Jasper County is the southernmost

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the U.S. state of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,791. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Ridgeland and its largest community is Hardeeville. The county was formed in 1912 from portions of Hampton County and Beaufort County. Jasper County is included in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located in the Lowcountry region of the state.

History

The county was founded in 1912 and was named after William Jasper. The county seat is Ridgeland while the largest community is Hardeeville. The county is also in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. For several decades, in contrast to neighboring Beaufort County, Jasper was one of the poorest counties in the state. Recent development from 2000 onwards has given the county new residents, expanded business opportunities, and a wealthier tax base.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (6.62%) is water.

National protected areas

* Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Tybee National Wildlife Refuge

State and local protected areas/sites

* Frampton Plantation House * Kingfisher Pond Recreation Area * Old House Plantation * Tillman Sand Ridge Heritage Preserve/Wildlife Management Area * Turtle Island Wildlife Management Area

Major water bodies

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

(North Atlantic Ocean) *

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...

* Little Black River * Middle River * Okatee River *

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

* Tulifiny River

Adjacent counties

* Hampton County – north * Beaufort County – east *

Chatham County, Georgia Chatham County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Georgia, on the state's Atlantic coast. The county seat and largest city is Savannah. One of the original counties of Georgia, Chatham County was created February 5, 1777, a ...

– south *

Effingham County, Georgia Effingham County ( ) is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,769. The seat is Springfield. Effingham County is included in the Savannah metropolitan area. I ...

– west

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 28,791 people, 10,269 households, and 7,298 families residing in the county.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 24,777 people, 8,517 households, and 5,944 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 10,299 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 46.0% black or African American, 43.0% white, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 8.3% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 15.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 7.1% were Irish, and 2.5% were American. Of the 8,517 households, 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% were married couples living together, 18.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.2% were non-families, and 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.23. The median age was 34.6 years. The median income for a household in the county was $37,393 and the median income for a family was $45,800. Males had a median income of $31,999 versus $24,859 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,997. About 14.2% of families and 21.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 32.2% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 20,678 people, 7,042 households, and 5,091 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 7,928 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 52.69%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 42.39%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.37% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.39% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. 5.75% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 7,042 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.22. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 111.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.3 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,727, and the median income for a family was $36,793. Males had a median income of $29,407 versus $21,055 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $14,161. About 15.4% of families and 20.7% of the population were below the

, including 26.3% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

Jasper County is governed by a five-member partisan county council, who are elected in staggered four year terms. The council appoints a county administrator who is tasked with running the day-to-day operations of the county, with the exception of the Sheriff's Office. Mary Gordon Ellis, the first woman elected to the South Carolina legislature, represented Jasper County in the state senate for one term, from 1928 to 1932, after having served as state superintendent of schools.

Politics

Like most counties in the rural Black Belt of South Carolina, Jasper has long leaned Democratic. However, in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

was able to flip the county Republican for the first time since

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

carried it in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

Economy

In 2022, the GDP was $1.7 billion (about $49,980 per capita), and the

real GDP Real gross domestic product (real GDP) is a macroeconomic measure of the value of economic output adjusted for price changes (i.e. inflation or deflation). This adjustment transforms the money-value measure, nominal GDP, into an index for quantit ...

was $1.3 billion (about $39,745 per capita) in chained 2017 dollars. , some of the largest employers in the county include AmeriGas, the city of Hardeeville, Publix, and

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

Transportation

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Railroads

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

's Charleston Subdivision (also known as the Charleston-Savannah Railway) currently operates both

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

trains and

passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

trains (via

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

) along the line, but does not stop anywhere within the county. The line also runs along the Hampton-Jasper County border northeast of the bridge over the Tullifinny River. Another active CSX line within the county is the Columbia Subdivision which bisects the northwest corner of Jasper County between the Georgia state line and Hampton County. This line also operates freight as well as Amtrak passenger trains.

Communities

City

* Hardeeville (largest community)

Town

* Ridgeland (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Coosawhatchie * Gillisonville * Grahamville * Grays * Levy *

Limehouse Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throu ...

* Okatie * Old House * Pineland * Pocotaligo * Point South * Robertville *

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

* Tarboro * Tillman * Wagon Branch

References

External links

* *
Jasper County history and images
{{Authority control 1912 establishments in South Carolina Hilton Head Island–Beaufort micropolitan area Populated places established in 1912 Majority-minority counties in South Carolina