NEWBERRY COUNTY Revised 7/1/2008
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: 7
Method of Election Single Member
Term Length 4 years
Council of Government:  Central Midlands
County History
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 30 Numeric Change 1980-2000:  4,866 28
Population 1990:  33,172 29 Numeric Change 2000-2007: 1,525 20
Population 2000:  36,108 28 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 1980-2000:  0.77% 29
Population Estimate 2006:  37,434 27 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate 2000-2007:  0.60% 20
Population Estimate 2007: 37,633 27 Percent Change 2006-2007: 0.53% 21
Persons Per Square Mile 2007:  59.6 28
Economic Data Value Rank Value Rank
Jobs 1980:  12,613 28 Personal Income (PI) 2006: $941,831 27
Jobs 1990:  12,684 28 Avg. Ann. Growth Rate (PI) 1969-2006: 6.9% 36
Jobs 2000:  14,486 26 Per Capita Personal Income  2006: $25,160 28
Jobs 2005: 14,723 26 % of U.S. PCPI 2006: 69% 26
Jobs 2006: 15,002 26 Average Wage Per Job 2006: $28,427 35
Numeric Change Jobs 2005-2006: 279 19 % of U.S. Avg. Wage Per Job 2006:  68% 35
Avg. Annual Growth Rate 1980-2000:  0.74% 33 Unemployment Rate 2007: 5.9% 32
Avg. Annual Growth Rate 2000-2006: 0.32% 15 Avg. Unemployment 1998-2007:  6.1% 27
Tax Data Value Rank Value Rank
Assessed Property 2005: $119,199,448 27 Per Capita Assessed Property 2005: $3,301 24
County Base Millage Rate 2007: 0.1489 8 Additional Sales Tax (if applicable) 
Value of One Mil 2007: $102,309 27 Local Option Sales Tax:  
Millage Cap FY09: 3.4% 21 Capital Projects Sales Tax: 1.0%
Net Taxable Sales FY06: $276,876,661 27 School District Sales Tax:  
Admissions Tax Collected FY06: $13,575 35 Transportation Sales Tax:  
Accommodations Tax Collected FY06:  $82,833 27
Financial & Employment Data Value Rank Value Rank
Total Revenues FY06: $22,277,150 27 Per Capita Revenues: $617 19
Total Expenditures FY06: $23,525,288 23 Per Capita Expenditures: $652 14
General Fund Budget FY08:  $20,961,985 23 Per Capita General Fund Budget: $581 10
Total Debt Outstanding FY07: $11,231,468 23 Per Capita Debt Outstanding: $298 11
Payroll FY 2008: $6,362,797 30 Credit Rating(s) FY07
Full-Time Employees FY08:  200 34 Moody's: A3
Part-Time Employees FY08 13 43 Standard & Poor: A
Full Time Emp/1,000 Cnty Residents:   5.54 30 Fitch: