LANCASTER COUNTY 5/14/12
Date Formed:  1785 Lancaster,Lancaster,Lancaster,Lancaster
Land Area (square miles): 549
County Seat: Lancaster
Other Cities and Towns: Heath Springs, Kershaw
Form of Government: Council-Administrator
Council Members: 7
Method of Election Single Member
Term Length 4 years
Council of Government:  Catawba
County History
Lancaster County and its county seat were named for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The county was formed in 1785, and it was originally part of Camden District. A part of Lancaster County was removed in 1791 to form Kershaw County. Scotch-Irish settlers from Pennsylvania began moving into this upstate region in the 1750s. The Waxhaws settlement on the border with North Carolina was the birthplace of President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845). During the Revolutionary War British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton earned his nickname of "Bloody" Tarleton by massacring American troops in this area on May 29, 1780; the Battle of Hanging Rock was also fought in the county later the same year. Although Lancaster County has been primarily agricultural, gold mining began there in the 1820s and textile manufacturing sprang up following the Civil War. Governor and U.S. Senator Stephen Decatur Miller (1787-1838), surgeon J. Marion Sims (1813-1883), industrialist Elliott White Springs (1896-1959), and astronaut Charles M. Duke, Jr. were all Lancaster County residents.
Population Trends Value Rank Value Rank
Census Population 1990 54,516 21 Numeric Change Census 1990-2010 22,136 15
Census Population 2000 61,351 21 Numeric Change Pop. Est. 2010-2011 946 12
Census Population 2010 76,652 17 Percent Change Pop. Est. 2010-2011 1.2% 8
Population Estimate 2010 76,962 17 Persons Per Square Mile 139.6 18
Population Estimate 2011 77,908 17
Economic Data Value Rank Value Rank
Jobs 2010 17,521 23 Personal Income 2010, in thousands $1,926,356 22
Jobs 2009 16,740 24 Per Capita Personal Income  2010 $25,030 42
Jobs 2008 17,521 23 % of U.S. Per Capita PI 2010 63% 42
Avg. Ann. Growth Rate Jobs 1990-2010 -0.6% 30 Average Wage Per Job 2010 $36,143 19
Percent Change Jobs 2009-2010 4.7% 2 % of U.S. Avg. Wage Per Job 2010 77% 19
Numeric Change Jobs 2009-2010 781 4 Unemployment Rate 2011 13.9% 12
Tax Data Value Value
Assessed Property 2010 $281,779,833 Per Capita Assessed Property 2010 $3,676
County Base Millage Rate 2011 0.083 Additional Sales Tax, if applicable
Value of One Mil 2011 $244,537 Local Option Sales Tax 1.0%
Net Taxable Sales FY10 $392,757,048 Capital Projects Sales Tax 1.0%
Admissions Tax Collected FY10 $58,524 School District Sales Tax  
Accommodations Tax Collected FY10 $33,965 Transportation Sales Tax  
County Finance & Employment Data Value
Total Revenues FY10 $46,905,445 Value
Total Expenditures FY10 $65,134,550 Per Capita Revenues FY10 $612
General Fund Budget FY12 $32,367,071 Per Capita Expenditures FY10 $850
Total Debt Outstanding FY11 $21,278,707 Per Capita Gen. Fund Budget FY12 $422
Payroll FY12 $13,823,196 Per Capita Debt Outstanding FY11 $283
Full-Time Employees FY12 376 Credit Rating(s) FY11
Part-Time Employees FY12 356 Moody's: Aa3
Full-Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents 4.91 Standard & Poor: A
Fitch: