South Carolina•In office since 2017•Party: R

Henry McMaster

Serving as Governor of South Carolina since 2017. Evaluation based on verified public data.

Overall GradeB

63.9 / 100

Ranked #22 of 50 nationally

Economy

77.5 / 100A-

Unemployment RateB

3.5%

National avg 3.9%

Rank 28 of 5046 pct

Trend since took officefrom 4.4%

Median Household IncomeC

$63,623

National avg $74,580

Rank 42 of 5016 pct

Trend since took officefrom $50,570

Job GrowthA+

9.0%

National avg 5.5%

Rank 6 of 5090 pct

Trend since took officefrom 3.0%

Real GDP GrowthA+

11.0%

National avg 8.0%

Rank 8 of 5087 pct

Trend since took officefrom 4.0%

Real Wage GrowthA+

3.4%

National avg 3.0%

Rank 11 of 5080 pct

Trend since took officefrom 1.0%

Fiscal Health

66.6 / 100B

State Debt per CapitaB-

$2,300

National avg $3,580

Rank 25 of 5051 pct

Trend since took officefrom $2,500

Rainy Day FundC

12.0%

National avg 14.0%

Rank 41 of 5018 pct

Trend since took officefrom 9.0%

State & Local Tax BurdenB+

8.9%

National avg 11.2%

Rank 8 of 5087 pct

Trend since took officefrom 8.8%

Credit RatingA+

100

National avg 90

Rank 12 of 5079 pct

Trend since took officefrom 100

Quality of Life

37.9 / 100D+

Poverty RateD

13.9%

National avg 11.5%

Rank 41 of 5019 pct

Trend since took officefrom 14.2%

High School Graduation RateD+

84.6%

National avg 87.0%

Rank 35 of 5031 pct

Trend since took officefrom 83.5%

Life ExpectancyD

75.6 yrs

National avg 77.5 yrs

Rank 38 of 5026 pct

Trend since took officefrom 76.4 yrs

Violent Crime RateF

569 / 100k

National avg 380 / 100k

Rank 46 of 508 pct

Trend since took officefrom 510 / 100k

Bridges in Poor ConditionB

4.5%

National avg 6.6%

Rank 16 of 5069 pct

Trend since took officefrom 4.8%

How this grade is built

Each metric gets two scores: how the state ranks among all 50 states (60%) and how much it changed under this governor (40%). These combine into a 0–100 score per metric, averaged within three pillars — Economy, Fiscal Health, Quality of Life — then curved across the cohort so grades spread A–F.

Full methodology →