2/2/2010

Date Formed:

1897

Land Area (square miles):

575

County Seat:

St. George

Other Cities and Towns:

Harleyville, North Charleston, Reevesville, Ridgeville, Summerville

Form of Government:

Council-Administrator

Council Members:

Method of Election

Single Member

Term Length

4 years

Council of Government:

Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester

County History

Dorchester County was named for Dorchester, Massachusetts. In 1696, Congregationalists from that town moved south and established a new settlement called Dorchester. Although the town of Dorchester had been abandoned by 1788, the parish in which it was located continued to be referred to as St. George Dorchester. This name was subsequently adopted for the county when it was formed from parts of Colleton and Berkeley counties in 1897. The town of Summerville was settled in the late eighteenth century as a summer resort for planters who wished to escape the malaria prevalent on their rice plantations; the town later became a winter resort also. Middleton Place Gardens, the remains of an old rice plantation, are the oldest landscaped gardens in the country, having been laid out in 1741. Middleton Place was the home of Henry Middleton (1717-1784), president of the Continental Congress, his son Arthur Middleton (1742-1787), a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his grandson Henry Middleton (1770-1846), South Carolina Governor, United States Congressman, and Ambassador to Russia.

Population Trends

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Population 1980:

58,761

Numeric Change 1980-2000:

37,652

Population 1990:

83,060

Numeric Change 2000-2008:

30,720

Population 2000:

96,413

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:

3.20%

Population Estimate 2007:

123,357

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 2000-2008:

3.98%

Population Estimate 2008:

127,133

Percent Change 2006-2008:

2.97%

Persons Per Square Mile 2008:

221.1

Economic Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Jobs 1980:

12,949

Personal Income (PI) 2007:

$3,588,703

Jobs 1990:

22,567

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

10.2%

Jobs 2000:

29,110

Per Capita Personal Income 2007:

$29,092

Jobs 2006:

33,530

% of U.S. PCPI 2007:

75%

Jobs 2007:

34,217

Average Wage Per Job 2007:

$30,520

Numeric Change Jobs 2006-2007:

687

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

70%

Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 1980-2000

6.24%

Unemployment Rate 2007:

5.7%

Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 2000-2007

2.51%

Avg. Unemployment 1998-2007:

4.4%

Tax Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Assessed Property 2007:

$417,371,209

Per Capita Assessed Property 2007:

$4,329

County Base Millage Rate 2009:

0.0768

Additional Sales Tax (if applicable)

Value of One Mil 2009:

$488,072

Local Option Sales Tax:

Millage Cap FY10:

6.9%

Capital Projects Sales Tax:

Net Taxable Sales FY07:

$673,762,702

School District Sales Tax:

Admissions Tax Collected FY07:

$257,974

Transportation Sales Tax:

1.0%

Accommodations Tax Collected FY07

$135,702

Financial & Employment Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Total Revenues FY08:

$60,034,225

Per Capita Revenues FY08:

$623

Total Expenditures FY08:

$40,678,317

Per Capita Expenditures FY08:

$422

General Fund Budget FY10:

$41,208,541

Per Capita General Fund Budget FY10:

$427

Total Debt Outstanding FY08:

$145,683,270

Per Capita Debt Outstanding FY08:

***

Payroll FY 2008:

$28,508,272

Credit Rating(s) FY08

Full-Time Employees FY10:

759

Moody's:

Part-Time Employees FY10:

156

Standard & Poor:

A+

Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:

7.87

Fitch:

updated

2/2/2010