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reaching out to its more than 5,000
businesses, one company at a time.
Every month, Livingston said,
Mayor Linda Page, Councilman Mark
Smith and Town Administrator Eric
DeMoura meet with representatives
of a local business.
“They ask what’s working, what’s
not and what are the challenges the
business faces,” Livingston said. “The
companies ask questions as well.
It’s nice to be in an intimate setting
where people feel comfortable giving
feedback.”
Livingston came to Mount Pleas-
ant prepared to cement the relation-
ship between the town and its busi-
nesses. She majored in Economics
and minored in Spanish at Wofford
and earned her masters in Public
Administration at the University of
Georgia. In her previous job at ECPI
University in North Charleston, she
focused on workforce development,
completing feasibility studies to see
what type of talent local companies
would need to succeed and recom-
mending which courses should be
added to the school’s curriculum.
Prior to that, she was a program
manager with the Charleston Digital
Corridor.
Throughout her professional
career, her work has been all about
connecting people and companies
with the resources they need. This ex-
perience, she said, will serve her well
in her new job.
“It’s really about maximizing op-
portunities in Mount Pleasant,” she
commented. “So many companies
want to relocate here. The town has
a clear vision. We want to recruit
businesses with high-paying jobs so
we can have the whole live, work, play
thing.”
Mount Pleasant By TheNumbers
Retail sales in Mount Pleasant are up
approximately 50 percent over the
last five years (2014 vs. 2010), from
$1.4 billion to $2.1 billion.
The number of Mount Pleasant busi-
nesses was 5,553 in FY 2014/2015.
The town added a net of 139 new
businesses between FY 2012/2013
and FY 2013/2014, and 44 more
between FY 2013/2014 and FY
2014/2015.
Total business license numbers
increased 13.5 percent from FY
2010/2011 to FY 2014/2015.
The population of Mount Pleas-
ant was 76,612 in 2014, based on
estimates from the Planning Depart-
ment. The town has grown from a
population of 47,609 in the year 2000.
Mount Pleasant’s median house-
hold income from 2009 to 2013 was
$76,085, 169 percent of the South
Carolina median of $44,779.
The median value of owner-occu-
pied housing units in Mount Pleas-
ant from 2009 to 2013 was $349,200,
254 percent of the South Carolina
median of $137,400.
Among Mount Pleasant residents,
23.5 percent have graduate or profes-
sional degrees, compared with 14.8
percent in all of Charleston County
and 8.8 percent in South Carolina.
Among Mount Pleasant residents,
39.7 percent have earned bachelor’s
degrees, compared with 25.5 per-
cent in all of Charleston County and
15.8 percent in South Carolina.
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Photography by Patrick Brickman
Four Locations Locally Owned