Running head: COMMUNITY ANALYSIS

Community Analysis
Chaquana Izzard
University of South Carolina

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Abstract
This paper will be giving in depth information about the town of Irmo, South Carolina.
Specifically the community within the area code 29063 will be the community of focus. There
will be information about the history of the community, population, sense of identity/belonging,
education levels, income levels, housing, local politics, major strengths and weaknesses of the
community, age, race, religion, and gender will be reported. Information from the interviewees
will be part of the information used. The interviewees will give their viewpoint on what they
think the problem is in the community. There will also be information used from various
scholarly websites. This paper will analyze this community and determine what the main issue is
in this community. The hypothesis of what the issue will be is not enough support for the lower
class families in the community. Through thorough research and comparison the hypothesis will
either be found correct or wrong.

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History of Community
Irmo, South Carolina legally became a town December 24, 1890. German/Swiss
immigrants were the first westerners to settle the area by the Broad and Saluda Rivers and into
the Newberry county line. Dutch Fork was discovered in the mid-1700s. This area was
constructed with small farms. The origin of the name Irmo came from the influence of the
railroads. The railroads were a big part of the growth of the town. The name Irmo came from the
first two letters of the last names of railroad company men, C.J. Iredell and H.C. Mosely. The
Lake Murray Dam and the construction of I-26 and I-20 are also big staples in the history of the
town of Irmo. Irmo is also home of one of the top 10 Food Festivals in the U.S.A. (Irmo, South
Carolina, n.d.).
Population
The population of Irmo, South Carolina is 11,893 people. Of these people 64.6% are
white, 29.9% are Black or African American, 0.4% are American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6%
are Asian, 0% are Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 2.5% are two or more races, and
3.3% are Hispanic or Latino. 7% of the residents of Irmo are under five years old. 25.2% of the
residents are under 18 years old. 10.2% of the residents are sixty-five years old and over. 47.3%
of the population in Irmo are men and the remaining 52.7% are women (Population Estimates,
n.d.).
Religion
In the community of Irmo religion varies between Evangelical Protestant, Mainline
Protestant, Catholic, Black Protestant, Orthodox, other religions and no religion at all. The
information reported is based off of Lexington County. There are more residents in Irmo that are
none religious than anything else at 51.7%. Evangelical Protestants are next with 25.8% and 183

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congregations. Next are Mainline Protestants with 16.7% of residents and 78 congregations.
Catholics are next with 2.2% of the population and 3 congregations. Black Protestants come next
with 1.8% of the population and 26 congregations. Other religious preference is next with 1.7%
and 14 congregations. Orthodox is the smallest religion in the community with 0.1% and 3
congregations (City Data, n.d.).
Education
Irmo is a part of the Lexington school district 5 and there are 10 total schools. 9 of the
schools are public and the other one is private. Of the nine public schools six of them are
Elementary schools. Those schools are Ballentine Elementary, Dutch Fork Elementary, H E
Corley Elementary, Irmo Elementary, Oak Pointe Elementary, and River Springs Elementary.
Dutch Fork Middle School is the only middle school in Irmo which is also one of the nine public
schools. The other two public schools are Dutch Fork High and Spring Hill High (Home Facts,
n.d.).
Income Levels
The median income for the community of Irmo is $57, 426. The income per capita is
$27,280. The median male earnings are $34,281 while the median female earnings are $30,207.
The unemployment rate is 5.9% while the poverty level is 15.6% (Irmo, SC Employment,
n.d.). There is a big gap between the income for males and females in this town which is also a
major issue in other places of the United States.

Housing
In the community of Irmo the housing industry is divided into different groups. The first
group is the housing inventory. 73. 9% of the housing inventory are homes that are owned.
18.5% of homes are rented and 7.6% of homes are vacant. The next group of housing inventory

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is foreclosures. 45.45% of the homes are bank owned, 36.36% are auction homes, and 18.18%
are pre foreclosures. The average listing price of homes on the market is $144,991 and the
median sales price is $129,500 (Home Facts, n.d.).
Local Politics
The local politics in Irmo is composed of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.
There are more Democrats in Irmo than any other political party with 94,350 residents which is
66% of the population. There are 46,725 Republicans which is 32.7% of the population. The rest
of the population are independent and there are 1,941 of them which makes up 1.4% of the
population (Home Facts, n.d.).
Interviews
Name: N. Frost
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Race: Caucasian
Role within Community: Business Owner
Income: Upper Middle Class

1. Within the zip code of 29063, how would you describe your community? I think that it is
a flourishing community. New businesses are opening and creating new opportunities.
2. What is your level of involvement in your community? I am a private business owner.
3. What would you want others to know about your community? That is constantly building
up and growing.
4. What do you believe to be the strengths/weaknesses of your community? The growth of
the businesses in the community is a strength and the weakness is in the need for help
within the aging lower class population of the community.

