2010 CENSUS: WHO WE ARE

Dorchester County was the fastest-growing of all South Carolina's 46 counties during the last decade, while Charleston crept closer to reclaiming its former status as the state's largest city.

The state's 2010 census data was made public Wednesday, and the numbers show how the faces of our cities, towns and counties are changing.

Today, South Carolina is an older, more Hispanic and less rural state than it was 10 years ago, while its coast and urban counties have seen most of the growth. The statewide population increased by 15 percent since 2000, a greater increase than in most states, for a total of 4.63 million.

State Demographer Bobby Bowers said he was surprised by the growth of Dorchester County, where the population soared by 42 percent, made possible by scores of new neighborhoods in and around Summerville.

York, Horry, Beaufort and Lancaster counties were the next fastest growing counties, in that order.

"The one that shocked me? I thought Georgetown was going to grow more than that," Bowers said. "It only grew 7.8 percent."

Twelve counties lost population, mostly in rural areas. Charleston County, which grew by about 13 percent, was among 10 counties that grew less than the state as a whole.

But parts of the county grew rapidly, including Mount Pleasant, where a 43 percent rise in population made it the state's fourth-largest city with 67,843 residents.

Among the more than 20,000 new residents of the town is Jim Greco, a 62-year-old retired New York City firefighter who moved to Mount Pleasant three years ago with his wife, Marianne, and their two sons.

"It's a real treat living here," Greco said. "We feel very fortunate."

He is a volunteer baseball and football coach for the town, and his wife is a substitute teacher at a local middle school.

"We love the schools, the lifestyle, the warmer temperatures and the laid-back lifestyle," Greco said. "We bought in Dunes West and were able to buy an acre and a half, which was great because on Long Island everyone has a postage stamp."

Across the Cooper River, peninsular Charleston continued a six-decade-long trend of losing population, but the population appeared to be stabilizing, with a loss of fewer than 500 residents.

Among those helping stem the downtown population slide was John LaCour, who owns a computer security business and moved to the peninsula with his wife from Washington a year and a half ago. They moved into one of several new residences built at Cannon and St. Philip streets.

"My wife and I are kind of city people, so we wanted to be close to all the great things about downtown -- shopping and restaurants -- and be able to walk places," he said. "I work from home. I can be anywhere really."

Other highlights from the census data include:

--Charleston's population increased to 120,083, more than the Census Bureau had estimated, but not enough to overtake Columbia, which has 129,272 residents. Charleston's 24 percent growth rate was more than double the 11 percent in Columbia.

--North Charleston grew by 22 percent to 97,471, maintaining its position as the state's third largest city.

--Greenville remained the state's largest county by far, growing by almost 19 percent to 451,225. It was followed by Richland (384,504; 20 percent); Charleston, (350,209; 13 percent); Spartanburg (284,307, 12 percent); and Horry (269,291, 37 percent).

--Summerville grew fastest of all the state's large and medium-size municipalities, as the town added 15,640 residents -- a 56 percent increase to 43,392.

--The number of Hispanic South Carolinians rose from 95,076 to 235,682, a 148 percent jump. The state added more Hispanic residents, 140,606, than black residents, 105,468.

--The state's white population grew by 364,440, while the number of state residents who considered themselves to be more than one race doubled to 79,935. Those who considered themselves "some other race" also soared, from 39,926 to 113,464 -- a 184 percent increase.

--The percentage of the state's population 18 and older rose from 75 percent in 2000 to 77 percent last year.

--Twelve counties in the state lost population between 2000 and 2010.

The population figures not only will influence new legislative districts but also will help determine how much federal money goes to towns and cities.

There are downsides, however, to all that growth.

Reid Cayce, a retired Navy chief who lives in the Summerville community of Oakbrook, said he doesn't see the soaring population as a positive thing for the town.

"Well," he said, "I would like to move away from a place that's so congested."

Reach David Slade at 937-5552 and Robert Behre at 937-5771.