2/2/2010

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:

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

Population 1980:

65,364

Numeric Change 1980-2000:

55,573

Population 1990:

86,425

Numeric Change 2000-2008:

29,478

Population 2000:

120,937

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:

4.25%

Population Estimate 2007:

146,722

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 2000-2008:

3.05%

Population Estimate 2008:

150,415

Percent Change 2006-2008:

2.46%

Persons Per Square Mile 2008:

256.2

Economic Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Jobs 1980:

38,544

Personal Income (PI) 2007:

$6,665,211

Jobs 1990:

49,653

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

10.2%

Jobs 2000:

71,160

Per Capita Personal Income 2007:

$45,427

Jobs 2006:

78,552

% of U.S. PCPI 2007:

118%

Jobs 2007:

80,361

Average Wage Per Job 2007:

$34,530

Numeric Change Jobs 2006-2007:

1,809

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

79%

Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 1980-2000

4.23%

Unemployment Rate 2007:

5.3%

Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 2000-2007

1.85%

Avg. Unemployment 1998-2007:

3.7%

Tax Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Assessed Property 2007:

$1,711,432,639

Per Capita Assessed Property 2007:

$14,151

County Base Millage Rate 2009:

0.04785

Additional Sales Tax (if applicable)

Value of One Mil 2009:

$1,638,808

Local Option Sales Tax:

Millage Cap FY10:

6.4%

Capital Projects Sales Tax:

Net Taxable Sales FY07:

$2,570,227,342

School District Sales Tax:

Admissions Tax Collected FY07:

$3,497,835

Transportation Sales Tax:

1.0%

Accommodations Tax Collected FY07

$5,518,471

Financial & Employment Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Total Revenues FY08:

$175,676,661

Per Capita Revenues FY08:

$1,453

Total Expenditures FY08:

$168,080,619

Per Capita Expenditures FY08:

$1,390

General Fund Budget FY10:

$106,000,000

Per Capita General Fund Budget FY10:

$876

Total Debt Outstanding FY08:

$242,247,865

Per Capita Debt Outstanding FY08:

$1,656

Payroll FY 2008:

$53,000,000

Credit Rating(s) FY08

Full-Time Employees FY10:

1,196

Moody's:

Aa2

Part-Time Employees FY10:

281

Standard & Poor:

AA+

Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:

9.89

Fitch:

updated

2/2/2010