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Richland County, South Carolina
Richland County, SC Courthouse IMG 4801
The Richland County Justice Center is located across from Columbia City Hall.
Map of South Carolina highlighting Richland County
Location in the state of South Carolina
Map of the U.S
South Carolina's location in the U.S.
Founded 1785
Seat Columbia
Largest city Columbia
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

772 sq mi (1,999 km²)
757 sq mi (1,961 km²)
15 sq mi (39 km²), 1.9%
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

416,147
508/sq mi (196/km²)
Congressional districts 2nd, 6th
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.richlandonline.com

Richland County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 416,147,[1] making it the second-most populous county in South Carolina, behind only Greenville County. The county seat is Columbia,[2] the state capital.

Richland County is part of the Columbia, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In 2010, the center of population of South Carolina was located in Richland County, in the city of Columbia.[3]

History[]

Richland County was probably named for its "rich land." The county was formed in 1785 as part of the large Camden District. A small part of Richland later went to Kershaw County (1791). The county seat is Columbia, which is also the state capital. In 1786 the state legislature decided to move the capital from Charleston to a more central location. A site was chosen in Richland County, which is in the geographic center of the state, and a new town was laid out. Richland County’s boundaries were formally incorporated on Dec. 18, 1799. Cotton from the surrounding plantations was shipped through Columbia and later manufactured into textiles there. General William T. Sherman captured Columbia during the Civil War, and his troops burned the town and parts of the county on February 17, 1865. The U. S. Army returned on more friendly terms in 1917, when Fort Jackson was established, which is now the largest and most active Initial Entry Training Center in the U.S. Army.

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 772 square miles (2,000 km2), of which 757 square miles (1,960 km2) is land and 15 square miles (39 km2) (1.9%) is water.[4] Richland County is situated in the center of South Carolina.

Rivers and lakes[]

  • Broad River
  • Congaree River
  • Lake Murray
  • Little River
  • Saluda River
  • Wateree River

Adjacent counties[]

National protected area[]

  • Congaree National Park

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1790 3,930
1800 6,097 55.1%
1810 9,027 48.1%
1820 12,321 36.5%
1830 14,772 19.9%
1840 16,397 11.0%
1850 20,243 23.5%
1860 18,307 −9.6%
1870 23,025 25.8%
1880 28,573 24.1%
1890 36,821 28.9%
1900 45,589 23.8%
1910 55,143 21.0%
1920 78,122 41.7%
1930 87,667 12.2%
1940 104,843 19.6%
1950 142,565 36.0%
1960 200,102 40.4%
1970 233,868 16.9%
1980 269,735 15.3%
1990 285,720 5.9%
2000 320,677 12.2%
2010 384,504 19.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7]
1990-2000[8] 2010-2020[1]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 384,504 people, 145,194 households, and 89,357 families residing in the county.[9] The population density was 507.9 inhabitants per square mile (196.1 /km2). There were 161,725 housing units at an average density of 213.6 per square mile (82.5 /km2).[10] The racial makeup of the county was 47.3% white, 45.9% black or African American, 2.2% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.9% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.8% of the population.[9] In terms of ancestry, 9.6% were German, 8.6% were English, 7.6% were Irish, and 7.1% were American.[11]

Of the 145,194 households, 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.5% were non-families, and 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age was 32.6 years.[9]

The median income for a household in the county was $47,922 and the median income for a family was $61,622. Males had a median income of $42,453 versus $34,012 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,805. About 10.0% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.[12]

Government[]

Richland County is governed by a County Council,[13] who hold concurrent four-year terms. Richland County is governed under the Council-Administrator form of government, which is very similar to the Council-Manager form of government. The major difference between the Council Manager and Council Administrator forms of government is the title of the chief executive, being Manager in one and Administrator in the other.

County Council
District Council Person
District 1 Bill Malinowski
District 2 Joyce Dickerson
District 3 Yvonne McBride
District 4 Paul Livingston (Chair)
District 5 Allison Terracio
District 6 Joe Walker III
District 7 Gwendolyn Kennedy
District 8 Jim Manning
District 9 Calvin "Chip" Jackson
District 10 Dalhi Myers
District 11 Chakisse Newton

The South Carolina Department of Corrections, headquartered in Columbia and in Richland County,[14] operates several correctional facilities in Columbia and in Richland County. They include the Broad River Correctional Institution,[15] the Goodman Correctional Institution,[16] the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution,[17] the Stevenson Correctional Institution,[18] and the Campbell Pre-Release Center.[19] Graham houses the state's female death row.[20] The State of South Carolina execution chamber is located at Broad River. From 1990 to 1997 Broad River housed the state's male death row.[21]

In March 2008, the Richland County Sheriff's Department acquired an armored personnel carrier equipped with a .50 caliber machine gun.[22] Reason magazine criticized the acquisition as "overkill".[23]

Politics[]

Richland County was one of the first areas of South Carolina to break away from a Solid South voting pattern. From 1948 to 1988, it only supported the official Democratic candidate for president once, in 1976. It voted for splinter Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond in 1948, and for unpledged electors in 1956.

Since 1992, Richland County has been one of the stronger Democratic bastions in South Carolina, following the trend of most urban counties across the country.

