Dorchester County, South Carolina

Dorchester County
County
Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site
Flag Seal Logo
Location within the U.S. state of South Carolina
South Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°05′N80°24′W / 33.08°N 80.40°W / 33.08; -80.40
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
Founded	February 25, 1897
Named for	Dorchester, Massachusetts
Seat	St. George
Largest community	North Charleston
Area
• Total	571.18 sq mi (1,479.3 km2)
• Land	568.59 sq mi (1,472.6 km2)
• Water	2.59 sq mi (6.7 km2)  0.45%
Population  (2020)
• Total	161,540
• Estimate  (2023)	169,833
• Density	284.11/sq mi (109.70/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 6th
Website	www.dorchestercountysc.gov

Dorchester County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,540. ^[1] Its county seat is St. George. ^[2] The county was created on February 25, 1897 by an act of the South Carolina General Assembly. ^[3]

Dorchester County is included in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina.

History

Dorchester County is named for its first settlement area, which was established by Congregationalists in 1696. These settlers applied the name "Dorchester" after their last residence in Dorchester, Massachusetts. ^[4]

Dorchester was not established as a separate county until 1897. However, when it was separately established, it came from parts of the neighboring Colleton and Berkeley counties. ^[5]

Geography

Interactive map of Dorchester County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 571.18 square miles (1,479.3 km²), of which 568.59 square miles (1,472.6 km²) is land and 2.59 square miles (6.7 km²) (0.45%) is water. ^[6]

State and local protected areas/sites

• Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site
• Edisto River Wildlife Management Area ^[7]
• Givhans Ferry State Park (part)
• Middleton Place

Major water bodies

• Ashley River
• Four Hole Swamp
• Edisto River

Adjacent counties

• Bamberg County – west
• Berkeley County – east
• Charleston County – southeast
• Colleton County – southwest
• Orangeburg County – northwest

Major highways

• I-26
• I-95
• US 15
• US 17
• 
  US 17 Alt.
• 
  US 17 Alt. Truck
• US 78
• US 178
• SC 27
• SC 61
• 
  SC 61 Conn.
• SC 165
• SC 453
• SC 642

Major infrastructure

• Summerville Airport

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	16,294		—
1910	17,891		9.8%
1920	19,459		8.8%
1930	18,956		−2.6%
1940	19,928		5.1%
1950	22,601		13.4%
1960	24,383		7.9%
1970	32,276		32.4%
1980	58,761		82.1%
1990	83,060		41.4%
2000	96,413		16.1%
2010	136,555		41.6%
2020	161,540		18.3%
2023 (est.)	169,833	[1]	5.1%
U.S. Decennial Census [8] 1790–1960 [9] 1900–1990 [10] 1990–2000 [11] 2010 [12] 2020 [1]

2020 census

Dorchester County racial composition ^[13]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	99,145	61.37%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	38,278	23.7%
Native American	886	0.55%
Asian	3,286	2.03%
Pacific Islander	199	0.12%
Other/Mixed	8,885	5.5%
Hispanic or Latino	10,861	6.72%

As of the 2020 census, there were 161,540 people, 57,768 households, and 41,473 families residing in the county.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 136,555 people, 50,259 households, and 36,850 families living in the county. ^{[14] [12]} The population density was 238.2 inhabitants per square mile (92.0/km²). There were 55,186 housing units at an average density of 96.3 units per square mile (37.2 units/km²). ^[15] The racial makeup of the county was 67.8% white, 25.8% black or African American, 1.5% Asian, 0.7% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.4% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.4% of the population. ^[14] In terms of ancestry, ^[16]

Of the 50,259 households, 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.7% were non-families, and 21.6% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 35.6 years. ^[14]

The median household income was $55,034 and the median family income was $63,847. Males had a median income of $45,659 versus $32,221 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,497. About 9.0% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over. ^[17]

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 96,413 people, 34,709 households, and 26,309 families living in the county. The population density was 168 people per square mile (65 people/km²). There were 37,237 housing units at an average density of 65 units per square mile (25 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.05% White, 25.08% Black or African American, 0.73% Native American, 1.13% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. 1.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. ^[18] Of the 34,709 households 40.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were married couples living together, 14.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.20% were non-families. 20.20% of households were one person and 6.50% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.13.