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5. What would you define as the problem in your community? There is not a lot of
support within the aging community a lot of them are living alone and need the extra help
around the house.
6. Why do you think this problem exists? The aging community does not want to lose their
independence.
7. What populations are in need of services within your community? The lower class
population because this is an area that typically has wealth.

Name: S. Daniels
Age: 44
Gender: Female
Race: Black
Role within Community: resident/ worker
Income: Middle Class

1. Within the zip code of 29063, how would you describe your community? It is an older
community that is growing with a younger population.
2. What is your level of involvement in your community? Low, I am not very involved.
3. What would you want others to know about your community? This is a very quiet
community.
4. What do you believe to be the strengths/weaknesses of your community? One strength of
the community is the feeling of safety. A weakness of the community is the diversity.
5. What would you define as the problem in your community? The gap between the class
levels either you have money are you are Lower Class in this community
6. Why do you think this problem exists? Because it is becoming a normal thing in most
communities there are the wealthy and then there are those who arent wealthy.

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7. What populations are in need of services within your community? The lower class
population is in need especially since this community is growing.

Name: F. Gillings
Age: 35
Gender: male
Race: black
Role within Community: resident
Income: lower class

1. Within the zip code of 29063, how would you describe your community? Wealthy in
some parts and poor in others.
2. What is your level of involvement in your community? Just being a resident
3. What would you want others to know about your community? More job opportunities are
coming to help the lower class.
4. What do you believe to be the strengths/weaknesses of your community? A strength is the
togetherness where I live. We all know each other and we help each other out. Weakness
is if you are not wealthy you have to work extra hard to live in this community that
provides better opportunities in a better community.
5. What would you define as the problem in your community? Not enough programs for
the underprivileged youth.
6. Why do you think this problem exists? Being poor isnt a concern for most in this
community where wealth is evident in some parts.
7. What populations are in need of services within your community? Lower class
populations in general whether its the youth, elderly, black or white people.
Theories

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(Netting, 2012) Systems Theory would work with this community because this
community is ran off of the needs and expectations that the community has. The entire
community could work together to help solve the issues with in the community. If Systems
Theory is used then the more wealthy and willing members of the community can work with the
less fortunate and provide a system of leadership. This would also tie in with the Human Ecology
Theory (Netting, 2012). This theory focuses also on the interactions of people in their
environments and their relationships.
Conclusion
The community/town of Irmo is a considerably wealthy community. The main issue in
this community is within the lower class population. There needs to be more resources for the
lower class population. Being that Irmo is a wealthier community the cost to live there is more
expensive and therefore those who are lower class are subjective to having a harder time
maintaining their households. The good factor of living in this population is that the schools are
better so the children are receiving a better education. This means that the lower class will
struggle to maintain to ensure their children receive a good education.
Addendum
This community can use a program that helps the lower class population find better jobs and
housing. The best way to do this is for the residents that are of lower class to go back to school
and learn a trade or get a degree. The grant will be to compose of a program to help lower class
residents go back to school if they want so that they can have a better life. The grant will take
care of books, some tuition, and childcare for the resident if needed.

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References
Irmo, South Carolina. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2016, from http://www.citydata.com/city/Irmo-South-Carolina.html
IRMO, SOUTH CAROLINA. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2016, from
http://www.irmoinfo.com/history.html
Irmo, South Carolina. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2016, from
http://www.homefacts.com/city/South-Carolina/Richland-County/Irmo.html#schools
Irmo, SC Employment. (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2016, from
http://www.areavibes.com/irmo-sc/employment/
Netting, F. E. (2012). Social work macro practice. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

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Population estimates, July 1, 2015, (V2015). (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2016, from
http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/4535890,00