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:

Method of Election

Single Member

Term Length

4 years

Council of Government:

Central Midlands

County History According to the South Carolina State Library Reference Room

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

Numeric Change 1980-2000:

4,866

Population 1990:

33,172

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:

0.77%

Population 2000:

36,108

Percent Change 2005-2006:

1.2%

Population Estimate 2005:

37,315

Persons Per Square Mile 2006:

59.8

Population Estimate 2006:

37,762

Link to SC Office of Research and Statistics - Community Profile Demographic Data

Link to SC Office of Research and Statistics - Kids Count

Economic Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Jobs 1980:

12,613

Personal Income 2005:

$891,868

Jobs 1990:

12,684

Per Capita Pers. Income (PCPI) 2005:

$21,566

Jobs 2000:

14,486

% of U.S. PCPI 2005:

69%

Avg. Annual Growth Rate 1980-2000:

0.74%

Average Wage Per Job 2005:

$27,487

Jobs 2004:

14,653

% of U.S. Avg. Wage Per Job 2005:

68%

Jobs 2005:

14,723

Avg. Unemployment 1996-2006:

6.0%

Numeric Change 2004-2005:

Unemployment Rate 2006 Ann. Avg:

6.6%

Tax Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Assessed Property 2004:

$100,796,757

Per Capita Assessed Property 2004:

$2,792

County Base Millage Rate* 2006:

0.1453

Additional Sales Tax (if applicable)

Value of One Mil 2006:

$100,433

Local Option Sales Tax:

Net Taxable Sales FY 2005:

$276,876,661

Capital Projects Sales Tax:

Admissions Taxes Collected FY 2005:

$13,575

School District Sales Tax:

Accomodations Taxes Collected FY 2005:

$82,833

Transportation Sales Tax:

* County Base Millage Rate reflects county mils only and does not include millages charged by other taxing entities (cities, schools, etc.)

Link to SC Employment Security Commission - Top Employers by County

Link to SC Office of Research and Statistics - Community Profile Demographic Data

Financial and Employment Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Total Revenues FY 2004:

$25,570,179

Per Capital Revenues:

$708

Total Expenditures FY 2004:

$25,843,626

Per Capita Expenditures:

$716

General Fund Budget FY 2007:

$19,361,756

Per Capita General Fund Budget:

$536

Total Debt Outstanding FY 2006:

$12,251,098

Per Capita Debt Outstanding:

$329

Credit Ratings(s) FY 2006:

Payroll FY 2007:

$6,146,359

Moodys:

Full-Time Employees FY 2007:

198

Standard & Poor:

Part-Time Employees FY 2007:

Fitch:

Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:

5.48

Link to SC Office of Research and Statistics - Local Government Finance Report (Full document in Excel)

Sources: County histories obtained from the South Carolina State Library Reference Room at http://www.state.sc.us/scsl/cnties.html. All other sources are listed in the appendix tables.

Updated

9/19/2007 15:37

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