Dorchester County, South Carolina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dorchester County
U.S. 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.
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

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

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.

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.

Geography

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.

State and local protected areas/sites

• Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site
• Edisto River Wildlife Management Area
• 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.
• Invalid type: US-Alt-Truck
• US 78
• US 178
• SC 27
• SC 61
• 
  SC 61 Conn.
• SC 165
• SC 453
• SC 642

Major infrastructure

• Summerville Airport

Demographics

2020 census

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. 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). 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. In terms of ancestry,

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.

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.

Economy

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

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.

Education

School districts include:

• Dorchester School District 2
• Dorchester School District 4
  • Districts 1 and 3 merged and created District 4 in 1987.

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

In Spanish: Condado de Dorchester (Carolina del Sur) para niños