Gov. McMaster succeeded to the office on Jan. 24, 2017. Henry McMaster is now serving a 3rd consecutive term; the current term began Jan. 2023. The scored record above covers South Carolina's outcomes during this continuous service, lagged per category (each category's lag was fixed before scoring).
Governors › South Carolina
South Carolina Under Henry McMaster
Republican · Succeeded to office Jan. 24, 2017 · Now in 3rd term
South Carolina has tracked the other 49 states almost exactly under Gov. McMaster — No. 13 of 29 governors with rated records, across 16 categories.
Henry McMaster
South Carolina · Republican · since Jan. 2017 · 3rd term
Overall · citizen-weighted
No. 13 of 29
−0.04σ · 16 of 20 categories
equal-weight: −0.08σ · weighting helps
| Category | Latest | Score vs. peers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honesty | — | In human review | |
| Spending discipline | — | Rubric in development | |
| Education scale score | 268 ’24 | −0.04σ | |
| Air quality AQI | 44 ’24 | −1.02σ | |
| Water quality % of community systems | 1.5 ’25 | −0.19σ | |
| Unemployment % | 4.5 ’25 | −1.74σ | |
| Health coverage % of adults 18-64 | 13.5 ’24 | −0.25σ | |
| Tax burden % of personal income | 5.4 ’24 | −0.80σ | |
| Energy cost cents/kWh | 14.2 ’24 | +1.02σ | |
| Cost of living index, US=100 | 93.8 ’24 | −1.35σ | |
| Crime deaths per 100,000 | 9.9 ’24 | +0.65σ | |
| Teen births per 1,000 females 15-19 | 17.4 ’24 | −0.88σ | |
| Wellbeing mean days of past 30 | 4.7 ’24 | +1.27σ | |
| School food quality | — | Rubric in development | |
| School shootings | 0 ’24 | Context · 8/10yr | |
| Obesity % of adults | 34.6 ’24 | +2.27σ | |
| Early literacy % of 4th graders | 40.3 ’24 | +1.75σ | |
| Gun deaths deaths per 100,000 (age-adjusted) | 19.5 ’24 | +0.98σ | |
| Food-aid access index (higher = easier access) | 0.7 ’23 | +0.08σ | |
| Jobless-benefit access % of unemployed receiving UI | 14.0 ’24 | −1.49σ |
Data transparency — 100% of state-run reporting delivered this tenureFull reporting
Scores are trends vs. the other 49 states over this governor’s window, in σ; *thin data (under 3 points). Tap ? on any row for what it measures, its chart, and the source. All provisional while the term runs. Methodology v2.1
Unemployment Rate, 2010–2025
South Carolina against all 49 other states South Carolina 50-state median Other 49 states Scored window
Annual-average unemployment rate — the longest-running series on the card, charted in full. The shaded band is its scored window: it opens one year after inauguration and tracks through the newest published data. The dashed line is the 50-state median, shown for context; scoring uses the median of the other 49 states. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
The Record
Show the Work
every published number, reproducible| Education (NAEP (Nation's Report Card)) | −0.04σ · window 2019–2024 (3 pts) · state −0.6%/yr vs peers −0.6%/yr |
| Air quality (EPA AirData) | −1.02σ · window 2018–2024 (7 pts) · state +2.0%/yr vs peers +0.3%/yr |
| Water quality (EPA SDWIS/ECHO) | −0.19σ · window 2018–2025 (8 pts) · state +0.0%/yr vs peers −0.1%/yr |
| Unemployment (BLS LAUS) | −1.74σ · window 2018–2025 (8 pts) · state +1.9%/yr vs peers −2.5%/yr |
| Health coverage (CDC BRFSS) | −0.25σ · window 2018–2024 (7 pts) · state −5.8%/yr vs peers −6.7%/yr |
| Tax burden (Census STC ÷ BEA personal income) | −0.80σ · window 2017–2024 (8 pts) · state +2.2%/yr vs peers +0.6%/yr |
| Energy cost (EIA) | +1.02σ · window 2018–2024 (7 pts) · state +2.0%/yr vs peers +3.9%/yr |
| Cost of living (BEA) | −1.35σ · window 2018–2024 (7 pts) · state +0.4%/yr vs peers −0.1%/yr |
| Crime (CDC WONDER) | +0.65σ · window 2018–2024 (7 pts) · state −0.4%/yr vs peers +2.1%/yr |
| Teen births (CDC WONDER) | −0.88σ · window 2018–2024 (7 pts) · state −4.5%/yr vs peers −5.7%/yr |
| Wellbeing (CDC BRFSS) | +1.27σ · window 2018–2024 (7 pts) · state +1.6%/yr vs peers +3.3%/yr |
| Obesity (CDC BRFSS) | +2.27σ · window 2019–2024 (6 pts) · state −0.5%/yr vs peers +1.4%/yr |
| Early literacy (NAEP (Nation's Report Card)) | +1.75σ · window 2019–2024 (3 pts) · state +0.7%/yr vs peers +3.7%/yr |
| Gun deaths (CDC WONDER) | +0.98σ · window 2018–2024 (7 pts) · state +0.6%/yr vs peers +2.1%/yr |
| Food-aid access (USDA FNS) | +0.08σ · window 2018–2023 (5 pts) · state +1.9%/yr vs peers +1.6%/yr |
| Jobless-benefit access (US DOL ETA) | −1.49σ · window 2018–2024 (7 pts) · state −10.9%/yr vs peers −4.8%/yr |
| Overall (mean of domain scores) | −0.04σ · economy −0.69 · health +0.60 · environment −0.60 · public_safety +0.81 · education +0.86 · social_services −0.70 · fiscal −0.80 |
| Methodology | v2.1, preregistered — directions and lags fixed before scoring; full dataset at /pwr.json |
Every score is a fitted log-linear trend over that category’s window, minus the median trend of the other 49 states, standardized by the spread across states (σ) and capped at ±2.5. Positive always means “moved better than peers” under the category’s preregistered direction.
Cite this
South Carolina has tracked the other 49 states almost exactly under Gov. McMaster — No. 13 of 29 governors with rated records, across 16 categories. — Political Grades, methodology v2.1, data through 2025. Provisional; trend-vs-peers scoring; relative movement, not causation.