The Upstate is the region in the westernmost part of

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, United States, also known as the Upcountry, which is the historical term. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the commerce-rich

I-85 corridor Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, n ...

in the northwest corner of South Carolina. This definition coincided with the Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson, SC

combined statistical area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

, as first defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 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 Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, the Upstate is the geographical center of the Charlanta megaregion. 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 Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offi ...

and

Anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

are next in population.

Counties

Ten counties are included in the Upstate of South Carolina: Greenville,

, Pickens, Oconee, Greenwood, Laurens,

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

Metropolitan, micropolitan, and combined statistical areas

As of 2018, the Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson CSA includes all counties in the Upstate except for Abbeville County. Within the CSA are a total of two

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

s and four 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 CensusSee http://factfinder.census.gov for population numbers and for municipality and CDP lists.

Primary cities

Greenville,

, and

The OMB labels all these cities as principal cities in their respective MSAs.

Other communities with at least 20,000 residents

Cities: Greenwood, Greer, and Mauldin In the 2016 Census population estimate, the cities of Easley and Simpsonville have populations that exceed 20,000. The OMB labelled Mauldin and Easley as principal cities from 2015 to 2018. CDPs:

Taylors Taylors is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 21,617 at the 2010 census. Taylors is the Greenville/Spartanburg area's largest suburb although it is not incorporated as a city. ...

Wade Hampton Wade Hampton may refer to the following people: People *Wade Hampton I (1752–1835), American soldier in Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and U.S. congressman *Wade Hampton II (1791–1858), American plantation owner and soldier in War of 1812 *W ...

Communities with more than 10,000 residents

Cities: Clemson and Gaffney. If students from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

are included, Clemson has close to 30,000 residents. CDP's: Berea, Five Forks, Gantt,

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado * Parker, Florida * Parker, Idaho * Parker, Kansas * Parker, Missouri * Parker, North Carolina *Park ...

Communities with fewer than 10,000 residents

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. CDPs:

Institutions of higher education

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.

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 The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...

and the now-defunct

Wachovia Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asse ...

. 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 Bausch + Lomb is an eye health products company based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of contact lenses, lens care products, pharmaceuticals, intraocular lenses, and other eye surgery products. The compan ...

has set up regional operations alongside smaller recently developed local companies such as IRIX Manufacturing and Pharmaceutical Associates. The Upstate is also home to a large number 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.

, BMW, IBM,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

, and

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

have combined their resources to create

Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research The Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) is a automotive and motorsports research campus in Greenville, South Carolina. The facility includes a graduate school offering Master's and Doctoral degrees in automo ...

, a research park that specializes in the development of automotive technology.

Corporations based in or with a major presence in the Upstate

These corporations have a major presence in the Upstate:

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

Advance America Advance America may refer to: * Advance America (advocacy group), a political lobbying organization in Indiana * A payday loan provider in the United States owned by Grupo Elektra Grupo Elektra is a Mexican financial and retailing corporation es ...

, BMW of North America
Bon Secours St. Francis Health SystemBosch North America
Denny's, Denny's Restaurants,

Dunlop Sport Dunlop Sport is a British sports equipment manufacturing company established in 1910 that focuses on racquet sports, more specifically tennis, squash, padel and badminton. Products by Dunlop Sport include rackets, strings, balls, shuttlecocks, ...

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

Fluor Corporation Fluor Corporation is an American multinational engineering and construction firm headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a holding company that provides services through its subsidiaries in the following areas: oil and gas, industrial and infrastru ...

, Freightliner
GE Power SystemsPrisma Health
IBM
Kemet CorporationLiberty Corporation
Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System
Michelin of North America

Milliken & Company Milliken & Company is an American industrial manufacturer that has been in business since 1865. With corporate headquarters located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the company is active across a breadth of disciplines including specialty chemica ...

,
Spartanburg Regional Health SystemSpectrum CommunicationsSunTrust

Ovation Brands VitaNova Brands, based in San Antonio, Texas, was an operator of a number of American national buffet chain restaurants including subsidiary company Furr's. All of their Old Country Buffet, HomeTown Buffet, Ryan's Buffet, and Curry House locatio ...

