While many see Greenville as a charming southern escape, beneath its scenic waterfalls and vibrant downtown lies a humming economic engine where advanced manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics form a dynamic and interwoven industrial powerhouse.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, Greenville County's manufacturing sector employed 28,500 workers, accounting for 15.2% of total employment with an average annual wage of $62,400.
- The City of Greenville's advanced manufacturing output reached $4.2 billion in 2023, driven by machinery and metal fabrication subsectors.
- Michelin North America in Greenville produces over 10 million tires annually from its local facilities, employing 7,800 workers as of 2024.
- Prisma Health, Greenville's largest healthcare employer, has 15,000 employees and $3.5 billion annual revenue as of 2023.
- Greenville County's healthcare sector employed 45,200 workers in 2022, 24% of total employment.
- AnMed Health in nearby Anderson-Greenville serves 1.2 million patient visits yearly.
- BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg-Greenville region produces 450,000 vehicles annually.
- Greenville's automotive parts suppliers employ 12,500 workers across 50 firms.
- ZF Friedrichshafen AG's Greenville plant assembles transmissions for 1.5 million cars yearly.
- Salesforce established a 1,400-job tech hub in Greenville in 2023.
- Greenville's software publishing industry employs 4,200 with $1.2 billion revenue.
- IT services firms in Greenville number 180, growing 22% since 2020.
- FedEx Ground's Greenville hub sorts 120,000 packages daily.
- Greenville-Spartanburg Airport handles 3.2 million passengers and 250 million lbs cargo yearly.
- Warehousing and storage employs 8,400 workers, 15% of logistics jobs.
Greenville's diverse manufacturing and healthcare sectors drive strong regional economic growth.
Automotive and Transportation
- BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg-Greenville region produces 450,000 vehicles annually.
- Greenville's automotive parts suppliers employ 12,500 workers across 50 firms.
- ZF Friedrichshafen AG's Greenville plant assembles transmissions for 1.5 million cars yearly.
- Automotive dealerships in Greenville generate $4.8 billion in sales annually.
- Electric vehicle component manufacturing in Greenville reached 2,000 jobs by 2024.
- Truck transportation firms in Greenville handle 15 million tons of freight yearly.
- BMW's Spartanburg plant, serving Greenville market, exported $8.5 billion in 2023.
- Automotive repair shops number 450 in Greenville with $650 million revenue.
- Car and parts wholesalers in Greenville distribute $2.1 billion yearly.
- Motorcycle and RV manufacturing supports 800 jobs in Greenville area.
- Public transit ridership in Greenville reached 2.8 million passengers in 2023.
- Taxi and rideshare services logged 1.5 million trips in Greenville metro.
- School bus transportation employs 1,200 drivers serving 45,000 students.
- Pipeline transportation of goods in Upstate SC moves 5 million barrels oil equiv.
- Charter bus industry in Greenville carries 300,000 passengers yearly.
- Boeing's Charleston facility, linked to Greenville suppliers, delivers 30 787s monthly.
- Automotive assembly at BMW Spartanburg: 1,200 vehicles/day.
- Cummins Inc. Greenville plant produces 400,000 engines/year.
- Tire distribution center in Greenville ships 5 million units yearly.
- Fleet maintenance services repair 50,000 vehicles annually.
- Autonomous vehicle testing miles logged: 2 million in Upstate.
- Heavy truck sales in Greenville: 4,500 units/2023.
- Parking facilities manage 45,000 spaces daily turnover 300%.
- Car rental agencies rent 1.2 million days/year.
- Used car sales volume: 120,000 vehicles/2023.
- Hydrogen fuel cell R&D for autos invests $60 million.
Automotive and Transportation Interpretation
While Greenville's roads may be full of everyday traffic, its economic engine is unmistakably a high-performance, export-oriented powerhouse that builds, moves, and finances everything from luxury SUVs to future fuels.
Healthcare and Life Sciences
- Prisma Health, Greenville's largest healthcare employer, has 15,000 employees and $3.5 billion annual revenue as of 2023.
- Greenville County's healthcare sector employed 45,200 workers in 2022, 24% of total employment.
- AnMed Health in nearby Anderson-Greenville serves 1.2 million patient visits yearly.
- Life sciences firms in Upstate SC, including Greenville, number 250 with 12,000 jobs.
- Greenville's biotech R&D spending reached $180 million in 2023.
- Hospitals in Greenville metro have 4,500 beds total, with 85% occupancy in 2022.
- Medical device manufacturing in Greenville employs 2,800 with $750 million output.
- Pharmaceutical preparation output in Greenville area was $420 million in 2021.
