| BEAUFORT COUNTY |
5/14/12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Date Formed: |
1769 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Land Area (square
miles): |
587 |
|
|
|
|
|
| County Seat: |
Beaufort |
|
|
|
|
|
| Other Cities and Towns: |
Bluffton, Hilton
Head Island, Port Royal, Yemassee |
|
|
| Form of Government: |
Council-Administrator |
|
|
|
|
| Council Members: |
11 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Method of Election |
Single Member |
|
|
|
|
|
| Term Length |
4 years |
|
|
|
|
|
| Council of
Government: |
Lowcountry |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| County History |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Both Beaufort County and its county seat were named for Henry
Somerset, Duke of Beaufort (1684-1714), one of the Lords Proprietors of
Carolina. The district was formed in 1769 from the parishes of Prince
William, St. Luke, St. Helena, and St. Peter. It remained relatively
unchanged in size until 1878, when a large portion was removed to form
Hampton County. French explorers visited this area long before the English
arrived. They established a fort in 1562, as did the Spanish in 1566; neither
of these settlements survived, however. Beaufort, the second oldest town in
South Carolina, was founded in 1710. In the years before the Civil War, rice
and sea island cotton plantations brought great wealth to the region. Federal
troops occupied Beaufort in December 1861, and the first school in the South
for freed slaves was established during the Civil War at what is now Penn
Center on St. Helena Island. Some famous residents of Beaufort County are
naturalists Alexander Garden (ca. 1730-1791) and Stephen Elliott (1771-1830);
Robert Smalls (1839-1915), a former slave who became a United States
Congressman; boxer Joe Frazier; and writer Pat Conroy. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Population Trends |
Value |
Rank |
|
|
Value |
Rank |
| Census Population 1990 |
86,425 |
14 |
|
Numeric Change Census 1990-2010 |
75,808 |
6 |
| Census Population 2000 |
120,937 |
12 |
|
Numeric Change Pop. Est. 2010-2011 |
1,677 |
10 |
| Census Population 2010 |
162,233 |
10 |
|
Percent Change Pop. Est. 2010-2011 |
1.0% |
9 |
| Population Estimate 2010 |
163,007 |
10 |
|
Persons Per Square Mile |
276.4 |
7 |
| Population Estimate 2011 |
164,684 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Economic Data |
Value |
Rank |
|
|
Value |
Rank |
| Jobs 2010 |
70,955 |
8 |
|
Personal Income 2010, in thousands |
$6,916,393 |
8 |
| Jobs 2009 |
73,109 |
8 |
|
Per Capita Personal Income 2010 |
$42,430 |
1 |
| Jobs 2008 |
70,955 |
8 |
|
% of U.S. Per Capita PI 2010 |
106% |
1 |
| Avg. Ann. Growth Rate
Jobs 1990-2010 |
2.1% |
6 |
|
Average Wage Per Job 2010 |
$36,882 |
14 |
| Percent Change Jobs
2009-2010 |
-2.9% |
35 |
|
% of U.S. Avg. Wage Per Job 2010 |
78% |
14 |
| Numeric Change Jobs
2009-2010 |
-2,154 |
46 |
|
Unemployment Rate 2011 |
8.7% |
42 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tax Data |
Value |
|
|
|
Value |
|
| Assessed Property 2010 |
$1,833,355,095 |
|
|
Per Capita Assessed Property 2010 |
$11,301 |
|
| County Base Millage Rate
2011 |
0.04754 |
|
|
Additional Sales Tax, if applicable |
|
|
| Value of One Mil 2011 |
$1,954,919 |
|
|
Local Option Sales Tax |
|
|
| Net Taxable Sales FY10 |
$2,040,740,316 |
|
|
Capital Projects Sales Tax |
|
|
| Admissions Tax Collected
FY10 |
$3,244,215 |
|
|
School District Sales Tax |
1.0% |
|
| Accommodations Tax
Collected FY10 |
$4,846,595 |
|
|
Transportation Sales Tax |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| County Finance &
Employment Data |
Value |
|
|
|
|
|
| Total Revenues FY10 |
$170,148,348 |
|
|
|
Value |
|
| Total Expenditures FY10 |
$207,326,697 |
|
|
Per Capita Revenues FY10 |
$1,049 |
|
| General Fund Budget FY12 |
$96,100,000 |
|
|
Per Capita Expenditures FY10 |
$1,278 |
|
| Total Debt Outstanding
FY11 |
$260,664,328 |
|
|
Per Capita Gen. Fund Budget FY12 |
$592 |
|
| Payroll FY12 |
$50,000,000 |
|
|
Per Capita Debt Outstanding FY11 |
$1,640 |
|
| Full-Time Employees FY12 |
1,144 |
|
|
Credit Rating(s) FY11 |
|
|
| Part-Time Employees FY12 |
140 |
|
|
Moody's: |
Aa1 |
|
| Full-Time Emp/1,000 Cnty
Residents |
7.05 |
|
|
Standard & Poor: |
AA+ |
|
|
|
|
|
Fitch: |
AA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|