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Greenville County, South Carolina | |
Former Greenville County Courthouse (now a bookstore and office space)
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Location in the state of South Carolina | |
South Carolina's location in the U.S. | |
Founded | March 22, 1786 |
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Seat | Greenville |
Largest city | Greenville |
Largest city | Greenville |
Area - Total - Land - Water |
795 sq mi (2,059 km²) 785 sq mi (2,033 km²) 9.7 sq mi (25 km²), 1.2% |
Population - Density |
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Congressional districts | 3rd, 4th |
Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
Website | www.greenvillecounty.org |

Official logo of Greenville County
Greenville County is located in the state of South Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 451,225,[1] making it the most populous county in the state. In 2019, the estimated population of the county was 523,542. Its county seat is Greenville.[2] The county is also home to the Greenville County School District, the largest school system in South Carolina. County government is headquartered at Greenville County Square.
Greenville County is the most populous county in Upstate South Carolina, as well as in the State of South Carolina. It is the central county of the Greenville-Anderson, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Combined Statistical Area.
Geography[]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 795 square miles (2,060 km2), of which 785 square miles (2,030 km2) is land and 9.7 square miles (25 km2) (1.2%) is water.[3]
Adjacent counties[]
- Henderson County, North Carolina – north
- Polk County, North Carolina – northeast
- Spartanburg County – east
- Laurens County – southeast
- Abbeville County – south
- Anderson County – southwest
- Pickens County – west
- Transylvania County, North Carolina – northwest
Demographics[]
Historical populations | |||
---|---|---|---|
Census | Pop. | %± | |
1790 | 6,503 | ||
1800 | 11,504 | 76.9% | |
1810 | 13,133 | 14.2% | |
1820 | 14,530 | 10.6% | |
1830 | 16,476 | 13.4% | |
1840 | 17,839 | 8.3% | |
1850 | 20,156 | 13.0% | |
1860 | 21,892 | 8.6% | |
1870 | 22,262 | 1.7% | |
1880 | 37,496 | 68.4% | |
1890 | 44,310 | 18.2% | |
1900 | 53,490 | 20.7% | |
1910 | 68,377 | 27.8% | |
1920 | 88,498 | 29.4% | |
1930 | 117,009 | 32.2% | |
1940 | 136,580 | 16.7% | |
1950 | 168,152 | 23.1% | |
1960 | 209,776 | 24.8% | |
1970 | 240,546 | 14.7% | |
1980 | 287,913 | 19.7% | |
1990 | 320,167 | 11.2% | |
2000 | 379,616 | 18.6% | |
2010 | 451,225 | 18.9% | |
Est. 2020 | 532,486 | [4] | 40.3% |
U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1790–1960[6] 1900–1990[7] 1990–2000[8] 2010–2015[9] |
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 451,225 people, 176,531 households, and 119,362 families residing in the county.[10] The population density was 574.7 inhabitants per square mile (221.9 /km2). There were 195,462 housing units at an average density of 249.0 per square mile (96.1 /km2).[11] The racial makeup of the county was 73.8% white, 18.1% black or African American, 2.0% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 3.9% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.1% of the population.[10] In terms of ancestry, 13.0% were American, 11.6% were German, 10.9% were English, and 10.7% were Irish.[12]
Of the 176,531 households, 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.4% were non-families, and 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 37.2 years.[10]
The median income for a household in the county was $46,830 and the median income for a family was $59,043. Males had a median income of $45,752 versus $33,429 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,931. About 10.8% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.[13]
