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Greenville CSA
CSA
Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area
Location of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson CSA, which coincides with Upstate South Carolina except for Abbeville County, and its components:      Greenville–Anderson Metropolitan Statistical Area      Spartanburg Metropolitan Statistical Area      Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area      Greenwood Micropolitan Statistical Area      Gaffney Micropolitan Statistical Area      Union Micropolitan Statistical Area
Location of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson CSA, which coincides with Upstate South Carolina except for Abbeville County, and its components:

     Greenville–Anderson Metropolitan Statistical Area      Spartanburg Metropolitan Statistical Area      Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area      Greenwood Micropolitan Statistical Area      Gaffney Micropolitan Statistical Area

     Union Micropolitan Statistical Area
Country Flag of United States.svg United States
State Flag of South Carolina.svg South Carolina
Principal cities Greenville
Spartanburg
Anderson
Mauldin
Easley
Area
 • Total 6,168 sq mi (15,980 km2)
 • Land 6,008 sq mi (15,560 km2)
 • Water 141 sq mi (370 km2)  2.2%
Population
 (2014)
 • CSA
1,409,582 (40th)
Time zone UTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Area code(s) 864
Upstate South Carolina
Map of South Carolina highlighting "The Upstate" region.

The Upstate is the region in the westernmost part of South Carolina, United States, also known as the Upcountry, which is the historical term. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the ten counties of the commerce-rich I-85 corridor in the northwest corner of South Carolina. This definition coincided with the Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area, as first defined by the Office of Management and Budget in 2015. In 2018, the OMB redefined the CSA such that it no longer included Abbeville County. That definition remains as of 2020. The region's population was 1,347,112 as of 2016. Situated between Atlanta and Charlotte, the Upstate is the geographical center of the Charlanta mega-region. After BMW's initial investment, foreign companies, including others from Germany, have a substantial presence in the Upstate; several large corporations have established regional, national, or continental headquarters in the area. Greenville is the largest city in the region with a population of 72,227 and an urban-area population of 400,492, and it is the base of most commercial activity. Spartanburg and Anderson are next in population.

Counties

Ten counties are included in the Upstate of South Carolina: Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Pickens, Cherokee, Oconee, Union, Laurens, Greenwood, and Abbeville.

County Year founded County seat 2010 Census
Population
July 1, 2014
Population
Estimate.
Area
(sq. mi.)
Land area
(sq. mi.)
Abbeville County 1785 Abbeville 25,417 24,965 511 508
Anderson County 1826 Anderson 187,126 192,810 757 718
Cherokee County 1897 Gaffney 55,342 56,024 397 393
Greenville County 1786 Greenville 451,225 482,752 795 790
Greenwood County 1897 Greenwood 69,835 69,520 463 456
Laurens County 1785 Laurens 66,537 66,533 724 715
Oconee County 1868 Walhalla 74,275 75,192 674 625
Pickens County 1868 Pickens 119,224 120,368 512 497
Spartanburg County 1785 Spartanburg 284,307 293,542 819 811
Union County 1798 Union 28,961 27,876 516 514
Total 1,362,073 1,409,582 6,168 6,027

Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Combined Statistical Areas

Greenville CSA
CSA
Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area
Greenville skyline
Greenville skyline
Location of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson CSA, which coincides with Upstate South Carolina, and its components:      Greenville–Anderson–Mauldin Metropolitan Statistical Area      Spartanburg Metropolitan Statistical Area      Greenwood Micropolitan Statistical Area      Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area      Gaffney Micropolitan Statistical Area
Location of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson CSA, which coincides with Upstate South Carolina, and its components:

     Greenville–Anderson–Mauldin Metropolitan Statistical Area      Spartanburg Metropolitan Statistical Area      Greenwood Micropolitan Statistical Area      Seneca Micropolitan Statistical Area

     Gaffney Micropolitan Statistical Area
Country Flag of United States.svg United States
State Flag of South Carolina.svg South Carolina
Principal cities Greenville
Spartanburg
Anderson
Mauldin
Easley
Area
 • Total 6,168 sq mi (15,980 km2)
 • Land 6,027 sq mi (15,610 km2)
 • Water 141 sq mi (370 km2)  2.2%
Population
 (2014)
 • CSA
1,409,582 (40th)
Time zone EST
 • Summer (DST) EDT
Area code(s) 864

Within the Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson CSA are a total of two Metropolitan Statistical Areas and three Micropolitan Statistical Areas.

As of the 2010 Census, the Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson CSA had a population of 1,362,073.

MSA County Population (2010)
Greenville–Anderson–Mauldin Greenville, Anderson, Pickens, Laurens 824,112
Spartanburg Spartanburg, Union 313,268
Total: 1,137,380
μSA County Population (2010)
Greenwood Greenwood, Abbeville 95,078
Seneca Oconee 74,273
Gaffney Cherokee 55,342
Total: 224,693

Communities

The following population rankings are based on the 2010 Census

Primary cities

Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson.

The Office of Management and Budget labels all these cities as principal cities in their respective MSA's.

