Date Formed:

1897

Land Area (square miles):

575

County Seat:

St. George

Other Cities and Towns:

Harleyville, North Charleston, Reevesville, Ridgeville, Summerville

Form of Government:

Council-Administrator

Council Members:

Method of Election

Single Member

Term Length

4 years

Council of Government:

Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester

County History

Dorchester County was named for Dorchester, Massachusetts. In 1696, Congregationalists from that town moved south and established a new settlement called Dorchester. Although the town of Dorchester had been abandoned by 1788, the parish in which it was located continued to be referred to as St. George Dorchester. This name was subsequently adopted for the county when it was formed from parts of Colleton and Berkeley counties in 1897. The town of Summerville was settled in the late eighteenth century as a summer resort for planters who wished to escape the malaria prevalent on their rice plantations; the town later became a winter resort also. Middleton Place Gardens, the remains of an old rice plantation, are the oldest landscaped gardens in the country, having been laid out in 1741. Middleton Place was the home of Henry Middleton (1717-1784), president of the Continental Congress, his son Arthur Middleton (1742-1787), a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his grandson Henry Middleton (1770-1846), South Carolina Governor, United States Congressman, and Ambassador to Russia.

Population Trends

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Population 1980:

58,761

Numeric Change 1980-2000:

37,652

Population 1990:

83,060

Numeric Change 2000-2007:

27,092

Population 2000:

96,413

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:

3.20%

Population Estimate 2006:

117,752

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 2000-2007:

4.01%

Population Estimate 2007:

123,505

Percent Change 2006-2007:

4.66%

Persons Per Square Mile 2007:

214.8

Economic Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Jobs 1980:

12,949

Personal Income (PI) 2006:

$3,227,309

Jobs 1990:

22,567

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate (PI) 1969-2006:

10.2%

Jobs 2000:

29,110

Per Capita Personal Income 2006:

$27,408

Jobs 2005:

32,942

% of U.S. PCPI 2006:

75%

Jobs 2006:

33,530

Average Wage Per Job 2006:

$29,966

Numeric Change Jobs 2005-2006:

588

% of U.S. Avg. Wage Per Job 2006:

71%

Avg. Annual Growth Rate 1980-2000:

6.24%

Unemployment Rate 2007:

4.5%

Avg. Annual Growth Rate 2000-2006:

0.34%

Avg. Unemployment 1998-2007:

4.3%

Tax Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Assessed Property 2005:

$399,952,288

Per Capita Assessed Property 2005:

$4,148

County Base Millage Rate 2007:

0.0778

Additional Sales Tax (if applicable)

Value of One Mil 2007:

$373,308

Local Option Sales Tax:

Millage Cap FY09:

7.7%

Capital Projects Sales Tax:

Net Taxable Sales FY06:

$745,380,954

School District Sales Tax:

Admissions Tax Collected FY06:

$187,022

Transportation Sales Tax:

1.0%

Accommodations Tax Collected FY06:

$154,240

Financial & Employment Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Total Revenues FY06:

$40,490,874

Per Capita Revenues:

$420

Total Expenditures FY06:

$31,937,305

Per Capita Expenditures:

$331

General Fund Budget FY08:

$37,739,656

Per Capita General Fund Budget:

$391

Total Debt Outstanding FY07:

$151,859,124

Per Capita Debt Outstanding:

$1,303

Payroll FY 2008:

$23,911,327

Credit Rating(s) FY07

Full-Time Employees FY08:

669

Moody's:

Part-Time Employees FY08

112

Standard & Poor:

A+

Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:

6.94

Fitch: