Across the hybrid multi-source index, South Carolina is roughly average in overall freedom, ranking #29 of 50 states with a score of 56.3/100. Its strongest areas are property rights, regulatory burden, religious liberty, while it scores lowest in criminal justice, 4th amendment, drug policy.
How South Carolina performs in each freedom category, ranked best to worst.
Score movements from the Cato 2023 baseline to the current hybrid multi-source index.
9 categories improved · 0 declined · 1 stable
Each score is drawn from the publisher listed on the tile. Hover the source chip for edition and methodology detail.
South Carolina ranks near the national middle for free-speech protections, as measured by press-shield and anti-SLAPP laws, public-forum protections, and limits on protest restrictions.
Guns & Ammo 2023 — rank 24/50
South Carolina ranks near the national middle for gun rights (24th of 50), as measured by carry permitting, magazine and assault-weapon limits, and red-flag laws.
IJ Policing for Profit 2025 — forfeiture grade D-
South Carolina ranks near the national middle for privacy and search protections, as measured by civil-asset-forfeiture limits, digital-warrant requirements, and surveillance rules.
Fraser EFNA 2024 (Overall subn score 6.84 for 2023) — rank 21/50
South Carolina ranks near the national middle for economic freedom (21st of 50), as measured by income, sales, and property taxes alongside the broader business climate.
Vera People in Prison 2024 — rank 27/50 (315/100k)
South Carolina ranks near the national middle for criminal-justice fairness (27th of 50), as measured by incarceration rates, police accountability, and sentencing policy.
Cannabis status 2025 — Illegal (no legal access, possession fully criminal)
South Carolina ranks among the weakest in the nation for drug-policy freedom, as measured by marijuana legality, decriminalization, and drug-offense sentencing.
IJ Eminent Domain 2025 — post-Kelo protections B
South Carolina ranks stronger than most states for property rights, as measured by eminent-domain limits, zoning flexibility, and rent-control rules.
South Carolina ranks stronger than most states for religious liberty, as measured by a state RFRA, conscience protections, and religious-use accommodations.
EdChoice ABCs 2025 — non-universal, 3 programs — top program covers 58% of students
South Carolina ranks near the national middle for school choice, as measured by vouchers, education savings accounts, and charter and homeschool access.
Mercatus RegData 2024 — rank 13/48 (83,372 restrictions)
South Carolina ranks stronger than most states for regulatory freedom (13th of 48), as measured by occupational licensing and business-entry barriers.
Provenance
1st Amendment
FreedomRankings Editorial (no strong annual state-level source exists for 1st Amendment speech protections)
2nd Amendment
Guns & Ammo "Best States for Gun Owners"
4th Amendment
Institute for Justice -- "Policing for Profit" (asset forfeiture grades)
Economic Freedom
Fraser Institute -- Economic Freedom of North America (EFNA)
Criminal Justice
Vera Institute -- "People in Prison" (annual incarceration data)
Drug Policy
Per-state cannabis legality status (composite: NORML state pages, DISA legality map, NCSL medical cannabis tracker)
Property Rights
Institute for Justice -- Eminent Domain / Castle Coalition
Religious Liberty
FreedomRankings Editorial (no strong annual state-level source exists for religious liberty rankings)
Education Choice
EdChoice -- "ABCs of School Choice"
Regulatory Burden
Mercatus Center -- RegData state regulatory restrictions
South Carolina ranks #29 of 50 US states for overall freedom, with a score of 56.3/100 on the 2026 FreedomRankings index of constitutional rights, economic freedom, and personal liberty. Its strongest freedom is Property Rights (8.0/10); its weakest is Drug Policy (1.0/10).
Frequently Asked
Answers are generated from South Carolina's actual category scores and rank. Toggle the source to recompute against a different dataset.
South Carolina ranks #29 of 50 US states with a freedom score of 56.3/100. The score is a weighted average of 10 categories — constitutional rights, economic freedom, criminal justice, drug policy, education choice, and more — drawn from the FreedomRankings Hybrid multi-source index (Fraser Institute, EdChoice, Institute for Justice, Vera Institute, NORML, Mercatus RegData, Guns & Ammo).
South Carolina scores highest in Property Rights (8/10), Regulatory Burden (7.6/10), and Religious Liberty (7.5/10). These are the categories where South Carolina is most protective of individual liberty relative to other US states.
South Carolina scores lowest in Drug Policy (1/10), 4th Amendment (4.5/10), and Criminal Justice (4.7/10). These are the categories where South Carolina is most restrictive relative to other US states.
South Carolina scores 5.3/10 on Second Amendment / gun rights, which places it moderately restrictive on firearms. This score reflects carry laws, permit requirements, magazine and assault-weapon restrictions, red flag laws, and castle doctrine / stand-your-ground protections.
South Carolina scores 5.9/10 on economic freedom, placing it roughly average for economic freedom. The score reflects state income-tax rates, sales and property taxes, business tax climate, right-to-work status, and the overall regulatory burden on economic activity.
South Carolina scores 1/10 on drug policy, which makes it among the most restrictive drug-policy regimes in the country. The score incorporates recreational and medical marijuana legality, decriminalization of possession, harm-reduction programs, and sentencing for drug offenses.
South Carolina scores 5.8/10 on education choice, placing it roughly average for education freedom. The score reflects voucher programs, education savings accounts, charter-school access, homeschool regulations, and tax-credit scholarships.
Each of South Carolina's 10 category scores (0–10) is a weighted average, then multiplied by 10 to produce the overall 0–100 freedom score. Categories are weighted equally by default, but visitors can adjust the weights on the rankings page to produce a personalised ranking. The default source is the FreedomRankings Hybrid multi-source index; the Cato Institute 2023 edition and an editorial assessment are also available as toggles. See the methodology page for per-category source attribution.
Click any official to view their full profile, donors, and financial info.
South Carolina ranks #29 of 50 states for overall freedom in 2026, with a score of 56.3/100 — 1.3 points below the 50-state average of 57.6/100. It scores above the national average in 6 of its 10 freedoms, a quick read on whether South Carolina is broadly free or strong in just a few areas.
South Carolina’s best freedoms are property rights and regulatory burden. South Carolina ranks stronger than most states for property rights, as measured by eminent-domain limits, zoning flexibility, and rent-control rules. South Carolina ranks stronger than most states for regulatory freedom (13th of 48), as measured by occupational licensing and business-entry barriers.
South Carolina scores lowest on drug policy and 4th amendment. South Carolina ranks among the weakest in the nation for drug-policy freedom, as measured by marijuana legality, decriminalization, and drug-offense sentencing. South Carolina ranks near the national middle for privacy and search protections, as measured by civil-asset-forfeiture limits, digital-warrant requirements, and surveillance rules.
South Carolina’s closest neighbors in the ranking are Maryland (#28, 56.4/100) and New Mexico (#30, 56.3/100). Use the comparison tool to see exactly which freedoms separate them, category by category.
See how all 50 states stack up on the issues that drive South Carolina’s score.
Popular head-to-head matchups, or compare South Carolina with any state.
