| OCONEE COUNTY |
2/2/2010 |
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| Date
Formed: |
1868 |
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| Land Area (square miles): |
625 |
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| County Seat: |
Walhalla |
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| Other Cities and Towns: |
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| Salem, Seneca, West Union, Westminster |
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| Form of Government: |
Council-Administrator |
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| Council Members: |
5 |
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| Method of Election |
Single Member |
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| Term Length |
4 years |
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| Council of Government: |
Appalachian |
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| County History |
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| Oconee
County, which was formed in 1868 from Pickens County, takes its name from an
Indian word. This area in the northwest corner of the state on the edge of
the Blue Ridge Mountains was home to several Indian tribes, including the
Creeks and the Cherokees, but the Indians gave up their lands in treaties
signed in 1777 and 1785. After the American Revolution, settlers from other
parts of the state began moving in, including the Germans from Charleston who
founded the town of Walhalla in 1850. In 1856 work began on a tunnel for the
Blue Ridge Railroad that would have linked Charleston with Knoxville,
Tennessee, but the Civil War ended that project; the unfinished Stumphouse
Tunnel can still be seen today. Several Revolutionary War heroes moved to
present day Oconee County after the war, including Andrew Pickens
(1739-1817), Robert Anderson (1741-1813), and Benjamin Cleveland
(1738-1806). |
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| Population Trends |
Value |
Rank |
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Value |
Rank |
| Population
1980: |
48,611 |
21 |
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Numeric Change
1980-2000: |
17,604 |
14 |
| Population
1990: |
57,494 |
20 |
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Numeric Change 2000-2008: |
5,059 |
17 |
| Population
2000: |
66,215 |
20 |
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Avg. Ann. Growth
Rate 1980-2000: |
1.81% |
10 |
| Population Estimate 2007: |
70,660 |
18 |
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Avg. Ann. Growth
Rate 2000-2008: |
0.96% |
17 |
| Population Estimate 2008: |
71,274 |
18 |
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Percent Change 2006-2008: |
0.86% |
18 |
| Persons Per Square Mile 2008: |
114.0 |
20 |
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| Economic Data |
Value |
Rank |
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Value |
Rank |
| Jobs
1980: |
19,203 |
20 |
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Personal Income (PI) 2007: |
$2,238,128 |
17 |
| Jobs
1990: |
26,795 |
17 |
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Avg. Ann. Growth Rate (PI) 1969-2007: |
8.2% |
9 |
| Jobs
2000: |
27,827 |
18 |
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Per Capita Personal Income
2007: |
$31,675 |
10 |
| Jobs 2006: |
24,128 |
19 |
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% of U.S. PCPI 2007: |
82% |
8 |
| Jobs 2007: |
24,372 |
19 |
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Average Wage Per Job 2007: |
$35,601 |
11 |
| Numeric Change Jobs
2006-2007: |
244 |
21 |
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% of U.S. Avg.
Wage Per Job 2007: |
81% |
11 |
| Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs
1980-2000: |
2.25% |
13 |
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Unemployment Rate 2007: |
7.5% |
26 |
| Avg Ann Growth Rate Jobs
2000-2007: |
-1.77% |
38 |
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Avg. Unemployment
1998-2007: |
6.0% |
28 |
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| Tax Data |
Value |
Rank |
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Value |
Rank |
| Assessed Property 2007: |
$457,165,825 |
14 |
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Per Capita Assessed Property 2007: |
$6,904 |
5 |
| County Base Millage Rate
2009: |
0.0673 |
36 |
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Additional
Sales Tax (if applicable) |
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| Value of One Mil 2009: |
$481,048 |
14 |
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Local Option Sales Tax: |
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| Millage Cap FY10: |
4.7% |
18 |
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Capital Projects Sales Tax: |
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| Net Taxable Sales FY07: |
$577,178,974 |
19 |
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School District Sales Tax: |
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| Admissions Tax Collected
FY07: |
$120,902 |
19 |
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Transportation Sales Tax: |
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| Accommodations Tax Collected FY07: |
$128,996 |
20 |
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| Financial & Employment
Data |
Value |
Rank |
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Value |
Rank |
| Total Revenues FY08: |
$49,789,007 |
19 |
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Per Capita Revenues FY08: |
$752 |
17 |
| Total Expenditures FY08: |
$44,165,217 |
18 |
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Per Capita Expenditures FY08: |
$667 |
19 |
| General Fund Budget FY10: |
$42,166,936 |
13 |
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Per Capita General Fund Budget FY10: |
$637 |
8 |
| Total Debt Outstanding
FY08: |
$12,429,658 |
22 |
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Per Capita Debt Outstanding FY08: |
*** |
* |
| Payroll FY 2008: |
$15,781,748 |
18 |
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Credit Rating(s) FY08 |
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| Full-Time Employees FY10: |
415 |
18 |
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Moody's: |
A1 |
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| Part-Time Employees FY10: |
52 |
28 |
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Standard & Poor: |
A+ |
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| Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty
Residents: |
6.27 |
22 |
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Fitch: |
AA- |
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updated |
2/2/2010 |
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