2/2/2010

Date Formed:

1785

Land Area (square miles):

607

County Seat:

Manning

Other Cities and Towns:

Paxville, Summerton, Turbeville

Form of Government:

Council-Administrator

Council Members:

Method of Election

Single Member/ Chair at Large

Term Length

4 years

Council of Government:

Santee Lynches

County History

Clarendon County was named for Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon (1608/9-1674), one of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina. The county was first established in 1785; in 1800 it became part of Sumter District but then was split from Sumter in 1857. Several Revolutionary War skirmishes took place in this area; at Fort Watson in 1781 British soldiers were driven from a large Indian mound that had been fortified. During the Civil War Union troops under General Edward Potter moved through the area, burning several plantations. In the 1950s Clarendon County schools were sued over the issue of racial segregation. The case, Briggs v. Elliott, was one of several cases that eventually led the U.S. Supreme Court to abolish segregation in 1954. Clarendon County can claim five South Carolina Governors, all related: James Burchell Richardson (1770-1836), Richard Irvine Manning (1789-1836), John Peter Richardson (1801-1864), John Laurence Manning (1816-1889), and John Peter Richardson (1831-1899). Children's author Peggy Parish (1927-1988) and tennis player Althea Gibson are also Clarendon natives.

Population Trends

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Population 1980:

27,464

Numeric Change 1980-2000:

5,038

Population 1990:

28,450

Numeric Change 2000-2008:

647

Population 2000:

32,502

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:

0.91%

Population Estimate 2007:

32,678

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 2000-2008:

0.25%

Population Estimate 2008:

33,149

Percent Change 2006-2008:

1.42%

Persons Per Square Mile 2008:

54.6

Economic Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Jobs 1980:

7,890

Personal Income (PI) 2007:

$763,743

Jobs 1990:

8,575

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

7.8%

Jobs 2000:

9,175

Per Capita Personal Income 2007:

$23,372

Jobs 2006:

9,016

% of U.S. PCPI 2007:

61%

Jobs 2007:

9,065

Average Wage Per Job 2007:

$26,150

Numeric Change Jobs 2006-2007:

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

60%

Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 1980-2000

0.81%

Unemployment Rate 2007:

10.0%

Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 2000-2007

-0.17%

Avg. Unemployment 1998-2007:

8.4%

Tax Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Assessed Property 2007:

$81,605,158

Per Capita Assessed Property 2007:

$2,511

County Base Millage Rate 2009:

0.1527

Additional Sales Tax (if applicable)

Value of One Mil 2009:

$94,068

Local Option Sales Tax:

1.0%

Millage Cap FY10:

5.3%

Capital Projects Sales Tax:

Net Taxable Sales FY07:

$155,978,594

School District Sales Tax:

1.0%

Admissions Tax Collected FY07:

$64,315

Transportation Sales Tax:

Accommodations Tax Collected FY07

$122,684

Financial & Employment Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Total Revenues FY08:

$23,826,561

Per Capita Revenues FY08:

$733

Total Expenditures FY08:

$23,968,455

Per Capita Expenditures FY08:

$737

General Fund Budget FY10:

$17,051,180

Per Capita General Fund Budget FY10:

$525

Total Debt Outstanding FY08:

$2,865,000

Per Capita Debt Outstanding FY08:

***

Payroll FY 2008:

$7,486,468

Credit Rating(s) FY08

Full-Time Employees FY10:

247

Moody's:

Baa1

Part-Time Employees FY10:

Standard & Poor:

A+

Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:

7.60

Fitch:

AAA

updated

2/2/2010