Greenville County population explodes to more than half a million people

Greenville County remains South Carolina’s most populous county, reaching more than half a million people and experiencing the largest percentage growth of any Upstate county, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday.

The census set Greenville County’s population at 525,534, compared to 451,225 in 2010, a 16% increase. The city of Greenville accounted for a lot of that increase, growing by 12,311 people, an increase of 21% from 58,409 to 70,720.

Greenville’s downtown has experienced the construction of dozens of condominiums and apartment complexes in the past decade, a major city effort to get people to live downtown. That has been one of the major factors in the redevelopment of Greenville’s downtown, which has been lauded by national magazines and urban planners as a model for how to revive the fortunes of a struggling city.

City of Greenville spokesperson Beth Brotherton said the census results were not surprising.

“People around the country have embraced our mild climate, friendliness, and livability,” she said.

The city’s comprehensive plan for the next 20 years and a rewrite of its development code will guide what happens next, she said.

“We’ll spend the next 10 or more years focusing on affordable housing, improved mobility and pedestrian safety and maintaining plenty of green space,” she said.

Greenville County also became slightly more diverse over the last decade with increases in Black, Hispanic and Latino residents.

The census said the number of white people living in Greenville County grew by 6% while the number of Black residents grew by 8%. The city of Greenville, however, lost Black residents.

The other municipalities in Greenville County posted total population gains, especially Travelers Rest, where the population rose from 4,570 to 7,788, a 70% increase.

Located in the northern part of Greenville County, Travelers Rest has been the beneficiary of a 22-mile bike and walking path from downtown Greenville, Travelers Rest’s downtown has seen a dramatic resurgence with new restaurants and shops and the outlying area has experienced significant residential growth.

The cities of Fountain Inn and Simpsonville, in an area known as the Golden Strip in southern Greenville County, saw marked population growth. And Greer in the eastern part of the county grew by 38% to 35,308, making it the second-largest city in Greenville County.

Spartanburg County population increased by 15% to 327,997. It is South Carolina’s fifth-largest county, behind Greenville, Richland, Charleston and Horry.

In Pickens County, the population increased 10% to 131,404 on the strength of growth in Clemson and Easley. The other cities grew moderately.

Anderson County grew by 8% to 203,718.

This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 3:39 PM.