Wicomico County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. The county's name is pronounced wy-KAHM-ih-koh. As of the 2010 census, the population was 98,733. The county seat is Salisbury. The county was named for the Wicomico River, which in turn derives from Algonquian language words wicko mekee, meaning "a place where houses are built," apparently referring to an Indian town on the banks.
Wicomico County is included in the Salisbury, MD-DE Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The newspaper of record is The Daily Times.
History
Wicomico County was created from Somerset and Worcester counties in 1867.
Government
Wicomico County was granted a charter form of government in 1964.
County council
The legislative functions of government are vested in the County Council. The County Council consists of seven members, five of whom are elected from individual districts; the other two are elected at-large. Councilman John Cannon is the current Council President.
County executive
The County Executive oversees the executive branch of the County government that consists of a number of offices and departments. The executive branch is charged with implementing County law and overseeing the operation of County Government. The position of County Executive was established by a modification in the County's Charter in 2006.
Sheriff
Law enforcement in the county is provided by the Wicomico County sheriff's office. The sheriff, Mike Lewis, a Republican, is an elected official. Municipal police agencies exist in the town of Delmar and the cities of Fruitland and Salisbury.
State's attorney
The Wicomico County State's Attorney is responsible for prosecuting the felony, misdemeanor and juvenile cases occurring in the county. The current elected State's Attorney is Matthew A. Maciarello, Esq, a Republican.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 400 square miles (1,000Â km2), of which 374 square miles (970Â km2) is land and 26 square miles (67Â km2) (6.4%) is water.
The county's boundary with Delaware is composed of the Mason-Dixon line and the Transpeninsular Line. The intersection of these two historical lines is the midpoint of the Transpeninsular Line, fixed by Mason and Dixon between 1763 and 1767. The midpoint is located about 8 miles (13Â km) northwest of Salisbury, near the center of the Delmarva Peninsula. The county is generally flat, characteristic of the region, with a few small hills in the northeast. The lowest elevation is at sea level and the highest elevation is 98Â ft (30Â m).
Adjacent counties
- Dorchester County, Maryland (northwest)
- Somerset County, Maryland (southwest)
- Sussex County, Delaware (north)
- Worcester County, Maryland (southeast)
Major highways
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 98,733 people, 37,220 households, and 24,172 families residing in the county. The population density was 261.7 people per square mile (101/km²). There were 41,192 housing units at an average density of 109.2 per square mile (42.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.7% White, 24.2% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.5% Asian, 1.90% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. 4.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The largest ancestry groups in Wicomico County are 23% African American, 14% English American, 13% German, 12% Irish and 4% Italian.
There were 37,220 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 25% of households had individuals 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the county the population was spread out with 6.2% under age 5, 6.2% age 5 to 9, 6.1% 10 to 14, 9.1% from 15 to 19, 9.5% from 20 to 24, 6.4% from 25 to 29, 5.8% from 30 to 34, 5.7% from 35 to 39, 6.1% from 40 to 44, 7.1% from 45 to 49, 7.1% from 50 to 54, 6.3% from 55 to 59, 5.4% from 60 to 64, 4.1% from 65 to 69, 2.8% from 70 to 74, 2.4% from 75 to 79, 1.9% from 80 to 84, and 1.8% over the age of 85. The median age was 35.7 years. For every 100 females there were 91.00 males. Females made up 52.3% of the population, while males made up the remaining 47.7%.
As of the census of 2000 The median income for a household in the county was $39,035, and the median income for a family was $47,129. Males had a median income of $32,481 versus $23,548 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,171. About 8.70% of families and 12.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.60% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Wicomico County Public Schools operates public schools in the county.
Colleges and universities
- Salisbury University
- Sojourner-Douglass College
- Wor-Wic Community College
Economy
Perdue Farms, Inc., a multi-national poultry and grain corporation, is headquartered in Salisbury, MD, the county seat of Wicomico County. Piedmont Airlines is headquartered in unincorporated Wicomico County, at the airport and near the City of Salisbury. Other major employers in Wicomico County include: Salisbury University, Verizon, Peninsula Regional Medical Center, The Knowland Group, and Pepsi Bottling of Delmarva.
Other industries in Wicomico County include electronic component manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding, and agriculture.
Media
Periodicals
- The Daily Times
- Wicomico Weekly - weekly publication of the Daily Times
- Metropolitan Magazine - monthly magazine
- Delmarva Youth - bimonthly magazine
Television
- WBOC Channel 16, DT 21.1 CBS
- WBOC-DT2 (Fox 21 Delmarva) DT 21.2 Fox
- WMDT Channel 47, DT 53.1 ABC
- WMDT-DT2 (The CW 3 Delmarva) DT 53.2 The CW
- WCPB Channel 28, DT 58.1 & 58.2 PBSâ€"additional subchannels 58.3-58.5
- PAC 14 Public, Educational, and Government Access Television Channel 14 (Comcast)
Communities
Cities
- Fruitland
- Salisbury (county seat)
Towns
- Delmar
- Hebron
- Mardela Springs
- Pittsville
- Sharptown
- Willards
Census-designated places
Unincorporated communities
- Silver Run
- Wetipquin
- Whiton (partly in Worcester County)
Notable people
- Erin Burnett, Born in Mardela Springs, Burnett was a CNBC Host and is currently host of Erin Burnett OutFront on CNN
- Joseph Stewart Cottman, (1803â€"1863), born near Allen, United States Congressman from Maryland
- John Glover, Actor. Reared in Salisbury.
- Linda Hamilton, Actress. Born in Salisbury. Most widely known for her starring role in the series, "Beauty And The Beast."
- Frank Perdue Former president and CEO of Perdue Farms.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Wicomico County, Maryland
References
External links
- Wicomico County government
- Geographic data related to Wicomico County, Maryland at OpenStreetMap
- Wicomico County Convention and Visitor's Bureau
- Wicomico Public Library
- Your Community Link: A Database of Community, Government, and Non-Profit organizations on the Lower Shore