St Pauls

St. Pauls is known as "The Little Town with the Big Heart" and for good reason. People here take care of each other, and this care transcends all economic, racial and ethnic differences.

The people of this community care. This caring manifests itself in many ways. There are enough volunteers to staff two volunteer fire departments, one rural and one city, and a rescue squad. When a fire does occur, and leaves a family homeless and/or possession-less, the community pitches in to lend a hand. Ministers and pastors from many area churches have formed an organization which collects and disburses money for families facing emergency situations, and this includes travelers off I-95 whose vehicles break down or who just run out of money.  But the most amazing example of how St. Pauls cares is its John Walker Memorial Christmas Fund, a Lions Club project which began in 1986. Each year, in about six weeks, citizens donate thousands of dollars, over $18,000.00 in both 1998 and 1999, to assist less fortunate families at Christmas.  To thank those who work to make St. Pauls such a fine place in which to live, a citizen group annually presents The Meacham Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. This award was first presented in 1993.

CENSUS DATA for the Town of St. Pauls

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,137 people, 859 households, and 571 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,601.2 people per square mile (620.4/km²). There were 935 housing units at an average density of 700.6 per square mile (271.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 25.32% White,60.46% African American, 3.56% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 8.14% from other races, and 2.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.74% of the population.

29.8% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couples living together, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 people and the average family size was 3.02 members.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,347, and the median income for a family was $27,708. Males had a median income of $27,218 versus $20,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,520. About 17.2% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.4% of those under age 18 and 24.9% of those age 65 or over.

The town has an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school, all named after St. Pauls. The population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. There were 94.8 males for every 100 females, and 89.7 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.