Greenwood County, SC

County Profile

69,489 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Greenwood County, SC.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

61out of 100
Area Score
Top 44% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity952nd of 1,463 counties measured47
Schools1,175th of 1,377 counties measured21
GrowthTop 9% of 1,453 counties measured75
Housing affordability781st of 1,462 counties measured73
ClimateTop 17% of 1,463 counties measured76
Physical resilienceTop 27% of 1,463 counties measured75
Access845th of 1,463 counties measured77
Economic stability1,067th of 1,463 counties measured42
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.9% and median household income $52,830, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 38% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.5 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 382 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 56% on the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
69,489
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$52,830
Bottom 19% nationally
Density
153/sq mi
455.6 sq mi of land
Median age
40.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Greenwood County
South Carolina
Micro area
Nearest major airport
GYH
44 mi · Donaldson Fld
Median home value
$180,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.9% — higher than in all but 24% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 0.7% over the past year, to 27,388 employed residents.

Median household income of $52,830 is lower than in 81% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$59,90553rd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$51,50629th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,1422024 ACS 5-Year$52,830Bottom 19%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,2432024 ACS 5-Year$31,408Bottom 32%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$46,727Bottom 12%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.1%Bottom 42%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.0 minTop 25%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year24.7%Top 39%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.9%93rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202627,388Bottom 43%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+3.3%Top 17%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.7%Top 26%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202628,79643rd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year73.0%Bottom 38%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%36th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.1%Top 9%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.9%Bottom 24%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year4.1%10th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.22.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.9% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202453k45k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $52,830 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 43% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.5 students for every full-time teacher across 20 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
21
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.5
across 20 of them
Math proficiency
38.1%
Bottom 9% in South Carolina
Reading proficiency
43.0%
Bottom 9% in South Carolina
The 12 largest of 21 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Greenwood HighGreenwood 501,72418.033%45%
Emerald HighGreenwood 5088716.732%57%
Westview MiddleGreenwood 5069215.437%37%
Dr. Benjamin E. Mays ElementaryGreenwood 5068015.544%40%
Brewer MiddleGreenwood 5060011.533%34%
Northside MiddleGreenwood 5059312.628%28%
Merrywood ElementaryGreenwood 5056212.547%40%
Eleanor S. Rice ElementaryGreenwood 5053513.036%31%
Mathews ElementaryGreenwood 5052911.527%32%
Woodfields ElementaryGreenwood 5052111.632%35%
Greenwood Charter Academy · charterCharter Institute at Erskine43211.4——
Lakeview ElementaryGreenwood 5042610.945%43%

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against South Carolina’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of South Carolina is up 59% over five years, and up 5.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $964 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.53% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $934, close to the $898 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $934 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $37,400 a year, about 71% of the median household income here of $52,830.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $898 a month.

A median home at $180,500 costs 2.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $67,527, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
30.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$934
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$898
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$180,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Greenwood County’s median household income of $52,830, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of South Carolina’s figure2026 Q2+5.1%75th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of South Carolina’s figure2026 Q2+58.5%95th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of South Carolina’s figure2026 Q2+108.1%74th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.7Bottom 41%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year67.0%20th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±882024 ACS 5-Year31,70275th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$757Top 16%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,135Top 6%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$934Top 12%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$362024 ACS 5-Year$898Bottom 45%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,7572024 ACS 5-Year$180,50049th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$342024 ACS 5-Year$96422nd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,1362024 ACS 5-Year$67,527Bottom 29%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.53%20th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year30.0%Bottom 28%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2712024 ACS 5-Year88371st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.8%51st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.3%51st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±4842024 ACS 5-Year3,81873rd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

75/ 100
Top 9% of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 70,041 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 382 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Greenwood County gained about 0.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $59,905, above the $51,506 of households that moved out.

At 5.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
382
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
5.5
Top 25% nationally
Year over year
+56%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202470k69k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 3 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
40%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$59,905
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$51,506
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Greenville County, SC 299 people · 11% of arrivals
  2. Abbeville County, SC 292 people · 10% of arrivals
  3. Laurens County, SC 254 people · 9.1% of arrivals
  4. Anderson County, SC 112 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  5. Spartanburg County, SC 88 people · 3.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Greenville County, SC 329 people · 14% of departures
  2. Abbeville County, SC 272 people · 11% of departures
  3. Laurens County, SC 236 people · 9.8% of departures
  4. Anderson County, SC 144 people · 6.0% of departures
  5. Spartanburg County, SC 80 people · 3.3% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202531062
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+19%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 32°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 42.0 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station GREENWOOD CO AP, 6.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals42.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals32°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

75 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 36% of it. Inland flooding and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 73% of measured US counties.

Cold waveElevated
Ice stormElevated
EarthquakeElevated
HurricaneModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, heat wave, inland flooding, hail, wildfire, strong wind, landslide, drought, winter weather, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Greenwood County has a modeled homicide rate of about 9.4 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 28.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 20.2 per 100,000 residents in Greenwood County.

Homicide
9.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
28.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
20.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
27.4
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Greenwood County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Donaldson Fld at 44 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.9%Bottom 36%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle44 miBottom 38%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year11.0%Bottom 45%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Donaldson FldGYH44 mi8,000 ft
Augusta Rgnl At Bush FldAGS55 mi8,001 ft
Columbia MetroCAE60 mi8,601 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
61
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Greenwood County, SC

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.