OC sees rise in Per Capita Income

The South Carolina Department of Revenue recently released the state and county per capita income figures for 2013 and Oconee County saw a positive gain from year to year. In 2012, the per capita income for Oconee County stood at $31,964 and at the end of 2013, the figure is at $34,848. Oconee County has the fifteenth highest per capita income ranking out of all 46 counties in South Carolina. That is one spot higher compared to the results in 2012. Overall, earnings grew a total of $2,884 in the last twelve months. Overall, the state of South Carolina also had a per capita income increase of $1,668 from 2012’s $33,388 to 2013’s $35,056.  Per capita income statistics are a useful economic development-measuring tool that determines the average wealth of a population and is a statistic used in economic development incentives at the state level. “This welcomed news for Oconee County,” said Richard Blackwell, executive director of the Oconee County Economic Development Commission. “Seeing this upward trend in per capita income is affirmation that our economy is bouncing back and implementation of our local economic development strategic plan is beginning to bear fruit. We applaud this rise but know there is still much work to be done on the economic and community development front.” To learn more, visit www.oconeeSCedc.com.