Greenville is a great option to consider when you are scouting for best places to live in South Carolina.

Greenville is located east of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Upstate South Carolina, a lush, rolling midpoint between Atlanta, Georgia and Charlotte, North Carolina.Greenville County is home to the fastest-growing population in Upstate South Carolina. Greenville County has grown at a rate of 14% since 2010, and had an estimated 2019 population of 523,542. It is also the largest county in the Upstate with a total area of 795 square miles, of which 785 sq. mi is land and 9.7 sq. mi is water.The cities in Greenville County include Greenville, Fountain Inn, Greer, Simpsonville, Mauldin, and Travelers Rest. Its county seat is Greenville - a bustling city with so many offerings.

Population

Greenville County has experienced a population growth increase of 18% since 2010, as of 2022, the population has grown to 547,950 which is more than that of Charleston County and significantly higher than Spartanburg County and Richland County. It has the largest population in South Carolina by county.

Housing

Greenville County is one of South Carolina's most affordable places to live. According to a new U.S. News & World Report ranking. South Carolina has 2 of the best, cheapest cities in the US to live in 2023. Greenville ranked 12th in best places in 2023, preceded by Spartanburg coming at 11th.
The average family can afford a nice home in just about any of its suburbs. As of February 2024, the median home price is $340,000. While the median rent price is $1,695.

Popular neighborhoods in Greenville County were in and around the city of Greenville. 

Education

Greenville County is home to the largest school system in South Carolina and 44th largest district in the nation - Greenville County School District. It has 101 schools and centers. Greenville has several colleges including Furman University and Bob Jones University. It is also convenient to South Carolina's second largest university - Clemson University. The County has the third-highest percentage of people with a graduate or professional degree at 11.3% and 31% with an associate or bachelor degree. 

Check here for the best schools in Greenville, SC.

Employment

Greenville County plays a significant role in the Upstate economy. The county holds nearly 40% of the total jobs in the Upstate region. As of January 2024, there were 260k people with current employment in Greenville County.

The top employment sectors are financial, education, health care, public services, and manufacturing. The major employment hubs include Downtown Greenville, the Haywood Road area, South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center (SC-TAC), and the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR).Greenville county has the third-highest share of white collar employment, the second-highest share of blue collar employment, and is tied for the lowest share of service industry employment.

Parks and Recreation

There many recreational opportunities in Greenville County with lakes, rivers, and mountains as our backyard. Overall, the county is home to 2,000 acres of parklands, a figure which includes state, municipal, and county-owned properties. State parks within Greenville county include Paris Mountain State Park, Jones Gap State Park, and Caesars Head State Park.

Greenville County Recreation manages over 55 parks and recreation facilities across the county. These facilities include Cedar Shoals Park, MESA Soccer Complex, and Pleasant Ridge Park. Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail, a 22-mile multi-use greenway that connects the cities of Travelers Rest and Greenville along the Reedy River corridor is also managed by the Greenville County Recreation. Click here to see Things To Do in Greenville

Cost of Living

The median household income in Greenville County was $71,328 in 2022, which makes Greenville County the  seventh-highest county for median household income in South Carolina. It is almost $5,000 more than the state median, but still less than the national same-year figure. Hypothetically speaking, if you live in a household that brings in $50,000 annually, you can afford a house anywhere in the county. If your household only brings half of that, you can afford to rent.

The cost of living overall in Greenville County is 91.3, relatively lower than the national average of 100. Nerdwallet has a great calculator that helps you compare the cost of living between two cities. Use their calculator so you can estimate the purchasing power of your salary if you relocate to Greenville. Click here to use their Cost of Living Calculator. 

Learn more about Greenville by getting your free copy of our Greenville Relocation Guide

This relocation guide will assist you in your personal research. It includes interesting general tidbits about the Greenville area and Home Buyer's Guide to Relocating to Greenville. Please fill in the form below and request your FREE relocation magazine.

Sources: Greenvillecounty.org , datacommons.org