Racial composition | 2010 | 2019 |
---|---|---|
White | 73.8% | 76.3% |
Black | 18.1% | 18.4% |
Asian | 2.0% | 2.7% |
Native American | 0.3% | 0.5% |
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander |
0.1% | 0.1% |
Two or more races | 1.9% | 2.0% |
Other | 3.8% | 0.0% |
2016[]
As of 2016 the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Greenville County, South Carolina are:[15]
Largest ancestries (2016) | Percent |
---|---|
English | 12.9% |
German | 11.0% |
Irish | 10.2% |
American | 9.9% |
Scots-Irish | 3.1% |
Italian | 3.1% |
Scottish | 2.9% |
French | 2.2% |
Polish | 1.5% |
Dutch | 1.2% |
Welsh | 0.7% |
Swedish | 0.7% |
Norwegian | 0.6% |
Economy[]
CommunityWorks Federal Credit Union was chartered in 2014 to serve the residents of Greenville County. It is sponsored by CommunityWorks, Inc., a non-profit community development financial institution, and receives assistance from the United Way of Greenville County and the Hollingsworth Fund.[16]
Communities[]
The 2010 Census lists six cities and 16 census designated places that are fully or partially within Greenville County.[17]
Cities[]
- Fountain Inn (partly in Laurens County)
- Greenville
- Greer (partly in Spartanburg County)
- Mauldin
- Simpsonville
- Travelers Rest
Census-designated places[]
- Berea
- Caesars Head
- City View
- Conestee
- Dunean
- Five Forks
- Gantt
- Golden Grove
- Judson
- Parker
- Piedmont (partly in Anderson County)
- Sans Souci
- Slater-Marietta
- Taylors
- The Cliffs Valley
- Tigerville
- Wade Hampton
- Ware Place
- Welcome
Other unincorporated communities[]
- Batesville
- Cleveland
Government and politics[]
Greenville County is governed by a 12-member county council. The current county administrator is Joseph Kernell, whom the council appointed in January 2004 after voting in late 2003 to hire him. Kernell was previously the county administrator for St. Charles County, Missouri. Other staff hired by the council include a clerk and an attorney.[18][19]
Council members are elected by voters in each of the twelve state legislative districts (17–28) within the county and serve staggered four-year terms.[20]
District | Name/party[21][22] | Home[23] | Elected |
---|---|---|---|
17 | Joe Dill | Landrum | 1998[24] |
18 | Michael F. Barnes | Greer | 2016[25][26] |
19 | Willis Meadows (chair) | Greenville | 2006[27] |
20 | Steve Shaw | Travelers Rest | 2020[28] |
21 | Chris Harrison | Greer | 2020[28] |
22 | Stan Tzouvelekas | Greenville | 2020[28] |
23 | Xanthene Norris (chair pro tem) | Greenville | 1997[29] |
24 | Liz Seman | Greenville | 2008[30] |
25 | Ennis M. Fant Jr | Greenville | 2016[31] (1984)[32] |
26 | Lynn Ballard | Pelzer | 2014[33] |
27 | Butch Kirven | Simpsonville | 2004[34] |
28 | Dan Tripp (vice chair) | Mauldin | 2018[35] |
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 150,021 | 58.11% | 103,030 | 39.91% | 5,104 | 1.98% |
2016 | 127,832 | 59.41% | 74,483 | 34.62% | 12,850 | 5.97% |
2012 | 121,685 | 62.99% | 68,070 | 35.23% | 3,434 | 1.78% |
2008 | 116,363 | 61.03% | 70,886 | 37.18% | 3,408 | 1.79% |
2004 | 111,481 | 66.03% | 55,347 | 32.78% | 2,005 | 1.19% |
2000 | 92,714 | 66.09% | 43,810 | 31.23% | 3,769 | 2.69% |
1996 | 71,210 | 59.13% | 41,605 | 34.55% | 7,605 | 6.32% |
1992 | 65,066 | 57.12% | 34,651 | 30.42% | 14,190 | 12.46% |
1988 | 67,371 | 70.82% | 27,188 | 28.58% | 567 | 0.60% |
1984 | 66,766 | 73.07% | 24,137 | 26.42% | 466 | 0.51% |
1980 | 46,168 | 57.41% | 32,135 | 39.96% | 2,112 | 2.63% |
1976 | 39,099 | 51.46% | 35,943 | 47.31% | 939 | 1.24% |
1972 | 46,360 | 79.62% | 10,143 | 17.42% | 1,726 | 2.96% |
1968 | 31,652 | 52.91% | 12,928 | 21.61% | 15,241 | 25.48% |
