GREENWOOD COUNTY 5/14/12
Date Formed:  1897 Greenwood,Greenwood,Greenwood,Greenwood
Land Area (square miles): 456
County Seat: Greenwood
Other Cities and Towns: Hodges, Ninety Six, Troy, Ware Shoals
Form of Government: Council-Manager
Council Members: 7
Method of Election Single Member
Term Length 4 years
Council of Government:  Upper Savannah
County History
Greenwood County takes its name from its county seat, Greenwood. The town of Greenwood was named around 1824 for the plantation of an early resident, John McGehee. Greenwood County was formed in 1897 from parts of Abbeville and Edgefield counties, which were originally part of the old Ninety Six District. This part of the backcountry was not settled until the mid-eighteenth century. The town of Ninety Six was established as a frontier trading post around 1730, and it was the site in November 1775 of one of the first South Carolina battles of the American Revolution. In May 1781 American forces besieged the British-held Star Fort at Ninety Six for over a month but were forced to withdraw when British reinforcements approached. The arrival of the railroad in 1852 stimulated cotton growing and textile manufacturing in this area. Local plantation owner Francis Salvador (1747-1776), who was killed fighting Cherokees during the Revolutionary War, was the first Jewish person elected to the state legislature. U.S. Congressman Preston Smith Brooks (1819-1857) and educator Benjamin Mays (1894-1984) were also residents of Greenwood County.
Population Trends Value Rank Value Rank
Census Population 1990 59,567 18 Numeric Change Census 1990-2010 10,094 20
Census Population 2000 66,271 19 Numeric Change Pop. Est. 2010-2011 112 20
Census Population 2010 69,661 19 Percent Change Pop. Est. 2010-2011 0.2% 20
Population Estimate 2010 69,723 19 Persons Per Square Mile 152.8 15
Population Estimate 2011 69,835 19
Economic Data Value Rank Value Rank
Jobs 2010 30,065 17 Personal Income 2010, in thousands $2,067,862 19
Jobs 2009 30,284 17 Per Capita Personal Income  2010 $29,658 19
Jobs 2008 30,065 17 % of U.S. Per Capita PI 2010 74% 19
Avg. Ann. Growth Rate Jobs 1990-2010 -0.3% 27 Average Wage Per Job 2010 $36,761 15
Percent Change Jobs 2009-2010 -0.7% 17 % of U.S. Avg. Wage Per Job 2010 78% 15
Numeric Change Jobs 2009-2010 -219 23 Unemployment Rate 2011 11.1% 26
Tax Data Value Value
Assessed Property 2010 $252,456,660 Per Capita Assessed Property 2010 $3,624
County Base Millage Rate 2011 0.0619 Additional Sales Tax, if applicable
Value of One Mil 2011 $165,279 Local Option Sales Tax  
Net Taxable Sales FY10 $571,009,601 Capital Projects Sales Tax 1.0%
Admissions Tax Collected FY10 $338,914 School District Sales Tax  
Accommodations Tax Collected FY10 $158,136 Transportation Sales Tax  
County Finance & Employment Data Value
Total Revenues FY10 $51,599,524 Value
Total Expenditures FY10 $76,405,861 Per Capita Revenues FY10 $741
General Fund Budget FY12 $19,544,203 Per Capita Expenditures FY10 $1,097
Total Debt Outstanding FY11 $16,119,102 Per Capita Gen. Fund Budget FY12 $281
Payroll FY12 *** Per Capita Debt Outstanding FY11 $229
Full-Time Employees FY12 *** Credit Rating(s) FY11
Part-Time Employees FY12 *** Moody's: Aa3
Full-Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents *** Standard & Poor: AA-
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