The age distribution was 28.90% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 31.60% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 9.10% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.

The median household income was $43,316 and the median family income was $50,177. Males had a median income of $35,423 versus $24,405 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,840. About 7.10% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.40% of those under age 18 and 13.30% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

The governing body of Dorchester County was established in 1970, and was known as the Dorchester County Board of Directors with terms to commence in January 1971. Upon commencement, the body was re-titled as the “Dorchester County Council” and its meeting dates were determined by state law to be held the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month. The seven-member County Council is elected by single-member districts. Dorchester County operates under the Council-Administrator form of government whereby County Council appoints a County Administrator to oversee the day-to-day functions of county government. Jason L. Ward has served as the County Administrator since 2004. He is aided by a Deputy County Administrator and Chief Financial Officer (Daniel T. Prentice), Deputy County Administrator for Public Safety (Mario Formisano), and Assistant County Administrator for Communuity Services (Bryan Havir). This management team oversees multiple departments within their respective directorate.

In addition to senior management reporting to County Council through the County Administrator, seven Countywide elected officials serve four year terms and oversee the following functions:

• Clerk of Court (Cheryl Graham)
• Sheriff (L.C. Knight)
• Auditor (J.J. Messervy)
• Treasurer (Cindy Chitty)
• Probate Judge (Mary Blunt)
• Coroner (Paul Brouthers)
• Register of Deeds (Margaret Bailey)

The South Carolina Department of Corrections operates the Lieber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville in Dorchester County. ^[19] The prison houses the state's male death row. ^[20]

Politics

United States presidential election results for Dorchester County, South Carolina ^[21]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	43,839	56.37%	32,489	41.78%	1,436	1.85%
2020	41,913	54.24%	33,824	43.77%	1,541	1.99%
2016	34,987	55.92%	24,055	38.45%	3,525	5.63%
2012	32,531	57.22%	23,445	41.24%	879	1.55%
2008	29,929	57.11%	21,806	41.61%	670	1.28%
2004	26,006	62.94%	14,733	35.66%	578	1.40%
2000	20,734	61.63%	12,168	36.17%	739	2.20%
1996	15,283	56.63%	9,931	36.80%	1,773	6.57%
1992	15,004	53.53%	9,160	32.68%	3,865	13.79%
1988	14,756	66.37%	7,371	33.15%	105	0.47%
1984	15,289	68.26%	7,037	31.42%	73	0.33%
1980	10,893	59.53%	7,237	39.55%	168	0.92%
1976	6,695	45.30%	8,046	54.44%	38	0.26%
1972	8,095	68.11%	3,606	30.34%	185	1.56%
1968	3,354	31.21%	3,855	35.87%	3,539	32.93%
1964	5,109	76.11%	1,604	23.89%	0	0.00%
1960	3,525	59.93%	2,357	40.07%	0	0.00%
1956	504	15.67%	862	26.80%	1,851	57.54%
1952	2,319	73.13%	852	26.87%	0	0.00%
1948	85	2.88%	143	4.85%	2,722	92.27%
1944	65	3.88%	1,181	70.47%	430	25.66%
1940	110	9.97%	993	90.03%	0	0.00%
1936	28	3.05%	889	96.95%	0	0.00%
1932	23	1.60%	1,412	98.19%	3	0.21%
1928	44	3.83%	1,105	96.17%	0	0.00%
1924	20	2.79%	697	97.21%	0	0.00%
1920	60	6.42%	874	93.58%	0	0.00%
1916	44	5.77%	716	93.96%	2	0.26%
1912	18	2.97%	576	94.89%	13	2.14%
1908	103	10.39%	883	89.10%	5	0.50%
1904	69	8.90%	706	91.10%	0	0.00%
1900	43	5.29%	770	94.71%	0	0.00%

Law Enforcement

Dorchester County is served by the Dorchester County Sherriffs Department. The current Sherriff is L.C. Knight. The Sherriffs Department maintains the L.C. Knight Dorchester County Detention Center which opened in 2016.

