Revised 7/1/2008

Date Formed:

1897

Land Area (square miles):

456

County Seat:

Greenwood

Other Cities and Towns:

Hodges, Ninety Six, Troy, Ware Shoals

Form of Government:

Council-Manager

Council Members:

Method of Election

Single Member

Term Length

2 years

Council of Government:

Upper Savannah

County History

Greenwood County takes its name from its county seat, Greenwood. The town of Greenwood was named around 1824 for the plantation of an early resident, John McGehee. Greenwood County was formed in 1897 from parts of Abbeville and Edgefield counties, which were originally part of the old Ninety Six District. This part of the backcountry was not settled until the mid-eighteenth century. The town of Ninety Six was established as a frontier trading post around 1730, and it was the site in November 1775 of one of the first South Carolina battles of the American Revolution. In May 1781 American forces besieged the British-held Star Fort at Ninety Six for over a month but were forced to withdraw when British reinforcements approached. The arrival of the railroad in 1852 stimulated cotton growing and textile manufacturing in this area. Local plantation owner Francis Salvador (1747-1776), who was killed fighting Cherokees during the Revolutionary War, was the first Jewish person elected to the state legislature. U.S. Congressman Preston Smith Brooks (1819-1857) and educator Benjamin Mays (1894-1984) were also residents of Greenwood County.

Population Trends

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Population 1980:

57,847

Numeric Change 1980-2000:

8,424

Population 1990:

59,567

Numeric Change 2000-2007:

1,988

Population 2000:

66,271

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:

0.72%

Population Estimate 2006:

67,974

Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 2000-2007:

0.43%

Population Estimate 2007:

68,259

Percent Change 2006-2007:

0.42%

Persons Per Square Mile 2007:

149.7

Economic Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Jobs 1980:

29,651

Personal Income (PI) 2006:

$1,803,267

Jobs 1990:

31,880

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

6.8%

Jobs 2000:

35,543

Per Capita Personal Income 2006:

$26,529

Jobs 2005:

33,447

% of U.S. PCPI 2006:

72%

Jobs 2006:

33,160

Average Wage Per Job 2006:

$31,569

Numeric Change Jobs 2005-2006:

-287

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

75%

Avg. Annual Growth Rate 1980-2000:

0.99%

Unemployment Rate 2007:

7.2%

Avg. Annual Growth Rate 2000-2006:

-0.13%

Avg. Unemployment 1998-2007:

7.3%

Tax Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Assessed Property 2005:

$263,289,812

Per Capita Assessed Property 2005:

$3,973

County Base Millage Rate 2007:

0.0603

Additional Sales Tax (if applicable)

Value of One Mil 2007:

$153,251

Local Option Sales Tax:

Millage Cap FY09:

3.3%

Capital Projects Sales Tax:

1.0%

Net Taxable Sales FY06:

$716,593,878

School District Sales Tax:

Admissions Tax Collected FY06:

$215,742

Transportation Sales Tax:

Accommodations Tax Collected FY06:

$139,600

Financial & Employment Data

Value

Rank

Value

Rank

Total Revenues FY06:

$28,344,894

Per Capita Revenues:

$428

Total Expenditures FY06:

$23,373,940

Per Capita Expenditures:

$353

General Fund Budget FY08:

$22,017,974

Per Capita General Fund Budget:

$332

Total Debt Outstanding FY07:

$13,626,257

Per Capita Debt Outstanding:

$200

Payroll FY 2008:

$13,860,000

Credit Rating(s) FY07

Full-Time Employees FY08:

395

Moody's:

Part-Time Employees FY08

Standard & Poor:

Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:

5.96

Fitch: