Photo: Evanoco · CC BY-SA 4.0How is Bethune run?
Bethune’s town government spent $252,000 on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2022, about $712 per resident. These are Census Bureau estimates: Bethune didn’t report its figures, so this page shows them without comparisons.
What stands out about how Bethune is run
Read from the town’s budget and official records.
About $712 per resident a year, or $1.95 a day
Day-to-day services only (a Census Bureau estimate). The biggest line: administration & buildings, at 58%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
Bethune didn’t report all of its 2022 figures to the Census Bureau, so most of these numbers are the Bureau’s estimates.
No comparison or trend for Bethune yet
Every year of Bethune’s figures is a Census Bureau estimate: the town reported none of its dollars for 2022. Estimates are shown above, labeled, but never ranked against places that reported or drawn as a trend.
How Town Hall compares budgets →The typical homeowner pays $535 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.50% of the home’s value, vs 0.48% across South Carolina.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Bethune’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate. In a town this small the estimate has a wide margin.
Tax bills are one input to Bethune’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Bethune →
Who’s in charge in Bethune
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
One full-time town employee for every 177 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2022 finance file (354).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Kershaw County School District
Bethune’s K–12 school district, shared with Camden, Elgin. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $12,809 per pupil, $7,113 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
South Carolina districts overall: 45% local, 43% state, 13% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Bethune’s votes are counted by county
South Carolina reports official results by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Bethune alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Kershaw County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican63.5%21,289 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat35.3%11,826 votesOthers: 1.2% (418 votes).
Most votes in Kershaw County: Donald J Trump
South Carolina: Trump 58.2%, Harris 40.4%
100% of Bethune lies in Kershaw County. Every 2024 race in Kershaw County is on the county’s page.
Kershaw County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Bethune.
- 1Your townTown governmentLocal officials aren’t on record yet.
- 2South Carolina HouseState representatives
- 3South Carolina SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of South Carolina
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Bethune’s government
Neighbors add phone numbers and hours to the Handbook.
Questions about Bethune’s government
How much does Bethune spend per resident?
About $712 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to June 30, 2022, a Census Bureau estimate (Bethune didn’t report its figures). With building projects and interest, the whole budget was about $288,000.
What is the property tax rate in Bethune?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $535 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.50% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.48% across South Carolina. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see the town’s assessor.
Who runs Bethune’s government?
We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Bethune yet.
How did Bethune vote in 2024?
South Carolina counts votes by county and precinct, not by town, so there are no official results for Bethune alone. Kershaw County, where 100% of Bethune lies, voted Trump 63.5%, Harris 35.3% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Bethune?
2 full-time and 9 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $16,452 (about $197,424 a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Bethune in the state legislature?
State Senate District 35 (Jeffrey Graham) and State House District 65 (Cody Mitchell). The House district also covers four other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Bethune’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (for Bethune, the Bureau’s estimates); day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →