LANCASTER COUNTY 2/2/2010
Date Formed:  1785
Land Area (square miles): 549
County Seat: Lancaster
Other Cities and Towns:
Lancaster
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
Population 1980:  53,361 19 Numeric Change 1980-2000:  7,990 23
Population 1990:  54,516 21 Numeric Change 2000-2008: 14,562 12
Population 2000:  61,351 21 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:  0.74% 30
Population Estimate 2007:  73,538 17 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 2000-2008:  2.97% 5
Population Estimate 2008: 75,913 17 Percent Change 2006-2008: 3.13% 3
Persons Per Square Mile 2008:  138.3 18
Economic Data Value Rank Value Rank
Jobs 1980:  20,136 19 Personal Income (PI) 2007: $1,623,406 23
Jobs 1990:  19,862 21 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate (PI) 1969-2007: 7.0% 31
Jobs 2000:  21,756 23 Per Capita Personal Income  2007: $22,076 41
Jobs 2006: 19,299 24 % of U.S. PCPI 2007: 57% 40
Jobs 2007: 18,618 24 Average Wage Per Job 2007: $34,437 14
Numeric Change Jobs 2006-2007: -681 45 % of U.S. Avg. Wage Per Job 2007:  78% 14
Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 1980-2000:  0.40% 38 Unemployment Rate 2007: 11.8% 5
Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 2000-2007: -2.06% 40 Avg. Unemployment 1998-2007:  7.2% 18
Tax Data Value Rank Value Rank
Assessed Property 2007: $246,695,897 20 Per Capita Assessed Property 2007: $4,021 16
County Base Millage Rate 2009: 0.0809 30 Additional Sales Tax (if applicable) 
Value of One Mil 2009: $233,214 18 Local Option Sales Tax: 1.0%
Millage Cap FY10: 7.1% 3 Capital Projects Sales Tax:  
Net Taxable Sales FY07: $429,961,231 21 School District Sales Tax:  
Admissions Tax Collected FY07: $48,138 24 Transportation Sales Tax:  
Accommodations Tax Collected FY07:  $45,596 30
Financial & Employment Data Value Rank Value Rank
Total Revenues FY08: $36,231,806 20 Per Capita Revenues FY08: $591 31
Total Expenditures FY08: $62,725,503 15 Per Capita Expenditures FY08: $1,022 6
General Fund Budget FY10:  $31,383,525 19 Per Capita General Fund Budget FY10: $512 17
Total Debt Outstanding FY08: $15,737,402 19 Per Capita Debt Outstanding FY08: $244 10
Payroll FY 2008: $15,120,868 19 Credit Rating(s) FY08
Full-Time Employees FY10:  371 20 Moody's: A2
Part-Time Employees FY10: 262 3 Standard & Poor: A
Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:   6.05 25 Fitch: A-
updated  2/2/2010