Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Greenville grades C+ overall, 71st among South Carolina's 167 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools outperform 85% of the state's and residents are healthier than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On the other side, it reports more crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, including 350 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. 38% of working residents work locally in Greenville, above both the South Carolina town median (6.1%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Only 4 of South Carolina’s 262 towns score higher on walkability. Its National Register listings include Parker High School Auditorium and Stradley and Barr Dry Goods Store.
Where Greenville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Parker High School Auditorium
Parker High School Auditorium is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its 54 National Register listings are more than in 98% of South Carolina towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,305 in 1850, 70,720 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1812 and 4 maps from 1938 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Greenville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Greenville. Close and well known come first.
29 mi Stadium & arenaMemorial Stadium, Clemson
in town Stadium & arenaBon Secours Wellness Arena
38 mi LakeLake Hartwell
30 mi LakeLake Keowee
33 mi LakeLake Jocasseein town Zoo & aquariumGreenville ZooMemorial Stadium, Clemson: Caseyh at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bon Secours Wellness Arena: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas, CC BY 2.0 · Lake Hartwell: blahedo, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Lake Keowee: Inundated_38Oc1.jpg: Matthew T. Bradley from Berkshire County, Mass., USA deriva, CC BY 2.0 · Lake Jocassee: Clemson3564, Public domain
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 Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Greenville.
Greenville draws workers from Greer and beyond, has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of South Carolina.
For Greenville, the concentration of trails is 0.9 miles per square mile. Trails total 29 miles in 47 parks and preserves. Conestee Nature Preserve, at 300 acres with 4.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Greenville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.8% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Conestee Nature Preserve | 4.8 mi | 300 |
| 2. Cleveland Park | 3 mi | 113 |
| 3. Green Forest Park | 1.2 mi | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
That grade comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $329K.
Three of its 40 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The public schools here belong to the Greenville 01 school district. The 6 public schools in Greenville teach 4,351 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hughes Academy of Science and TechnologyLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 999 | B− |
| J. L. Mann High AcademyLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,013 | A |
| Greenville Technical Charter High SchoolTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 530 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
117,328 jobs are based in Greenville, 3.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 19 minutes, against 25.6 across South Carolina.
About one worker in three stays in Greenville for work. The town’s average commute stands at 19 minutes. Jobs based in Greenville grew to 117,328 in 2023, 22,339 more than in 2013. In Greenville, 16% of workers work from home.
| Greenville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 16% | 8.6% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 3,170 to 2,488 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Greenville’s level of property crime comes in at 28.5 per 1,000 residents. Within South Carolina, it does better than 38% of towns.
| Greenville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 28.5 per 1,000 residents | 21.1 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 3.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
For adults 18 to 64 in Greenville, the share who have no health insurance is 10%. Of 32 CDC measures, Greenville beats the South Carolina average on 17 and trails it on 2.
| Greenville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 40% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 15% | 12% |
| What stands out | Greenville | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 5.3% | 7.5% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5% | 6.8% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 76.6% | 80.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 89°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 93% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 32.6°.
About 2 inches of snow falls in a winter. In Greenville, the July high is 89°F.
| Greenville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 33°F | 34°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Greenville’s natural-hazard score from FEMA is 36 of 100. Flood insurance has paid out on 112 claims in the town since 1978. FEMA puts nearly three fifths of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 12% to tornadoes. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 7 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $2,630, against $1,251 across South Carolina, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 1.6%. Among households in Greenville, 41% live in a home they own. A home in Greenville typically sold within 51 days of listing.
| Greenville | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 41% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,312 a month | $1,058 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4 within 15 miles of the center of Greenville
About 9 of every 100 Greenville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
58,409 counted in 2010 and 70,720 in 2020; an estimated 75,310 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 5.9% since 2020, after 21.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
54 places in Greenville on the National Register of Historic Places.
35 notable people were born in Greenville.
City in South Carolina, United States
Greenville ( GREEN-vil, locally GREEN-vəl) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It is the sixth-most populous city in South Carolina with a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, while the Greenville metropolitan area has an estimated 997,000 residents and is the largest metropolitan area in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway between Atlanta and Charlotte along I-85; its metro area also includes I-185 and I-385. It is the anchor city of Upstate South Carolina, an economic and cultural region in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with an estimated population of 1.63 million. Greenville was established in 1797 and inc…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Greenville.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville | #71 | C+ | D | D | A | A− |
| Gantt | #83 | C+ | B | — | A | D |
| Wade Hampton | #5 | A | B− | — | A | A− |
| Parker | #76 | C+ | B | — | A | D− |
| Dunean | #62 | B− | B− | — | A | C− |
| City View | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Conestee | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Judson | #97 | C | B | — | A | D− |
Gantt, Wade Hampton, Parker, Dunean and Judson report no FBI crime data of their own. City View and Conestee aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Greenville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Greenville grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #71 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades A− for health, D for safety and A for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Within South Carolina, it does better than 38% 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 D.
35 notable people were born here, including Charles Hard Townes and Jesse Jackson.
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