The 10 Dumbest Places In South Carolina For 2026

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that some places in the Palmetto State have a larger percent of their population that never graduated from high school.

While the emphasis on going to college might be overblown, the fact is that not graduating from high school puts you at a significant disadvantage on average. Educational attainment might not be the best way to measure one person’s intelligence, but it does shine a light on the state.

We will use Saturday Night Science to determine what places in South Carolina have the highest percentage of adults without a high school degree.

A recent study we published found that South Carolina is the 41st smartest state in the United States, with an average IQ of 97.

But that doesn’t mean that a few cities in South Carolina are a bit slower than others due to a lack of basic education.

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Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

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The 10 Dumbest Places In South Carolina

1. Dillon
2. Bennettsville
3. Greenwood
4. Laurens
5. Chester
6. Newberry
7. Union
8. Lancaster
9. Darlington
10. York

Don’t freak out.

Some places are just smarter than others, but that says nothing about the character of the people living there. It’s another data point a real estate agent would never tell you.

For this ranking, we only looked at cities with populations greater than 5,000, leaving us 63 cities in South Carolina to rank. You can take a look at the data below.

For more South Carolina reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In South Carolina
• Safest Places To Live In South Carolina

The 10 Dumbest Places In South Carolina For 2026

1. Dillon

Source: Wikipedia User Gerry Dincher | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,354
% Adult High School Dropout: 22.0%
% Highly Educated: 12.0%
More on Dillon: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

2. Bennettsville

Source: Flickr User MikeKalasnik | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 7,751
% Adult High School Dropout: 20.0%
% Highly Educated: 12.0%
More on Bennettsville: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

3. Greenwood

Source: Wikipedia User change-of-venue from Greenville, South Carolina, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 22,536
% Adult High School Dropout: 20.0%
% Highly Educated: 18.0%
More on Greenwood: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

4. Laurens

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 9,336
% Adult High School Dropout: 19.0%
% Highly Educated: 14.0%
More on Laurens: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

5. Chester

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,218
% Adult High School Dropout: 18.0%
% Highly Educated: 14.0%
More on Chester: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

6. Newberry

Source: Wikipedia User Chanilim714 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 10,790
% Adult High School Dropout: 20.0%
% Highly Educated: 19.0%
More on Newberry: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

7. Union

Source: Public domain

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 8,079
% Adult High School Dropout: 17.0%
% Highly Educated: 15.0%
More on Union: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

8. Lancaster

Source: Wikipedia User Calatayudboy | CC BY-SA 4.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 8,921
% Adult High School Dropout: 20.0%
% Highly Educated: 21.0%
More on Lancaster: Data | Cost Of Living | Movers

9. Darlington

Source: Flickr User Roadgeek Adam | CC BY-SA 2.0

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 6,120
% Adult High School Dropout: 18.0%
% Highly Educated: 19.0%
More on Darlington: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

10. York

Source: Wikipedia User Connor401 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 8,969
% Adult High School Dropout: 15.0%
% Highly Educated: 19.0%
More on York: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers

Methodology: How we determined the dumbest cities in the Palmetto State

We realize that formal education is only part of it when it comes to being intelligent, but on the other hand, knowing the difference between they’re, their, and there is always going to make you look pretty stupid.

So, we used Saturday Night Science to narrow down our criteria to focus on a city’s educational opportunities and what percentage of the population takes advantage of those opportunities.

In short, we came up with these criteria to determine the dumbest cities in South Carolina:

• % of the city’s population with less than a high school education (Age 25+)
• % of city’s population with a college degree (Age 25+)

We got the data from the U.S. Census 2020-2024 American Community Survey.

Then, our algorithm generates a rank for each place in these categories. After crunching all the numbers, a ranking of the cities in South Carolina from dumbest to brightest.

For this ranking, we used every South Carolina city with at least 5,000 residents. We updated this article for 2026, and it’s our eleventh time ranking the dumbest cities in South Carolina.

There You Have It – Now That You’re Asleep

If you’re measuring the locations in South Carolina where there are a high number of dropouts and adults who never received a formal education, this is an accurate ranking.

The dumbest cities in South Carolina are Dillon, Bennettsville, Greenwood, Laurens, Chester, Newberry, Union, Lancaster, Darlington, and York.

If you’re also curious enough, here are the smartest places in South Carolina, according to science:

1. Mount Pleasant
2. Tega Cay
3. Fort Mill

For more South Carolina reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In South Carolina
• Cheapest Places To Live In South Carolina
• Most Dangerous Cities In South Carolina
• Richest Cities In South Carolina
• Safest Places In South Carolina
• Worst Places To Live In South Carolina
• Most Expensive Places To Live In South Carolina

Dumbest Cities In South Carolina For 2026