Anderson County, South Carolina

Encyclopedia : A : AN : AND : Anderson County, South Carolina

Anderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of 2004, the population is 173,550. Its county seat is Anderson ⁶.

Contents

1 Government
2 Recent Controversy
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 Cities and towns

Government

Anderson County has a Council-Administrator form of government under South Carolina law. County Councilmen are elected in seven districts for two year terms. All seven council seat is open for election every two years. The County Council hires and fires administrators at their will. The administrator's office prepares the county budget for each fiscal year and runs the day to day operations of the county. The council approves the county budget and makes all policies that the administrator is to carry out.

The current Anderson County Administrator is Joey Preston

The current Anderson County Councilmen are:

District 1: Fred Tolly (R-Anderson City) District 2: Gracie Floyd (D-Anderson City) District 3: Larry Greer (R-Belton area) District 4: Bill McAbee (R-Pendleton area) District 5: Michael G. Thompson (R-Iva area) District 6: Bill Dees (Powdersville area) District 7: M. Cindy Wilson (Williamston area)

Recent Controversy

Since Councilwoman M. Cindy Wilson was elected in 2000, there has been animosity between her and the county administrator, Joey Preston. The differences between Wilson and Preston have caused a large ideological rift in Anderson County between the progressive Republicans and conservative Republicans. As of the 2006 primary elections, the conservatives have picked up one more seat on the Council with the victory of conservative Republican, Ron Wilson, in District 6. He has no Democratic opponent in November. Also, a progressive, former State Senator, Bob Waldrep, easily won the primary in District 1 as Fred Tolly did not seek another term. He also has no Democratic opposition. There will be conservative Republican opposition to District 2 Democratic Councilwoman Gracie Floyd in November. Also, M. Cindy Wilson faces progressive Democratic challenger Ed Jean in November.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,962 km² (757 mi²). 1,860 km² (718 mi²) of it is land and 102 km² (39 mi²) of it (5.21%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 165,740 people, 65,649 households, and 47,267 families residing in the county. The population density was 89/km² (231/mi²). There were 73,213 housing units at an average density of 39/km² (102/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 81.56% White, 16.59% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. 1.11% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 65,649 households out of which 31.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.00% were married couples living together, 12.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 29.10% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,807, and the median income for a family was $44,229. Males had a median income of $32,316 versus $23,834 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,365. About 9.10% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.30% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

	State of South Carolina
List of capitals in the United States>Capital	Columbia
Regions of the United States#South Carolina>Regions	Capital City/Lake Murray Country \| Grand Strand \| Historic Charleston \| Midlands \| Old 96 District \| Olde English District \| Pee Dee \| Piedmont \| Sandhills \| Santee Cooper Country \| South Carolina Low Country \| Metrolina \| Thoroughbred Country \| The Upstate
Major Cities	Columbia \| Charleston \| North Charleston \| Rock Hill \| Mount Pleasant \| Greenville
Counties	Abbeville \| Aiken \| Allendale \| Anderson \| Bamberg \| Barnwell \| Beaufort \| Berkeley \| Calhoun \| Charleston \| Cherokee \| Chester \| Chesterfield \| Clarendon \| Colleton \| Darlington \| Dillon \| Dorchester \| Edgefield \| Fairfield \| Florence \| Georgetown \| Greenville \| Greenwood \| Hampton \| Horry \| Jasper \| Kershaw \| Lancaster \| Laurens \| Lee \| Lexington \| Marion \| Marlboro \| McCormick \| Newberry \| Oconee \| Orangeburg \| Pickens \| Richland \| Saluda \| Spartanburg \| Sumter \| Union \| Williamsburg \| York

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