1964 | 29,358 | 62.96% | 17,275 | 37.04% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 22,657 | 61.85% | 13,976 | 38.15% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 10,752 | 39.54% | 11,819 | 43.46% | 4,622 | 17.00% |
1952 | 17,743 | 54.42% | 14,863 | 45.58% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 789 | 8.33% | 2,745 | 28.97% | 5,940 | 62.70% |
1944 | 711 | 8.78% | 7,107 | 87.81% | 276 | 3.41% |
1940 | 514 | 5.95% | 8,118 | 94.05% | 0 | 0.00% |
1936 | 92 | 1.09% | 8,310 | 98.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
1932 | 126 | 1.56% | 7,930 | 98.41% | 2 | 0.02% |
1928 | 546 | 11.71% | 4,116 | 88.25% | 2 | 0.04% |
1924 | 59 | 1.54% | 3,728 | 97.36% | 42 | 1.10% |
1920 | 144 | 3.16% | 4,409 | 96.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
1916 | 81 | 2.31% | 3,384 | 96.66% | 36 | 1.03% |
1912 | 0 | 0.00% | 3,140 | 98.28% | 55 | 1.72% |
1908 | 176 | 5.90% | 2,774 | 92.93% | 35 | 1.17% |
1904 | 66 | 2.58% | 2,489 | 97.42% | 0 | 0.00% |
1900 | 47 | 2.58% | 1,777 | 97.42% | 0 | 0.00% |
1896 | 288 | 9.47% | 2,718 | 89.38% | 35 | 1.15% |
1892 | 600 | 16.28% | 3,026 | 82.09% | 60 | 1.63% |
From the latter half of the 20th century onward, Greenville County has voted overwhelmingly Republican in presidential elections. It has gone Republican in every presidential election since 1960, and in all but one election since 1952. Even Jimmy Carter of neighboring Georgia failed to win the county in 1976 despite winning the state. To date, Carter's two runs are the last times that a Democrat has managed even 40 percent of the county's vote, and one of only two official Democratic candidates to do so since 1948. In 2020, Joe Biden became the first Democrat to obtain over 100,000 votes in the county, and Donald Trump's 18.2 percent margin of victory was the lowest for any Republican since 1980. Biden came within a few votes of being only the second Democrat in 72 years to win 40 percent of the county's vote.
The county also rejects Democrats at the state level; it was one of the first areas of the state where Republicans were able to break the long Democratic monopoly on state and local offices.
See also[]
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Greenville County, South Carolina
References[]
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/45/45045.html.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx.
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_45.txt.
- ^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/research/evaluation-estimates/2020-evaluation-estimates/2010s-counties-total.html.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu.
- ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/sc190090.txt.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf.
- ^ "Greenville County, South Carolina". US Census. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/45/45045.html.
- ^ a b c "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/0500000US45045.
- ^ "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 – County". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTPH1.CY07/0500000US45045.
- ^ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US45045.
- ^ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006–2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP03/0500000US45045.
- ^ "Greenville County, South Carolina". Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/45045.
- ^ "Archived copy". https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/DP02/0500000US45045.
- ^ Birch, Ray (April 3, 2014). "CommunityWorks FCU Is First New CU Charter Of The Year". Credit Union Journal. http://www.cujournal.com/news/communityworks-fcu-is-first-new-cu-charter-of-the-year-1022397-1.html?ET=cujournal%3Ae95261%3Aa%3A&st=email.
- ^ See http://factfinder.census.gov Archived 2020-02-12 at archive.today [1] [2] for population numbers and for municipality and CDP lists in the 2010 Census.