Other communities with at least 20,000 residents

Cities: Greenwood, Greer, Mauldin

The OMB has labelled Mauldin as a principal city.

CDPs: Taylors, Wade Hampton

Communities with more than 10,000 residents

Cities: Clemson, Easley, Gaffney, and Simpsonville.

If students from Clemson University are included, Clemson has close to 30,000 residents. The OMB has labelled Easley as a principal city.

CDP's: Berea, Five Forks, Gantt, Parker

Communities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants

Communities in the upstate with under 10,000 residents include:

Cities:

Towns:

According to the 2010 Census, no town in the Upstate has a population greater than 6000.

CDP's:

Transportation

View-from-interstate-26-scnc-border
View of the Upcountry from I-26 in Spartanburg County

The Upstate is served by two major interstate highways, I-85 and I-26. Other major interstate spurs include I-185, I-385, and I-585. The major airport in the region is Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, located nearly halfway between Greenville and Spartanburg in suburban Greer. Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Clemson, Pickens, Union, and Gaffney each have smaller airfields. Amtrak service along the Crescent Line stops in Spartanburg, Greenville, and Clemson.

Economy

The majority of business and commerce in the Upstate takes place in Greenville County. Greenville has the largest concentration of businesses and financial institutions in its downtown area. In fact, the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson MSA was ranked seventh in the nation by site consultants considering the top markets for economic development. Many financial institutions have regional offices located in downtown Greenville. These include Bank of America and the now-defunct Wachovia. Other major industries of commerce in the Upstate include the auto industry which is concentrated mainly along the corridor between Greenville and Spartanburg around the BMW manufacturing facility in Greer. The other major industry in the Upstate is the healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Greenville Hospital System and Bon Secours St. Francis Health System are the area's largest in the healthcare sector, while the pharmaceutical corporation of Bausch & Lomb have set up regional operations alongside smaller recently developed local companies like IRIX Manufacturing, Incorporated and Pharmaceutical Associates. The Upstate is also home to a large amount of private sector and university-based research including R&D facilities for Michelin, Fuji and General Electric and research centers to support the automotive, life sciences, plastics and photonics industries. Clemson University, BMW, IBM, Microsoft, and Michelin have combined their resources to create International Center for Automotive Research (ICAR), a research park that specializes in the development of automotive technology.

Corporations based in or with a major presence in the Upstate

The following corporations have a major presence in the Upstate: Adidas, Advance America, Bank of America, BMW of North America, Bon Secours St. Francis Health System [1], Bosch North America, Denny's Restaurants, Dunlop Sport, Ernst & Young, Fluor Corporation, Freightliner, GE Power Systems, Prisma Health [2], IBM, Kemet Corporation, Liberty Corporation, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Michelin of North America, Microsoft, Milliken & Company, Spartanburg Regional Health System, Spectrum Communications, SunTrust, Ovation Brands, Perrigo Company of South Carolina, Techtronic Industries, Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Verizon.

• BMW's only North American manufacturing plant is located in Spartanburg County, with an investment of $3.7 billion. [3]

Fujifilm located their first manufacturing facility in the U.S. in Greenwood County. [4]

• Michelin North America's headquarters is located in Greenville, along with seven manufacturing plants, R&D facility and test track located in the Upstate. Michelin employs more than 7,800 in South Carolina. [5]

• Walgreens has their southeastern distribution center located in Anderson County, which employs mentally handicapped workers as nearly 40% of their workforce. [6]

Institutions of higher education

Clemson's Memorial Stadium
Clemson University Memorial Stadium
Furman University - tower view
Furman University Belltower

The following table shows the major institutions of higher education in the Upstate.

Name Type Enrollment
Anderson University Private Senior 2,000
Bob Jones University Private Senior 5,000
Clemson University Public Senior 25,822
Converse College Private Senior 1,938
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – Carolinas Private Professional 600
Erskine College Private Senior 750
Furman University Private Senior 2,660
Greenville Technical College Public Technical 14,338
Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Private Professional
Lander University Public Senior 3,000
Limestone College Private Senior 3,000
North Greenville University Private Senior 2,071
Piedmont Technical College Public Technical 4,600
Presbyterian College Private Senior 1,200
Sherman College of Chiropractic Private Professional 200
Southern Wesleyan University Private Senior 2,414
Spartanburg Methodist College Private Two-Year 797
Spartanburg Community College Public Technical 4,300
Tri-County Technical College Public Technical 6,000
University Center – Greenville Public Two-Year N/A
University of South Carolina School of Medicine – Greenville Public Professional 400
University of South Carolina-Upstate Public Senior 4,851
University of South Carolina-Union Public Two-Year 363
Wofford College Private Senior 1,600

In 2008, U.S. News ranked Furman as the 37th best liberal arts college, Wofford College as the 59th best, and Presbyterian College as the 101st best. Also, they ranked Clemson University as the 67th best national university. According to the Bob Jones University, its Museum and Gallery constitutes the largest collection of religious art in the Western Hemisphere.

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