2/2/2010

Date Formed:

1871

Land Area (square miles):

1,073

County Seat:

Aiken

Other Cities and Towns:

Burnettown, Jackson, Monetta, New Ellenton, North Augusta, Perry, Salley, Wagener, Windsor

Form of Government:

Council-Administrator

Council Members:

Method of Election

Single Member/ Chair at Large

Term Length

4 years

Council of Government:

Lower Savannah

County History

Aiken County and its county seat were named for William Aiken (1806-1831), president of the South Carolina Railroad. The county was formed in 1871 from parts of Orangeburg, Lexington, Edgefield, and Barnwell counties. The area was sparsely settled until the 1830s, when the South Carolina Railroad was built connecting Charleston to the town of Hamburg on the Savannah River with the town of Aiken being established as a depot. In the 1870s, Aiken became a winter resort for wealthy Northerners, and it remains popular with horse trainers and riders. The federal government chose Aiken County in the 1950s to be the site of a hydrogen bomb plant, the Savannah River Site. James F. Byrnes (1879-1972) began his legal and political careers in Aiken before going on to become a U.S. Congressman, Senator, Secretary of State, Supreme Court Justice, and Governor of South Carolina. Other prominent residents of the county were William Gregg (1800-1867), who built the state's first textile mill at Graniteville in 1846, and South Carolina Governor and U.S. Senator James Henry Hammond (1807-1864).

Population Trends

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Population 1980:

105,625

Numeric Change 1980-2000:

36,927

Population 1990:

120,940

Numeric Change 2000-2008:

11,519

Population 2000:

142,552

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:

1.74%

Population Estimate 2007:

152,333

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 2000-2008:

1.01%

Population Estimate 2008:

154,071

Percent Change 2006-2008:

1.13%

Persons Per Square Mile 2008:

143.6

Economic Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Jobs 1980:

40,144

Personal Income (PI) 2007:

$4,760,916

Jobs 1990:

65,715

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate (PI) 1969-2007:

7.5%

Jobs 2000:

61,462

Per Capita Personal Income 2007:

$31,253

Jobs 2006:

61,241

% of U.S. PCPI 2007:

81%

Jobs 2007:

62,052

Average Wage Per Job 2007:

$41,705

Numeric Change Jobs 2006-2007:

811

% of U.S. Avg. Wage Per Job 2007:

95%

Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 1980-2000

2.66%

Unemployment Rate 2007:

5.9%

Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 2000-2007

0.14%

Avg. Unemployment 1998-2007:

5.5%

Tax Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Assessed Property 2007:

$504,279,048

Per Capita Assessed Property 2007:

$3,538

County Base Millage Rate 2009:

0.0747

Additional Sales Tax (if applicable)

Value of One Mil 2009:

$498,784

Local Option Sales Tax:

Millage Cap FY10:

5.0%

Capital Projects Sales Tax:

1.0%

Net Taxable Sales FY07:

$1,181,147,276

School District Sales Tax:

Admissions Tax Collected FY07:

$770,638

Transportation Sales Tax:

Accommodations Tax Collected FY07

$386,066

Financial & Employment Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Total Revenues FY08:

$92,445,864

Per Capita Revenues FY08:

$649

Total Expenditures FY08:

$103,952,682

Per Capita Expenditures FY08:

$729

General Fund Budget FY10:

$51,477,455

Per Capita General Fund Budget FY10:

$361

Total Debt Outstanding FY08:

$27,076,552

Per Capita Debt Outstanding FY08:

$173

Payroll FY 2008:

$32,719,226

Credit Rating(s) FY08

Full-Time Employees FY10:

821

Moody's:

Part-Time Employees FY10:

Standard & Poor:

Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:

5.76

Fitch:

updated

2/2/2010