Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Greenville grades D overall, 242nd of 286 graded towns in North Carolina, mostly because of safety. Its police reported 426 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 89% of U.S. towns. What it does well: it is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns. 46% of working residents work locally in Greenville, against 6.8% in North Carolina’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Only 40 of North Carolina’s 450 towns score lower on cost of living. Its National Register listings include Pitt County Courthouse and Robert Lee Humber House.
Where Greenville beats most towns.
Pitt County Courthouse| College | Students |
|---|---|
| East Carolina University | 18,856 |
Census counts: 1,893 in 1850, a low of 601 in 1870, 87,521 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1903 on.
16 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Greenville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Greenville, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Greenville.
Greenville is shaped by its college students, draws workers from Winterville and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
29 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. Greenville’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Wildwood Park, 122 acres with 3.8 miles of trail.
| Greenville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.7% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wildwood Park | 3.8 mi | 122 |
| 2. Town Common | 0.7 mi | 16 |
| 3. South Tar River Greenway | 0.6 mi | 116 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Pitt County Schools. Three of its 27 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 833 | B |
| South CentralLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,738 | B |
| Innovation Early College HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 227 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
56,958 jobs are based in Greenville, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 18.8 minutes, against 25.1 across North Carolina.
25% of residents live below the poverty line in Greenville. Jobs based in Greenville grew to 56,958 in 2023, 6,318 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Greenville is 19 minutes.
| Greenville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 25% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 3,363 to 2,689 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Greenville reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 89% report less. Within North Carolina, it does better than 35% of towns.
| Greenville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 3.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 23.5 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
23.4% of residents are enrolled in college, against 6.4% statewide, which pulls the median age down. Only 32.7% of households own their home, against 66.6% across North Carolina.
Adults 18 to 34 are 42% of residents (23% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 28% of residents (38% statewide). 11% of Greenville residents are 65 or older. Greenville has grown 8% since 2020, to 96,443 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Greenville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 27.3 years | 40.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 11% | 18% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
54.3% women, 45.7% men
About 84 men for every 100 women. Across North Carolina, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 28.1, men 26.7.
| Greenville | NC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.1% | 11.6% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.7% | 10.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 26.8% | 9.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.2% | 13.4% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.6% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.3% | 12.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.1% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 6.7% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.4% | 6.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.5% | 24.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.9% | 19.6% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.6% | 10.1% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.3% | 22.2% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.8% | 13.5% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Only 4 of the 290 North Carolina towns we compare have a lower share of households owning their home than Greenville. The typical Greenville home is worth about $236,000, up 0.8% in a year, 29% below the North Carolina typical home.
| Greenville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 33% | 67% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 49% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,007 a month | $1,086 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
503 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 21 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 503 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Greenville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Greenville has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 32° and about 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 5,705 U.S. towns with household incomes like Greenville’s, it is healthier than 90%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Greenville beats the North Carolina average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8.
| Greenville | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Greenville | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.6% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 12.1% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Greenville
College town 23 of every 100 Greenville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
16 places in Greenville on the National Register of Historic Places.
34 notable people were born in Greenville.
City in North Carolina, United States
Greenville ( GREEN-vil; locally GREEN-vəl) is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 87,521. Greenville's estimated 2025 population is 96,184. It is the principal city of the Greenville, N.C., Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the 12th-most populous city in North Carolina. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain. The city has been experiencing an economic and population boom since the 1990s. Many major companies have moved their regional, national, and international headquarters to Greenville. Companies include Grady-White Boat…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Greenville.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville | #242 | D | C− | D | C+ | B− |
| Winterville | #132 | C+ | D | B+ | C+ | A− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Greenville grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #242 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B− for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Within North Carolina, it does better than 35% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
34 notable people were born here, including Lee Norris and Billy Taylor.