Economy

In 2022, the GDP of Dorchester County was $5.3 billion (about $30,938 per capita). ^[22] The real GDP was $4.5 billion ($26,635 per capita) in chained 2017 dollars. ^[23] Between 2022-2023, the unemployment rate has fluctuated between 2.6-2.9%. ^[24]

As of April 2024 ^[update] , some of the largest employers in the county include Bosch, Food Lion, Harris Teeter, KION Group, Publix, the town of Summerville, and Walmart. ^[25]

Employment and Wage Statistics by Industry in Dorchester County, South Carolina ^[25]

Industry	Employment Counts	Employment Percentage (%)	Average Annual Wage ($)
Accommodation and Food Services	4,273	10.9	21,840
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	2,204	5.6	47,216
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting	125	0.3	94,068
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	738	1.9	22,412
Construction	2,235	5.7	61,412
Educational Services	3,713	9.4	49,816
Finance and Insurance	651	1.7	71,136
Health Care and Social Assistance	3,523	9.0	50,024
Information	354	0.9	77,948
Management of Companies and Enterprises	139	0.4	79,664
Manufacturing	6,148	15.6	70,668
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction	31	0.1	73,892
Other Services (except Public Administration)	1,262	3.2	37,752
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services	1,432	3.6	70,304
Public Administration	2,548	6.5	54,964
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	618	1.6	60,632
Retail Trade	5,261	13.4	32,396
Transportation and Warehousing	2,708	6.9	46,384
Utilities	134	0.3	77,064
Wholesale Trade	1,264	3.2	84,084
Total	39,361	100.0%	50,415

Education

School districts include: ^[26]

• Dorchester School District 2
• Dorchester School District 4
  • Districts 1 and 3 merged and created District 4 in 1987. ^[27]

Communities

City

• North Charleston (largest community; partly in Berkeley and Charleston counties)

Town

• Harleyville
• Lincolnville (mostly in Charleston County)
• Reevesville
• Ridgeville
• St. George (county seat)
• Summerville (partly in Berkeley and Charleston counties)

Census-designated place

• Ladson (partly in Berkeley County and Charleston County)

Unincorporated communities

• Grover
• Byrds
• Knightsville

Ghost town

• Dorchester

See also

• List of counties in South Carolina
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Dorchester County, South Carolina

References

1. "QuickFacts: Dorchester County, South Carolina". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Map of Dorchester County, South Carolina : Made and created by an Act of the Legislature of So. Ca. Feb'y 25th 1897, from portions of Colleton and Berkeley counties". Library of Congress .
4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  108.
5. Dorchester County Online Archived February 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
6. "2020 County Gazetteer Files – South Carolina". United States Census Bureau. August 23, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
7. "Wildlife Management Areas - South Carolina Hunting". eRegulations. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
9. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
10. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
11. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
12. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
13. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
14. "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
15. "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
16. "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
17. "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
18. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
19. "Lieber Correctional Institution." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
20. "Death Row/Capital Punishment Archived October 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine ." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
21. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
22. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (January 1, 2001). "Gross Domestic Product: All Industries in Dorchester County, SC". FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
23. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (January 1, 2001). "Real Gross Domestic Product: All Industries in Dorchester County, SC". FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
24. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (January 1, 1990). "Unemployment Rate in Dorchester County, SC". FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
25. "Dorchester County" (PDF). Community Profiles (4000035). Columbia, SC: S.C. Department of Employment & Workforce - Business Intelligence Department. April 19, 2024.
26. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Dorchester County, SC" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022. - Text list
27. Bowers, Paul (March 4, 2019). "2 Dorchester school districts a study in contrasts as debate continues on combining them". The Post and Courier . Retrieved March 31, 2024.

External links

• Geographic data related to Dorchester County, South Carolina at OpenStreetMap
• Official website
• Dorchester County history and images