Upstate South Carolina


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 67,453 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, Oconee, Greenwood, Laurens, Cherokee, Union, Abbeville.
County2019 Estimate2010 CensusChange
Greenville County--
Spartanburg County--
Anderson County--
Pickens County--
Oconee County--
Greenwood County--
Laurens County--
Cherokee County--
Union County--
Abbeville County--
Total--

Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Combined Statistical Areas

As of 2018, the Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson CSA includes all counties in the Upstate except for Abbeville County. Within the CSA are a total of two Metropolitan Statistical Areas and four Micropolitan Statistical Areas.
As of the 2010 Census, the Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson CSA had a population of 1,362,073.
MSACountyPopulation
Greenville–Anderson–MauldinGreenville, Anderson, Pickens, Laurens824,112
SpartanburgSpartanburg340,000
Total:1,108,419-

μSACountyPopulation
SenecaOconee74,273
GreenwoodGreenwood69,661
GaffneyCherokee55,342
UnionUnion28,961
Total:228,237-

Communities

The following population rankings are based on the 2010 Census

Primary cities

, 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, and Mauldin.
In the 2016 Census population estimate, the cities of Easley and Simpsonville have populations that exceed 20,000.
The OMB labelled Mauldin and Easley as principal cities from 2015 to 2018.
CDPs: Taylors, Wade Hampton

Communities with more than 10,000 residents

Cities: Clemson and Gaffney.
If students from Clemson University are included, Clemson has close to 30,000 residents.
CDP's: Berea, Five Forks, Gantt, Parker

Communities with fewer than 10,000 residents

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:

Institutions of higher education

The following table shows the major institutions of higher education in the Upstate.
NameTypeEnrollment
Anderson UniversityPrivate Senior2,000
Bob Jones UniversityPrivate Senior5,000
Clemson UniversityPublic Senior17,585
Converse CollegePrivate Senior1,938
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – CarolinasPrivate Professional600
Erskine CollegePrivate Senior750
Furman UniversityPrivate Senior2,660
Greenville Technical CollegePublic Technical14,338
Greenville Presbyterian Theological SeminaryPrivate Professional
Lander UniversityPublic Senior3,000
Limestone CollegePrivate Senior3,000
North Greenville UniversityPrivate Senior2,071
Piedmont Technical CollegePublic Technical4,600
Presbyterian CollegePrivate Senior1,200
Sherman College of ChiropracticPrivate Professional200
Southern Wesleyan UniversityPrivate Senior2,414
Spartanburg Methodist CollegePrivate Two-Year797
Spartanburg Community CollegePublic Technical4,300
Tri-County Technical CollegePublic Technical6,000
Public Two-YearN/A
University of South Carolina School of Medicine – GreenvillePublic Professional400
University of South Carolina-UpstatePublic Senior4,851
University of South Carolina-UnionPublic Two-Year363
Wofford CollegePrivate Senior1,600

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.

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, 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, , , Bowater, Denny's Restaurants, Dunlop Slazenger Group, Ernst & Young, Fluor Corporation, Freightliner LLC, , , IBM, , , , , Microsoft, Milliken & Co., , , , Ovation Brands, , , and Verizon.
• BMW's only North American manufacturing plant is located in Spartanburg County, with an investment of $3.7 billion.
• Fujifilm located their first manufacturing facility in the U.S. in Greenwood County.
• 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.
• Walgreens has their southeastern distribution center located in Anderson County, which employs mentally handicapped workers as nearly 40% of their workforce.

Transportation

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.

Media

The Upstate region is served by 3 regional newspapers: The Greenville News, the Herald-Journal and the Anderson Independent-Mail, each of which serves their individual city and surrounding area respectively.
The Upstate is part of the vastly larger Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson-Asheville designated market area, which extends into western North Carolina and northeastern Georgia. The following television stations serve the region: