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you guys don't seem to be from one of the worst states in America, I don't see a huge amount of complaining here, my mom recently moved out there, even. Yet if you check rankings, SC consistently ranks one of the worst states in America. Crime at a whopping #46, education at #44, health care at #34, infrastructure at #36 opportunity at #38 This is not a recent development in statistics either, but rather a trend that has existed for several years now, at least going back to 2019. The stats and the average perception (the view of those who live there, and those who don't) of SC don't match at all. whats up with that?
Because at the end of the day we are only slightly below average in a lot of things but despite what the media will tell you the US average is still pretty high.
Beyond that it depends on the people moving in for what's important, Snowbirds for instance probably aren't going to care that the schools are a bit below average since they are retired and not about to be having any kids.
Likewise Healthcare is about average on quality across the state and frankly a lot of Rural areas are going to bring that down, if you are living in Charleston its a safe bet the healthcare quality is well above the national average.
Then of course you get to the economy where we are ranked #18 or short-term fiscal stability where we are #17 which is rather decent when it comes with a good environment and decent hospitals.
Lingering generational poverty in certain areas from the state’s being devastated in the Civil War explains a lot of it. The state keeps talking like it’s going to stop factoring out the poverty-stricken areas that bring its stats down and take steps to improve their quality of life, instead of trying to justify the state’s overall performance by saying yes, but if you factor out those areas we’re doing pretty well.
Just like many other states, the areas where out-of-state newcomers and retirees are moving to and basically stay in for their daily activities are going to skew much higher on the socioeconomic spectrum than many of the below average or even average areas. Hilton Head or Kiawah Island are not good representations of what you may find 50-75 miles inland for instance.
One of the main drawing features to SC for both individuals and corporations is low taxes. That is particularly appealing to retirees, who make up much of SC's population growth. There's a trade-off to everything. Low taxes means less investment in infrastructure, schools, and indirectly, crime. Most law enforcement organizations are significantly understaffed and underpaid, leading officers to seek other jobs or other locations. As you say, it's nothing new. Been like that for a long time because our local and state politicians know what it takes to get reelected.
you guys don't seem to be from one of the worst states in America, I don't see a huge amount of complaining here, my mom recently moved out there, even. Yet if you check rankings, SC consistently ranks one of the worst states in America. Crime at a whopping #46, education at #44, health care at #34, infrastructure at #36 opportunity at #38 This is not a recent development in statistics either, but rather a trend that has existed for several years now, at least going back to 2019. The stats and the average perception (the view of those who live there, and those who don't) of SC don't match at all. whats up with that?
South Carolina has a number of wealthier, advanced areas full of involved, forward-thinking concerned citizens that make sure their areas do pretty well on subjects of crime, education, healthcare, etc. And South Carolina has another set of poorer areas that are completely lacking in these things.
These areas live side by side, hardly acknowledging the existence of each other. Virtually nothing binds them together. But they are considered one political body to be averaged together for the purposes of these rankings.
I'd even go out on a limb and suggest that most people really consider themselves to be a citizen of (for example) Greenville, rather than a citizen of South Carolina. I know I do.
you guys don't seem to be from one of the worst states in America, I don't see a huge amount of complaining here, my mom recently moved out there, even. Yet if you check rankings, SC consistently ranks one of the worst states in America. Crime at a whopping #46, education at #44, health care at #34, infrastructure at #36 opportunity at #38 This is not a recent development in statistics either, but rather a trend that has existed for several years now, at least going back to 2019. The stats and the average perception (the view of those who live there, and those who don't) of SC don't match at all. whats up with that?
There's probably lots of reasons, but I would say this is a good example of where statistics often don't reflect real world experience. There is so much more to living in a state than a few criteria whose number rankings only tell a small part of the story. For many living in SC, and for many moving in, it is an overall nice place to live with more positives than negatives. We know crime has ties to certain areas and sometimes lifestyle choices and personal decisions. Healthcare and education also can be quite influenced by family structure and personal/family habits. It certainly isn't perfect but there is a lot of "quality" in SC if one is looking for it. Further, I always find it interesting how so many of the states near the top of the US News rankings are ones that would fall much further down on my list. Neither Washington nor Minnesota would appeal to me as a great place to raise a family, particularity over the past couple of years, nor many of the New England states that tend to dominate "the best of" lists.
One reason many retire/relocate to SC is lower state taxes. This does show up as "lesser" social services (schools, roads, etc). You do not get champagne for beer prices.
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This is not a recent development in statistics either, but rather a trend that has existed for several years now, at least going back to 2019. The stats and the average perception (the view of those who live there, and those who don't) of SC don't match at all. whats up with that?
