NEWBERRY COUNTY 2/2/2010
Date Formed:  1785
Land Area (square miles): 631
County Seat: Newberry
Other Cities and Towns:
Little Mountain, Peak, Pomaria, Prosperity, Silverstreet, Whitmire
Form of Government: Council-Administrator
Council Members: 7
Method of Election Single Member
Term Length 4 years
Council of Government:  Central Midlands
County History
The origin of the name Newberry is unknown. The county was formed in 1785 as a part of Ninety Six District. This part of the upcountry was settled largely by Scotch-Irish, English, and German immigrants in the mid-eighteenth century. Germans were so prevalent in part of Newberry County that it become known as Dutch Fork, with Dutch meaning Deutsch (German). Large scale cotton farming replaced small farms in the nineteenth century, and the coming of the railroad made Newberry a leading cotton market. Historians John Belton O'Neall (1795-1863) and David Duncan Wallace (1874-1951) were Newberry County natives, as was South Carolina Governor and U.S. Senator Coleman L. Blease (1868-1942).
Population Trends Value Rank Value Rank
Population 1980:  31,242 30 Numeric Change 1980-2000:  4,866 28
Population 1990:  33,172 29 Numeric Change 2000-2008: 1,715 21
Population 2000:  36,108 28 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:  0.77% 29
Population Estimate 2007:  37,599 27 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 2000-2008:  0.59% 20
Population Estimate 2008: 37,823 27 Percent Change 2006-2008: 0.59% 23
Persons Per Square Mile 2008:  59.9 27
Economic Data Value Rank Value Rank
Jobs 1980:  12,613 28 Personal Income (PI) 2007: $996,137 26
Jobs 1990:  12,684 28 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate (PI) 1969-2007: 6.9% 35
Jobs 2000:  14,486 26 Per Capita Personal Income  2007: $26,494 24
Jobs 2006: 15,002 26 % of U.S. PCPI 2007: 69% 22
Jobs 2007: 15,302 26 Average Wage Per Job 2007: $29,038 35
Numeric Change Jobs 2006-2007: 300 19 % of U.S. Avg. Wage Per Job 2007:  66% 35
Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 1980-2000:  0.74% 33 Unemployment Rate 2007: 7.2% 28
Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs 2000-2007: 0.80% 11 Avg. Unemployment 1998-2007:  5.8% 30
Tax Data Value Rank Value Rank
Assessed Property 2007: $120,189,304 26 Per Capita Assessed Property 2007: $3,329 25
County Base Millage Rate 2009: 0.1487 8 Additional Sales Tax (if applicable) 
Value of One Mil 2009: $103,354 29 Local Option Sales Tax:  
Millage Cap FY10: 4.4% 23 Capital Projects Sales Tax: 1.0%
Net Taxable Sales FY07: $255,117,963 27 School District Sales Tax:  
Admissions Tax Collected FY07: $16,333 34 Transportation Sales Tax:  
Accommodations Tax Collected FY07:  $84,809 26
Financial & Employment Data Value Rank Value Rank
Total Revenues FY08: $29,921,362 21 Per Capita Revenues FY08: $829 9
Total Expenditures FY08: $27,512,378 24 Per Capita Expenditures FY08: $762 13
General Fund Budget FY10:  $21,591,132 22 Per Capita General Fund Budget FY10: $598 10
Total Debt Outstanding FY08: $14,429,599 20 Per Capita Debt Outstanding FY08: *** *
Payroll FY 2008: $7,233,191 30 Credit Rating(s) FY08
Full-Time Employees FY10:  216 32 Moody's: A3
Part-Time Employees FY10: 14 43 Standard & Poor: A
Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:   5.98 27 Fitch:  
updated  2/2/2010