South Carolina · NCES F-33 finance data

Highest Spending Districts in South Carolina

The 50 South Carolina districts that spend the most per student, ranked from NCES F-33 finance data (2022-23). Only districts enrolling 500 or more students are included.

Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools. · Updated August 2026

The spending picture in one line

Mccormick 01 spends $25,641 per student, the most of any South Carolina district listed, against an average of $16,307 across the top 50.

$25,641
top spend (Mccormick 01): $13,515
lowest on this list: 1.9×
spread across the listed districts: 582
students in the top district

#	District	Enrollment	Schools	Per-Pupil $
1	Mccormick 01Mccormick	582	3	$25,641
2	Sc Public Charter School DistrictColumbia	17,601	38	$23,863
3	Fairfield 01Winnsboro	2,278	8	$22,949
4	Allendale 01Fairfax	974	3	$21,639
5	Williamsburg 01Kingstree	2,946	11	$21,582
6	Charter Institute at ErskineColumbia	22,535	24	$20,062
7	Dorchester 04St. George	2,027	6	$19,434
8	Barnwell 48Williston	1,194	5	$19,152
9	Richland 01Columbia	22,037	48	$18,992
10	Bamberg 03Denmark	1,773	6	$18,483
11	Spartanburg 07Spartanburg	7,371	10	$18,371
12	Lee 01Bishopville	1,476	5	$17,558
13	Darlington 01Darlington	9,042	19	$17,420
14	Beaufort 01Beaufort	21,439	32	$17,232
15	Charleston 01Charleston	49,929	82	$16,635
16	Lexington 03Batesburg-Leesville	1,977	4	$16,602
17	OrangeburgOrangeburg	10,979	28	$16,571
18	HamptonVarnville	2,399	10	$16,416
19	Edgefield 01Johnston	3,100	8	$16,107
20	Calhoun 01St. Matthews	1,546	3	$16,031
21	Laurens 56Clinton	2,715	6	$15,618
22	Florence 03Lake City	2,993	8	$15,537
23	Marion 10Marion	3,875	10	$15,411
24	Marlboro 01Bennettsville	3,549	7	$15,403
25	Barnwell 45Barnwell	1,974	4	$15,345
26	Florence 02Pamplico	1,068	2	$14,955
27	Georgetown 01Georgetown	8,429	19	$14,951
28	Colleton 01Walterboro	4,946	9	$14,940
29	Chester 01Chester	4,767	12	$14,920
30	Greenwood 51Ware Shoals	893	3	$14,804
31	Lexington 05Irmo	17,463	23	$14,799
32	Anderson 04Pendleton	3,005	6	$14,724
33	Spartanburg 03Glendale	2,784	5	$14,636
34	Newberry 01Newberry	5,806	14	$14,625
35	Lexington 02West Columbia	8,626	13	$14,535
36	Abbeville 60Abbeville	2,864	9	$14,331
37	Oconee 01Walhalla	10,217	17	$14,323
38	Florence 05Johnsonville	1,225	3	$14,230
39	Laurens 55Laurens	5,344	9	$14,216
40	York 03Rock Hill	16,493	25	$14,182
41	York 01York	5,038	9	$14,172
42	Florence 01Florence	16,024	25	$14,162
43	Spartanburg 06Roebuck	11,687	14	$14,109
44	Richland 02Columbia	28,510	32	$14,024
45	York 02Clover	9,087	10	$13,691
46	Lexington 04Swansea	3,544	7	$13,672
47	Cherokee 01Gaffney	7,925	15	$13,668
48	Lexington 01Lexington	28,031	31	$13,591
49	Greenwood 50Greenwood	8,610	13	$13,530
50	Anderson 05Anderson	12,560	19	$13,515

Explore More for South Carolina

All Districts → Largest Schools → National Spending Ranking →

Methodology

Per-pupil expenditure data comes from the NCES F-33 Finance Survey. Only districts with 500 or more students are included to ensure meaningful comparisons. Spending figures include all current operational expenditures divided by total enrollment.

Per-pupil spending figures come from the National Center for Education Statistics F-33 School District Finance Survey for fiscal year 2022-23, the federal government's annual census of revenues and expenditures across more than 13,000 public school districts. Only districts enrolling 500 or more students are ranked, to keep small-district outliers from distorting the comparison.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.