Upstate South Carolina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Greenville CSA
CSA
Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area
Greenville Spartanburg
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	United States
State	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

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.

Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Combined Statistical Areas

Greenville CSA
CSA
Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area
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
Country	United States
State	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.

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 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 University Memorial Stadium

Furman University Belltower

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

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.