Who is the Colleton County Clerk of Court?

Gary Allen Hale, Jr. is the Clerk of Court of Colleton County, South Carolina.

Who is the Colleton County Coroner?

Richard M. Harvey is the Coroner of Colleton County, South Carolina.

Who is the Colleton County Probate Judge?

Arthur C. “Ceth” Utsey is the Probate Judge of Colleton County, South Carolina.

Who is the Colleton County Sheriff?

Guerry R. “Buddy” Hill is the Sheriff of Colleton County, South Carolina.

Who are the Colleton County commissioners?

Steven D. Murdaugh (County Council Member); Bubba Trippe (County Council Member); Phillip Taylor (County Council Member); Scott Biering (County Council Member); Johnny Frank (County Council Member).

What is the population of Colleton County?

About 38,783 people, with a median age of 42; the median household income is $51,114 and 19.6% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Colleton County?

4.0% in September 2026 (preliminary): 649 people unemployed in a labor force of 16,071, against 5.3% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).

How many local governments are there in Colleton County?

9 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 6 municipal, 1 school district and 1 special district governments.

What cities and towns are in Colleton County?

1: Walterboro. Each has its own page with its mayor and council.

Colleton County, SC elected officials: county council, sheriff, school board and cities

Who holds every elected county, school board, city and special-district office in Colleton County: 10 seats on 6 elected bodies.

County Council

Colleton County Council

Office	Who holds it now
County Council Member	Steven D. Murdaugh source
County Council Member	Bubba Trippe source
County Council Member	Phillip Taylor source
County Council Member	Scott Biering source
County Council Member	Johnny Frank source

County officers

Office	Who holds it now
Clerk of Court	Gary Allen Hale, Jr. source
Coroner	Richard M. Harvey source
Probate Judge	Arthur C. “Ceth” Utsey source
Sheriff	Guerry R. “Buddy” Hill source

Cities and towns

Walterboro · Mayor James Broderrick Legislative Delegation Office · 1 seat

How many local governments Colleton County has

The Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments counts 9 local governments in Colleton County. This page lists the ones whose offices are elected.

Kind of government	Census count (2022)	Listed on this page
County government	1	1
Cities, towns, villages and townships	6	1
School districts (school boards)	1	0
Special districts (elected boards)	1	0

Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments: Government Units Listing (census.gov).

About these counts

The Census Bureau counts every independent local government once, in the county it assigns it to: the one it mostly serves or where it's based. A city or district that crosses county lines is counted in only one county, so it may be listed on this page but counted elsewhere, or the other way around. Many special districts, such as housing authorities, have appointed boards, and some places have more than one elected body, so the two columns measure different things. School systems run by a county, city or the state aren't counted as separate governments, though their boards may be listed here; in some states the Bureau counts community or state colleges as school districts. The counts are as of 2022.

Who lives in Colleton County

38,783people

42median ageU.S.: 38.9

$51,114 household incomeU.S.: $80,734

19.6%below the U.S.: 12.5%

17.4%of adults 25+ with a bachelor's degreeU.S.: 35.7%

$162,500median home valueU.S.: $332,700

9.9%unemployed (of the labor force)U.S.: 5.2%

3.4%born outside the U.S.U.S.: 14.1%

9%of adults are veteransU.S.: 6.2%

15%U.S.: 8.4%

55.1%of renting households pay of income on rentU.S.: 51.1%

35%of homeowners with a mortgage pay of income on housing costsU.S.: 28.1%

Race and Hispanic origin: Hispanic or Latino 4.6% · White 56.5% · Black 33.6% · Asian 0.4% · Other or more than one race 4.9% (Hispanic or Latino people can be of any race; the other groups are non-Hispanic.)

Census Bureau, 2020–2024 5-year estimates (data.census.gov).

About these figures

The American Community Survey asks about 3.5 million households a year about who lives there, their work, income, schooling and housing. The 5-year estimates pool 2020–2024 answers so that every county and district has enough of them. They're estimates with a (larger for smaller places), and they're different from the once-a-decade census count. "Median" means half are above and half below. Household income is before taxes and includes everyone in the household. The unemployment share here is the survey's five-year average, so it differs from the monthly rate in the BLS jobs report. Race and Hispanic origin are as people describe themselves.

Health insurance means any coverage, private or public (such as Medicaid or Medicare), when people answered; the share is of everyone except people on active military duty and people living in institutions such as prisons and nursing homes. The housing shares are of renting households, and of homeowners with a mortgage, for whom the Census Bureau can compute them (households with no income, or renters who pay no cash rent, are left out). Rent here is gross rent, rent plus utilities; owner costs include the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, utilities and fees.

Jobs in Colleton County

4.0%September 2026, preliminary. A year earlier: 5.3%. South Carolina: 3.7%.

649people unemployedSeptember 2026, preliminary.

15,422people employedSeptember 2026, preliminary. Counted where they live, not where they work.

16,071in the September 2026, preliminary.

Yearly average unemployment rate, 2016–2025.

Every month, last two years

Month	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
September 2026 (preliminary)	4.0%	649	15,422	16,071
August 2026	4.8%	776	15,375	16,151
July 2026	4.8%	790	15,575	16,365
June 2026	4.9%	787	15,407	16,194
May 2026	4.2%	690	15,575	16,265
April 2026	4.1%	667	15,664	16,331
March 2026	4.7%	773	15,528	16,301
February 2026	6.3%	1,028	15,292	16,320
January 2026	6.4%	1,022	14,923	15,945
December 2025	5.7%	908	15,062	15,970
November 2025	5.8%	925	15,103	16,028
October 2025	not collected (2025 federal shutdown)
September 2025	5.3%	848	15,063	15,911
August 2025	5.8%	925	14,974	15,899
July 2025	6.0%	970	15,298	16,268
June 2025	5.4%	870	15,118	15,988
May 2025	4.4%	706	15,235	15,941
April 2025	4.1%	659	15,410	16,069
March 2025	4.6%	737	15,375	16,112
February 2025	5.1%	812	15,244	16,056
January 2025	4.8%	758	14,928	15,686
December 2024	4.4%	688	15,124	15,812
November 2024	4.8%	764	15,140	15,904
October 2024	4.7%	763	15,371	16,134

Yearly averages

Year	Rate	Unemployed	Employed	Labor force
2025 (11 months)	5.2%	829	15,165	15,994
2024	4.6%	729	15,238	15,967
2023	3.4%	525	14,905	15,430
2022	3.7%	561	14,483	15,044
2021	4.6%	707	14,646	15,353
2020	6.3%	979	14,603	15,582
2019	3.3%	518	15,173	15,691
2018	4.2%	653	14,999	15,652
2017	5.0%	779	14,792	15,571
2016	5.8%	912	14,898	15,810

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, : BLS publishes county figures only that way, so they rise and fall with the seasons; compare a month with the same month a year earlier rather than with the month before. South Carolina's figure above is on the same basis; seasonally adjusted, as in BLS's monthly state release, it was 4.0% in September 2026. The latest month is preliminary and is revised the next month, and BLS revises earlier years each spring. People are counted where they live. October 2025 wasn't collected during the 2025 federal government shutdown, so 2025's yearly average covers 11 months.

Crime reported in Colleton County

557.1 per 100,0002024. South Carolina: 440.3.

1,980.4 per 100,0002024. South Carolina: 1,981.0.

7murders2024, 218 violent crimes in all.

2024 is the latest year with complete reporting here: at least one of the county's police agencies didn't send the FBI a full year of figures since, so later totals would be undercounts.

Earlier years

Year	Violent	Rate	Property	Rate
2024	218	557.1	775	1,980.4
2023	279	720.5	981	2,533.5
2022	246	637.2	1,091	2,826.1
2021	262	714.1	1,103	3,006.4
2020	227	603.9	1,152	3,064.8
2019	240	639.5	1,076	2,867.0
2018	269	718.7	1,047	2,797.4
2016	282	750.5	1,319	3,510.5

By police agency (4)

Agency	Year	Violent	Property	People served
Colleton County Sheriff's Office	2025	218	429	32,159
Walterboro Police Department	2025	55	270	5,484
Edisto Beach Police Department	2025	3	11	1,068
Cottageville Police Department	2023	2	39	707

Crimes to the county's city and county police agencies (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Return A), per 100,000 people they serve. Years with incomplete reporting are left out. Crime in South Carolina · the U.S.

Police staffing

2.33 per 1,000 residents2022, 4 agencies serving 38,604 people.

90sworn officers2022, full-time, as of October 31.

58civilian staff2022, full-time.

2022 is the latest year every agency here sent the FBI its staff count.

Agencies counted (4), 2022

Agency	Officers	Civilians	People served
Colleton County Sheriff's Office	51	57	31,448
Walterboro Police Department	27	1	5,432
Edisto Beach Police Department	6	0	1,024
Cottageville Police Department	6	0	700

Earlier years

Year	Officers	Per 1,000	Civilians	Agencies
2022	90	2.33	58	4
2018	98	2.62	66	4
2016	87	2.32	70	4

Full-time employees of the county's city police departments and sheriff's office, as each reported them to the FBI (Uniform Crime Reporting, Law Enforcement Employees), per 1,000 people in the areas those agencies serve (the FBI's population figures). A year is shown only when every one of these agencies sent a count; a count under half or over double the agency's own counts in nearby years is treated as not sent. Towns policed under contract by another agency are counted through that agency. State police, campus and other agencies aren't included. Sheriffs' offices often also run the county jail and courthouse security, so their staff counts include those jobs.

Quick answers

Who is the Colleton County Clerk of Court?: Gary Allen Hale, Jr. is the Clerk of Court of Colleton County, South Carolina.
Who is the Colleton County Coroner?: Richard M. Harvey is the Coroner of Colleton County, South Carolina.
Who is the Colleton County Probate Judge?: Arthur C. “Ceth” Utsey is the Probate Judge of Colleton County, South Carolina.
Who is the Colleton County Sheriff?: Guerry R. “Buddy” Hill is the Sheriff of Colleton County, South Carolina.
Who are the Colleton County commissioners?: Steven D. Murdaugh (County Council Member); Bubba Trippe (County Council Member); Phillip Taylor (County Council Member); Scott Biering (County Council Member); Johnny Frank (County Council Member).
What is the population of Colleton County?: About 38,783 people, with a median age of 42; the median household income is $51,114 and 19.6% live below the poverty line (Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Colleton County?: 4.0% in September 2026 (preliminary): 649 people unemployed in a labor force of 16,071, against 5.3% a year earlier (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted).
How many local governments are there in Colleton County?: 9 in the Census Bureau's 2022 Census of Governments: 1 county, 6 municipal, 1 school district and 1 special district governments.
What cities and towns are in Colleton County?: 1: Walterboro. Each has its own page with its mayor and council.

Officeholders as of October 15, 2026, from the South Carolina Legislative Manual's list of county officers and mayors of county seats; each name links to its source. Officials change between elections (appointments, resignations), and the body's own website is the authority. Party is shown only for offices elected on a partisan ballot.

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