BAMBERG COUNTY 2/2/2010
Date Formed:  1897
Land Area (square miles): 393
County Seat: Bamberg
Other Cities and Towns:
Denmark, Ehrhardt, Govan, Olar
Form of Government: Council-Administrator
Council Members: 7
Method of Election Single Member
Term Length 4 years
Council of Government:  Lower Savannah
County History
Bamberg County and its county seat were named for local resident William Seaborn Bamberg (1820-1858) and other members of the Bamberg family. The area was a part of Barnwell County until 1897 when the new county was established. Although the area has been primarily agricultural, several towns developed along the route of the South Carolina Railroad in the mid-nineteenth century. In February 1865 Confederate soldiers fought an unsuccessful skirmish against General Sherman's troops at Rivers Bridge, now the site of a state park. The plantation of author William Gilmore Simms (1806-1870) was in what is now Bamberg County, and artist Jim Harrison is also a native of the county.
Population Trends Value Rank Value Rank
Population 1980:  18,118 40 Numeric Change 1980-2000:  -1,460 45
Population 1990:  16,902 41 Numeric Change 2000-2008: -1,351 42
Population 2000:  16,658 43 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:  -0.40% 45
Population Estimate 2007:  15,465 43 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 2000-2008:  -1.01% 46
Population Estimate 2008: 15,307 43 Percent Change 2006-2008: -1.03% 45
Persons Per Square Mile 2008:  38.9 38
Economic Data Value Rank Value Rank
Jobs 1980:  5,597 40 Personal Income (PI) 2007: $350,883 44
Jobs 1990:  4,992 41 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate (PI) 1969-2007: 6.4% 44
Jobs 2000:  5,622 40 Per Capita Personal Income  2007: $22,689 38
Jobs 2006: 5,563 41 % of U.S. PCPI 2007: 59% 38
Jobs 2007: 5,452 41 Average Wage Per Job 2007: $26,182 43
Numeric Change Jobs 2006-2007: -111 31 % of U.S. Avg. Wage Per Job 2007:  60% 43
Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 1980-2000:  0.02% 41 Unemployment Rate 2007: 11.7% 6
Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 2000-2007: -0.43% 22 Avg. Unemployment 1998-2007:  8.4% 14
Tax Data Value Rank Value Rank
Assessed Property 2007: $29,564,610 45 Per Capita Assessed Property 2007: $1,775 45
County Base Millage Rate 2009: 0.1341 12 Additional Sales Tax (if applicable) 
Value of One Mil 2009: $28,414 45 Local Option Sales Tax: 1.0%
Millage Cap FY10: 3.8% 34 Capital Projects Sales Tax:  
Net Taxable Sales FY07: $65,361,300 40 School District Sales Tax:  
Admissions Tax Collected FY07: $1,211 41 Transportation Sales Tax:  
Accommodations Tax Collected FY07:  $9,061 42
Financial & Employment Data Value Rank Value Rank
Total Revenues FY08: $8,191,215 45 Per Capita Revenues FY08: $492 39
Total Expenditures FY08: $6,006,248 46 Per Capita Expenditures FY08: $361 44
General Fund Budget FY10:  $7,552,350 43 Per Capita General Fund Budget FY10: $453 22
Total Debt Outstanding FY08: $93,602 45 Per Capita Debt Outstanding FY08: $59 *
Payroll FY 2008: $2,648,396 45 Credit Rating(s) FY08
Full-Time Employees FY10:  73 45 Moody's:  
Part-Time Employees FY10: 19 41 Standard & Poor:  
Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:   4.38 45 Fitch:  
updated  2/2/2010