Perrigo Company of South Carolina

Techtronic Industries Techtronic Industries Company Limited (TTI Group or TTI) is a Hong Kong-based, multinational company that designs, produces, and markets power tools; outdoor power equipment; hand tools, and floor care appliances. It pioneered cordless power too ...

Toronto-Dominion Bank
and

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

. • BMW's only North American manufacturing plant is located in Spartanburg County, with an investment of $3.7 billion. •

Fujifilm , trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals. The offerings from th ...

located their first manufacturing facility in the U.S. in Greenwood County. • 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. • Walgreens has their southeastern distribution center located in Anderson County, which employs mentally disabled workers as nearly 40% of their workforce.http://www.mmh.com/article/CA6466542.html

Transportation

The Upstate is served by two major interstate highways,

I-85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 65, I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with Interstate 95, I ...

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 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 10 counties of the commerc ...

, located nearly halfway between Greenville and Spartanburg in suburban Greer. Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Clemson, Pickens, Union, and Gaffney each have smaller airfields.

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

service along the Crescent Line stops in Spartanburg, Greenville, and Clemson.

Media

The Upstate region is served by three regional newspapers: ''

The Greenville News ''The Greenville News'' is a daily morning newspaper published in Greenville, South Carolina. After ''The State'' in Columbia and Charleston's ''The Post and Courier'', it is the third largest paper in South Carolina. History ''The Greenville N ...

'', the (Spartanburg) '' Herald-Journal'', and the ''

Anderson Independent-Mail The ''Anderson Independent-Mail'', marketed as ''Independent Mail'' and sometimes referred to as ''Anderson Independent Mail'', is a newspaper for Anderson County in the state of South Carolina. It is owned by GANNETT SATELLITE INFORMATION NETWO ...

'', each of which serves its individual city and surrounding area. The Upstate is part of the vastly larger Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson-

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

designated market area A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

, which extends into

western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United S ...

and northeastern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. These television stations serve the region: *

WYFF WYFF (channel 4) is a television station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States, serving Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina as an affiliate of NBC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Ruther ...

Channel 4 – Greenville (

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

) *

WSPA-TV WSPA-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States, serving Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Asheville, North C ...

Channel 7 – Spartanburg (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

) *

WLOS-TV WLOS (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Asheville, North Carolina, United States, broadcasting ABC and MyNetworkTV programming to Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which pr ...

Channel 13 – Asheville, North Carolina (

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

) *

WGGS-TV WGGS-TV (channel 16) is a religious independent television station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States, serving Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina. Owned by Carolina Christian Broadcasting, it is sister to Hender ...

Channel 16 – Greenville ( TBN) *

WHNS WHNS (channel 21), branded on air as Fox Carolina, is a television station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States, broadcasting Fox network programming to Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina. Owned by Gray Television, ...

Channel 21 – Greenville (

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

) * WNTV Channel 29 – Greenville (

SCETV South Carolina Educational Television (branded as South Carolina ETV, SCETV or simply ETV) is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member television stations serving the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is owned and operated b ...

) * WUNF-TV Channel 33 – Asheville (

UNC-TV The University of North Carolina Center for Public Media, branded on-air as PBS North Carolina or commonly PBS NC, is a public television network serving the state of North Carolina. It is operated by the University of North Carolina system, whic ...

) *

WMYA-TV WMYA-TV (channel 40) is a television station licensed to Anderson, South Carolina, United States, broadcasting the digital multicast network Dabl to Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina. It is owned by Cunningham Broadcasting and o ...

Channel 40 – Anderson ( MNTV) *

WYCW WYCW (channel 62) is a television station licensed to Asheville, North Carolina, United States, serving as the CW outlet for Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. It is owned and operated by network majority owner Nexstar Media Gro ...

Channel 62 – Asheville ( CW)

References

External links

The Upcountry website
– Six Upstate counties form the "Upcountry" tourism region
South Carolina Appalachian Council of Governments
– This council of governments covers the "Upcountry" counties.
Old 96 Distrist
– Three Upstate counties form a part of the Old 96 District tourism region. * Union County is one of the seven counties in th
Olde English District

Ten at the Top
– A

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...