 57
29 Greenwood 50 57
30 Orangeburg 56
31 Lexington 02 55
32 Barnwell 45 55
33 Oconee 01 54
34 Laurens 55 53
35 Richland 02 52
36 Newberry 01 52
37 Lexington 04 52
38 Jasper 01 51
39 Florence 05 50
40 Lexington 05 49
41 Chesterfield 01 48
42 York 01 48
43 Kershaw 01 46
44 Marion 10 45
45 Lexington 01 44
46 Cherokee 01 44
47 Anderson 03 44
48 Saluda 01 42
49 Dillon 04 39
50 Union 01 39
51 Anderson 05 38
52 Spartanburg 05 38
53 Colleton 01 38
54 York 03 35
55 Spartanburg 06 35
56 Spartanburg 01 35
57 Anderson 04 35
58 York 04 34
59 Sumter 01 33
60 Anderson 02 33
61 Greenwood 52 32
62 Aiken 01 31
63 Lancaster 01 31
64 York 02 29
65 Horry 01 28
66 Dillon 03 28
67 Anderson 01 25
68 Spartanburg 04 25
69 Dorchester 02 24
70 Spartanburg 02 22
71 Pickens 01 21
72 Greenville 01 20
73 Berkeley 01 13

How the Equity Score Works

The equity score (0-100) evaluates four dimensions of school funding fairness:

Per-Pupil Spending (0-25)
Higher spending relative to peers
Need-Adjusted Spending (0-25)
Spending weighted by poverty level — rewards districts that spend more where need is greatest
Funding Diversity (0-25)
Less reliance on local property taxes, more state/federal support
Resource Access (0-25)
Lower student-teacher ratios = more individualized attention