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PantryPath Research · WIC Coverage Atlas

WIC in South Carolina

52.9% coverage

South Carolina's WIC program reaches 52.9% of eligible residents — an estimated 82,000 participants out of 155,000 who qualify. That leaves 73,000 pregnant women, infants, and young children eligible but not receiving WIC's food package or nutrition counseling.

155K

WIC eligibles

82K

Participants (FY2024 avg)

73K

Unserved eligibles

46

Counties

South Carolina by county

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Toggle between estimated WIC eligibles, unserved gap, low-income child counts, and child-poverty share. Hover a county for its exact value.

Note: USDA does not publish sub-state WIC participation, so every county in South Carolina inherits the state's 52.9% coverage rate. County-level eligibles are allocated from state totals in proportion to the county's share of low-income children under 6 (ACS B17024). See methodology.

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South Carolina at a glance

Coverage rate

52.9%

Participants ÷ eligibles

Participation gap

47.1%

1 − coverage

Eligibles

155K

USDA FNS FY2022

Participants

82K

Monthly avg FY2024

Unserved

73K

Eligibles − participants

Kids < 6 low-income

140K

41.1% of universe

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 46 counties in South Carolina.

Most WIC eligibles

Estimated eligible population

  1. 1 Greenville 15K
  2. 2 Richland 13K
  3. 3 Spartanburg 11K
  4. 4 Lexington 9K
  5. 5 Charleston 9K

Largest unserved gap

Eligibles not receiving WIC

  1. 1 Greenville 7K
  2. 2 Richland 6K
  3. 3 Spartanburg 5K
  4. 4 Lexington 4K
  5. 5 Charleston 4K

Highest child-poverty share

Children < 6 at ≤185% FPL

  1. 1 Barnwell 80.0%
  2. 2 Marion 76.3%
  3. 3 Dillon 75.9%
  4. 4 Union 69.5%
  5. 5 Hampton 63.7%

Every county in South Carolina

All 46 counties with WIC eligibility estimates, unserved gap, and ACS child-poverty context.

County Eligibles est. Participants est. Unserved est. Kids < 6 low-income Poverty share
Abbeville 764 404 360 690 51.7%
Aiken 4,792 2,535 2,257 4,328 38.8%
Allendale 269 142 127 243 50.9%
Anderson 6,365 3,367 2,998 5,749 40.6%
Bamberg 382 202 180 345 48.9%
Barnwell 1,331 704 627 1,202 80.0%
Beaufort 5,387 2,850 2,537 4,866 46.1%
Berkeley 6,581 3,481 3,100 5,944 34.0%
Calhoun 374 198 176 338 47.3%
Charleston 8,981 4,751 4,230 8,112 29.1%
Cherokee 2,614 1,383 1,231 2,361 58.0%
Chester 1,438 761 677 1,299 61.0%
Chesterfield 1,795 949 846 1,621 57.1%
Clarendon 922 488 434 833 50.5%
Colleton 1,792 948 844 1,619 60.7%
Darlington 2,491 1,318 1,173 2,250 55.6%
Dillon 1,853 980 873 1,674 75.9%
Dorchester 3,906 2,066 1,840 3,528 33.2%
Edgefield 497 263 234 449 37.0%
Fairfield 774 409 365 699 59.0%
Florence 5,247 2,776 2,471 4,739 47.0%
Georgetown 1,495 791 704 1,350 44.2%
Greenville 15,431 8,164 7,267 13,938 36.2%
Greenwood 3,417 1,807 1,610 3,086 59.9%
Hampton 818 433 385 739 63.7%
Horry 7,888 4,173 3,715 7,125 38.6%
Jasper 1,094 579 515 988 60.8%
Kershaw 2,004 1,060 944 1,810 41.3%
Lancaster 2,711 1,434 1,277 2,449 35.4%
Laurens 2,924 1,547 1,377 2,641 54.8%
Lee 560 296 264 506 58.5%
Lexington 9,099 4,814 4,285 8,219 40.2%
Marion 1,417 750 667 1,280 76.3%
Marlboro 1,047 554 493 946 60.3%
McCormick 143 76 67 129 51.4%
Newberry 1,098 581 517 992 44.3%
Oconee 2,376 1,257 1,119 2,146 51.6%
Orangeburg 3,139 1,660 1,479 2,835 56.6%
Pickens 3,211 1,699 1,512 2,900 39.9%
Richland 12,823 6,784 6,039 11,582 43.0%
Saluda 606 320 286 547 44.4%
Spartanburg 10,745 5,684 5,061 9,705 39.8%
Sumter 3,917 2,072 1,845 3,538 42.5%
Union 1,397 739 658 1,262 69.5%
Williamsburg 1,025 542 483 926 53.6%
York 6,061 3,207 2,854 5,475 27.8%

Apply for WIC in South Carolina

Income limits, food-package rules, clinic locator, and application instructions specific to South Carolina's WIC agency.

South Carolina WIC guide

Families with children

Our population-specific guide: WIC, SNAP, school meals, Summer EBT, and pantry programs for families with kids in South Carolina.

Families guide

South Carolina SNAP

SNAP recipients are automatically income-eligible for WIC through adjunctive eligibility — often the fastest path to enrollment.

South Carolina SNAP guide

Find a food pantry

Search South Carolina's verified pantries — many partner with WIC clinics and distribute infant formula, baby food, and diapers.

South Carolina food pantries

WIC methodology

How we estimated county-level eligibles, why state coverage rates can't be disaggregated, and which data sources we used.

Full methodology