United States presidential election results for Richland County, South Carolina[24]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 58,313 30.09% 132,570 68.40% 2,939 1.52%
2016 52,469 31.10% 108,000 64.01% 8,253 4.89%
2012 53,105 33.37% 103,989 65.34% 2,060 1.29%
2008 57,941 35.11% 105,656 64.02% 1,440 0.87%
2004 56,212 42.01% 76,283 57.01% 1,306 0.98%
2000 50,164 43.07% 63,179 54.24% 3,138 2.69%
1996 39,092 41.05% 52,222 54.84% 3,916 4.11%
1992 43,744 41.17% 53,648 50.49% 8,858 8.34%
1988 43,841 52.74% 36,420 43.81% 2,862 3.44%
1984 46,773 57.44% 32,212 39.56% 2,444 3.00%
1980 36,337 49.87% 33,158 45.50% 3,374 4.63%
1976 32,727 46.78% 36,855 52.68% 380 0.54%
1972 39,746 64.11% 21,462 34.62% 787 1.27%
1968 26,215 50.96% 18,198 35.37% 7,032 13.67%
1964 27,306 60.35% 17,939 39.65% 0 0.00%
1960 20,736 63.94% 11,694 36.06% 0 0.00%
1956 6,714 29.99% 6,154 27.49% 9,516 42.51%
1952 15,925 64.17% 8,890 35.83% 0 0.00%
1948 670 7.29% 2,419 26.31% 6,104 66.40%
1944 140 1.98% 6,590 93.12% 347 4.90%
1940 167 3.38% 4,781 96.62% 0 0.00%
1936 152 2.21% 6,728 97.79% 0 0.00%
1932 119 2.64% 4,371 97.13% 10 0.22%
1928 444 12.33% 3,158 87.67% 0 0.00%
1924 88 3.48% 2,369 93.60% 74 2.92%
1920 295 10.81% 2,434 89.19% 0 0.00%
1916 292 11.20% 2,283 87.57% 32 1.23%
1912 23 1.30% 1,557 88.17% 186 10.53%
1908 236 11.76% 1,750 87.19% 21 1.05%
1904 122 9.09% 1,220 90.91% 0 0.00%
1900 62 12.23% 445 87.77% 0 0.00%
1896 468 32.91% 925 65.05% 29 2.04%
1892 146 15.63% 788 84.37% 0 0.00%



Transportation[]

Public transportation in Richland County is provided by the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority.

Attractions[]

  • Congaree National Park
  • Lake Murray
  • Riverbanks Zoo
  • Sesquicentennial State Park
  • South Carolina State Museum
  • Martin Luther King Park
  • Richland County Public Library

Communities[]

Cities[]

Towns[]

  • Arcadia Lakes
  • Blythewood (Partly in Fairfield County)
  • Eastover
  • Irmo (Mostly in Lexington County)

Census-designated places[]

  • Dentsville
  • Gadsden
  • Hopkins
  • Lake Murray of Richland
  • St. Andrews
  • Woodfield

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Arthurtown
  • Ballentine
  • Boyden Arbor
  • Capitol View
  • Eau Claire
  • Harbison
  • Hilton
  • Horrell Hill
  • Killian
  • Kingville
  • Leesburg
  • Lykes
  • Mountain Brook
  • Olympia
  • Pontiac
  • Riverside
  • Spring Hill
  • State Park
  • Wateree
  • Windsor Estates
  • White Rock
  • Fairwold Acres, South Caroina

Regions[]

  • Dutch Fork
  • Fort Jackson
  • Intown
  • Lower Richland
  • Northeast Richland
  • Upper Richland

See also[]

  • Birch County, South Carolina, a proposed county that would include existing portions of Richland County
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Richland County, South Carolina

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/45/45079.html. Retrieved November 25, 2013. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. https://web.archive.org/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  3. ^ "Centers of Population by State: 2010". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/docs/cenpop2010/CenPop2010_Mean_ST.txt. Retrieved April 24, 2014. 
  4. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_45.txt. Retrieved March 19, 2015. 
  5. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. http://www.webcitation.org/6YSasqtfX. Retrieved March 19, 2015. 
  6. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. Retrieved March 19, 2015. 
  7. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/sc190090.txt. Retrieved March 19, 2015. 
  8. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. Retrieved March 19, 2015. 
  9. ^ a b c "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US45079. Retrieved 2016-03-11. 
  10. ^ "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY07/0500000US45079. Retrieved 2016-03-11. 
  11. ^ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES - 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US45079. Retrieved 2016-03-11. 
  12. ^ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS - 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US45079. Retrieved 2016-03-11. 
  13. ^ "Richland County > Government > County Council > County Council Members" (in en-US). http://www.richlandonline.com/Government/CountyCouncil/CountyCouncilMembers.aspx. 
  14. ^ "Institutions." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
  15. ^ "Broad River Correctional Institution." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
  16. ^ "Goodman Correctional Institution." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
  17. ^ "Graham (Camille Griffin) Correctional Institution." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010. "4450 Broad River Road Columbia, SC 29210-4096"
  18. ^ "Stevenson Correctional Institution." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
  19. ^ "Campbell Pre-Release Center." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
  20. ^ "Graham (Camille Griffin) Correctional Institution." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010. "The institution also functions as a major special management unit with the ability to house female death row inmates and county safekeepers."
  21. ^ "Death Row/Capital Punishment." South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 17, 2010.
  22. ^ S.C. Sheriff's Department Armored Vehicle with Belt-Fed Machine Gun Archived 2008-09-04 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Sheriff Lott's New Toy by Radley Balko September 1, 2008
  24. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 

External links[]

Coordinates: 34°02′N 80°55′W / 34.03, -80.91


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Richland County, South Carolina. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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