- ^ Mitchell, Anna B. (January 30, 2019). "Greenville County Council wants to review county administrator's $280K annual contract". https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/money/2019/01/30/greenville-county-ems-crisis-council-members-demand-transparency/2703803002/.
- ^ "County Administrator". https://www.greenvillecounty.org/Administrator/.
- ^ a b "County Council". https://www.greenvillecounty.org/Council/.
- ^ "Candidate filing for November 2020". June 25, 2020. https://www.greenvillecounty.org/VoterRegistration/pdf/2020Candidatefile.pdf.
- ^ "Record absentee votes recorded as polls open today". Greer Today. November 6, 2018. http://greertoday.com/greer-sc/record-absentee-votes-recorded-as-polls-open-today/2018/11/06/.
- ^ "County Council Member Information". https://www.greenvillecounty.org/Council/ContactInfo.aspx.
- ^ "Joe Dill, District 17". https://www.greenvillecounty.org/Council/CouncilMember.aspx?m=JoeDill. "originally elected to office in November 1998"
- ^ Coyne, Amanda (May 29, 2016). "Three Greenville County Council districts headed to primary elections". The Greenville News. https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/05/29/three-greenville-county-council-districts-headed-primary-elections/84985406/. "Barnes will face off in a rematch of the 2012 Republican primary. In that race, Barnes won the election but was later kicked off the ballot"
- ^ Coyne, Amanda (November 9, 2016). "Greenville County Council incumbents, primary victors win". The Greenville News. https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2016/11/08/greenville-county-council-incumbents-primary-victors-win/93484236/. "Mike Barnes ... was also unopposed after winning his primary in June"
- ^ "Willis Meadows, District 19". https://www.greenvillecounty.org/Council/CouncilMember.aspx?m=WillisMeadows. "Elected in November 2006"
- ^ a b c Maxwell, Anne (January 5, 2021). "Willis Meadows elected chair of Greenville County Council". WSPA-TV. https://www.wspa.com/news/local-news/willis-meadows-elected-chair-of-greenville-county-council/.
- ^ "Xanthene Norris, Chairman Pro Tem, District 23". https://www.greenvillecounty.org/Council/CouncilMember.aspx?m=XantheneNorris. "elected for five terms since 1997"
- ^ "Liz Seman, District 24". https://www.greenvillecounty.org/Council/CouncilMember.aspx?m=LizSeman. "first elected in 2008 to represent District 24"
- ^ "Greenville County SC Councilman In Hot Water Over Taxes". FITSNews. May 17, 2019. https://www.fitsnews.com/2019/05/17/greenville-county-sc-councilman-in-hot-water-over-taxes/. "since returning to public life in 2016"
- ^ Coyne, Amanda (May 29, 2016). "Three Greenville County Council districts headed to primary elections". The Greenville News. https://eu.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/05/29/three-greenville-county-council-districts-headed-primary-elections/84985406/. "Fant served on Greenville County Council from 1984 to 1988"
- ^ Welch, Stan (August 20, 2014). "Piedmont Public Service District report". The Journal (Piedmont, South Carolina). http://thejournalonline.com/2014/08/20/piedmont-public-service-district-report/. "Newly elected Greenville County Councilman Lynn Ballard"
- ^ Cary, Nathaniel (October 7, 2020). "Greenville County Council candidate accuses council of mishandling coronavirus pandemic". The Post and Courier (Greenville). https://www.postandcourier.com/greenville/business/greenville-county-council-candidate-accuses-council-of-mishandling-coronavirus-pandemic/article_e44657b6-0903-11eb-a78b-97397cad5155.html. "Kirven ... has served on the council since 2004"
- ^ "Dan Tripp, District 28". Greenville County, South Carolina. https://www.greenvillecounty.org/Council/CouncilMember.aspx?m=DanTripp. "Tripp was elected in November of 2018"
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS.
External links[]
- Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC)
Geographic data related to Greenville County, South Carolina at OpenStreetMap
- Greenville County History and Images
Template:Greenville, South Carolina
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