The Upstate is the region in northwestern South Carolina, United States, also known as The Upcountry,[1] which is the historical term. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the commerce-rich I-85 corridor in the northwest corner of South Carolina. The region's population was 1,362,073 at the 2010 Census,[2]. The Upstate is the fastest growing region in the state, and given its strategic position between Atlanta and Charlotte, future development and growth prospects are bright. After BMW's initial investment, foreign companies especially from Germany have made a substantial presence in the Upstate, and several large corporations have established regional, national, or continental headquarters in the region. Greenville is the largest city in the region and the base of most commercial activity. Spartanburg is the second largest city in the region. The third largest city in the region is Anderson.
Contents |
There are ten counties 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[2] |
July 1, 2009 Population Estimate.[3] |
Area (Sq. Mi.) |
| Abbeville County | 1785 | Abbeville | 25,417 | 25,098 | 511 |
| Anderson County | 1826 | Anderson | 187,126 | 184,901 | 757 |
| Cherokee County | 1897 | Gaffney | 55,342 | 54,714 | 397 |
| Greenville County | 1786 | Greenville | 451,225 | 451,428 | 795 |
| Greenwood County | 1897 | Greenwood | 69,661 | 69,671 | 463 |
| Laurens County | 1785 | Laurens | 66,537 | 70,045 | 724 |
| Oconee County | 1868 | Walhalla | 74,273 | 71,514 | 674 |
| Pickens County | 1868 | Pickens | 119,224 | 118,144 | 512 |
| Spartanburg County | 1785 | Spartanburg | 284,307 | 286,822 | 819 |
| Union County | 1798 | Union | 28,961 | 27,362 | 516 |
| Total | 1,362,073 | 1,359,699 | 6,168 | ||
There is a total of three Metropolitan Statistical Areas and four Micropolitan Statistical Areas. The larger Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson Combined Statistical Area includes all three metropolitan areas and three out of the four micropolitan areas (excluding Greenwood). One county, Abbeville, is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan area.
As of the 2010 Census, the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson CSA had a population of 1,266,995.
The following population rankings are based on the 2010 Census[2]
The primary cities in the upstate area are Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson.
Cities: Greenwood, Greer, Mauldin
CDP's: Taylors, Wade Hampton
Cities: Clemson, Easley, Gaffney, and Simpsonville . If students from Clemson University are included, Clemson has close to 30,000 residents.
CDP's: Berea, Five Forks, Gantt, Parker
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:
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 | 17,585 |
| Converse College | Private Senior | 1,938 |
| Erskine College | Private Senior | 600 |
| Furman University | Private Senior | 2,660 |
| Greenville Technical College | Public Technical | 14,338 |
| 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 |
| 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-Upstate | Public Senior | 4,851 |
| University of South Carolina-Union | Public Two-Year | 363 |
| Wofford College | Private Senior | 1,350 |
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. Additionally, the Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery constitutes the largest collection of religious art in the Western Hemisphere. [1]
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 Wachovia and Bank of America. 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.
The following corporations have a major presence in the Upstate: Adidas, Bank of America, Bi-Lo, BMW of North America, Bon Secours St. Francis Health System [2], Bosch North America, Bowater, SunTrust, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Charter Communications, Denny's Restaurants, Dunlop Slazenger Group, Ernst & Young, Fluor Corporation, Freightliner LLC, GE Power Systems, Greenville Hospital System [3], IBM, Liberty Corporation, Mary Black Health System, Michelin of North America, Microsoft, Milliken & Co., Perrigo Company of South Carolina, and Spartanburg Regional Health System.
• BMW's only North American manufacturing plant is located in Spartanburg County, with an investment of $3.7 billion. [4]
• Fuji Film located their first manufacturing facility in the U.S. in Greenwood County. [5]
• Michelin of North America has five manufacturing plants and their R&D facility located in the Upstate. [6]
• Walgreens has their southeastern distribution center located in Anderson County, which employs mentally handicapped workers as nearly 40% of their workforce. [7]
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.
The Upstate region is served by 3 regional newspapers: The Greenville News, the (Spartanburg) 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:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||