Date Formed:

1868

Land Area (square miles):

625

County Seat:

Walhalla

Other Cities and Towns:

Salem, Seneca, West Union, Westminster

Form of Government:

Council-Administrator

Council Members:

Method of Election

Single Member

Term Length

4 years

Council of Government:

Appalachian

County History According to the South Carolina State Library Reference Room

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).

Population Trends

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Population 1980:

48,611

Numeric Change 1980-2000:

17,604

Population 1990:

57,494

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:

1.81%

Population 2000:

66,215

Percent Change 2005-2006:

1.3%

Population Estimate 2005:

69,676

Persons Per Square Mile 2006:

112.9

Population Estimate 2006:

70,567

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:

19,203

Personal Income 2005:

$1,989,996

Jobs 1990:

26,795

Per Capita Pers. Income (PCPI) 2005:

$21,266

Jobs 2000:

27,827

% of U.S. PCPI 2005:

83%

Avg. Annual Growth Rate 1980-2000:

2.25%

Average Wage Per Job 2005:

$32,821

Jobs 2004:

26,246

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

82%

Jobs 2005:

25,368

Avg. Unemployment 1996-2006:

6.0%

Numeric Change 2004-2005:

-878

Unemployment Rate 2006 Ann. Avg:

9.0%

Tax Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Assessed Property 2004:

$407,321,641

Per Capita Assessed Property 2004:

$6,152

County Base Millage Rate* 2006:

0.0697

Additional Sales Tax (if applicable)

Value of One Mil 2006:

$418,708

Local Option Sales Tax:

Net Taxable Sales FY 2005:

$605,267,699

Capital Projects Sales Tax:

Admissions Taxes Collected FY 2005:

$100,894

School District Sales Tax:

Accomodations Taxes Collected FY 2005:

$137,974

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:

$30,388,550

Per Capital Revenues:

$459

Total Expenditures FY 2004:

$17,730,208

Per Capita Expenditures:

$268

General Fund Budget FY 2007:

$39,467,960

Per Capita General Fund Budget:

$596

Total Debt Outstanding FY 2006:

$14,022,283

Per Capita Debt Outstanding:

$202

Credit Ratings(s) FY 2006:

Payroll FY 2007:

$22,474,237

Moodys:

Full-Time Employees FY 2007:

420

Standard & Poor:

A+

Part-Time Employees FY 2007:

Fitch:

AA-

Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:

6.34

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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