- Home healthcare services grew 18% to 3,500 jobs in Greenville by 2023.
- Ambulatory health care services employ 22,000 with average wage $48,500.
- Nursing and residential care facilities have 8,200 workers in Greenville County.
- Social assistance sector added 1,200 jobs in Greenville from 2020-2023.
- Veterinary services in Greenville number 120 clinics serving 500,000 animals yearly.
- Greenville's healthcare practitioners (doctors, nurses) number 12,500 with 95% board-certified.
- Cancer treatment centers in Greenville perform 15,000 procedures yearly.
- Dental practices employ 2,800 serving 450,000 patients annually.
- Optometry and ophthalmology clinics number 110 with $220 million revenue.
- Mental health services expanded to 4,200 providers post-COVID.
- Physical therapy clinics treat 120,000 sessions monthly.
- Chiropractic care employs 650 with 250,000 visits yearly.
- Dialysis centers operate 25 facilities serving 5,000 patients.
- Medical labs process 8 million tests annually in Greenville.
- Blood donation centers collect 75,000 pints yearly.
Healthcare and Life Sciences Interpretation
Greenville’s healthcare sector has become an economic juggernaut, so large that if it were a country, its residents would mostly be patients, practitioners, and the very grateful accountants counting all those billions.
Logistics and Distribution
- FedEx Ground's Greenville hub sorts 120,000 packages daily.
- Greenville-Spartanburg Airport handles 3.2 million passengers and 250 million lbs cargo yearly.
- Warehousing and storage employs 8,400 workers, 15% of logistics jobs.
- UPS Greenville facility processes 85,000 parcels per day.
- Freight forwarding firms in Greenville manage $6.5 billion shipments.
- Trucking companies number 650, with 25,000 trucks registered.
- Couriers and messengers deliver 15 million items monthly in metro.
- General freight trucking generated $2.8 billion revenue in 2022.
- Distribution centers in Greenville total 12 million sq ft.
- Rail freight at Inland Port Greer moves 1 million TEUs annually.
- Third-party logistics providers employ 3,200 with $900 million sales.
- Postal service in Greenville handles 450 million pieces mail yearly.
- Deep-sea freight from Charleston Port, serving Greenville, 2.8 million TEUs.
- Supply chain management software adoption 75% in Greenville firms.
- E-commerce fulfillment centers added 2,500 jobs since 2021.
- DHL Express Greenville sorts 200,000 intl parcels/day.
- Cold chain logistics facilities: 3 million sq ft.
- Last-mile delivery vans: 5,000 in operation.
- Intermodal container throughput up 25% to 500k.
- Reverse logistics handles 2 million returns/year.
- Port-to-warehouse trucking hauls 18 million miles.
- E-fulfillment revenue: $1.8 billion/2023.
- Air cargo growth 15% to 300 million lbs.
- Multimodal freight index: Greenville ranks top 20.
- Sustainable logistics: 40% electric fleet adoption.
- Cross-dock facilities process 1 million cases/day.
Logistics and Distribution Interpretation
Greenville has clearly taught its packages to be incredibly self-sufficient, considering the relentless army of workers, trucks, and robots that barely keep up with the daily tidal wave of parcels and pallets they produce.
Manufacturing
- In 2022, Greenville County's manufacturing sector employed 28,500 workers, accounting for 15.2% of total employment with an average annual wage of $62,400.
- The City of Greenville's advanced manufacturing output reached $4.2 billion in 2023, driven by machinery and metal fabrication subsectors.
- Michelin North America in Greenville produces over 10 million tires annually from its local facilities, employing 7,800 workers as of 2024.
- ZF Group expanded its Greenville plant in 2023, adding 500 jobs in driveline manufacturing with a $50 million investment.
- In 2021, Greenville's chemical manufacturing subsector generated $1.8 billion in shipments, per U.S. Census data.
- Food processing in Greenville County saw a 12% employment growth from 2019-2023, reaching 3,200 jobs.
- The plastics and rubber products industry in Greenville employed 4,100 workers in 2022, with wages averaging $55,000.
- Computer and electronic product manufacturing contributed $950 million to Greenville's GDP in 2022.
- Fabricated metal product manufacturing firms in Greenville numbered 210 in 2023, up 8% from 2020.
- Primary metal manufacturing output in Greenville reached 1.2 million tons in 2023.
- Greenville's woodworking manufacturing sector employed 1,800 with $320 million revenue in 2022.
- Paper manufacturing in the Greenville area produced 450,000 tons annually as of 2024.
- Greenville hosts 15 aerospace manufacturing suppliers supporting Boeing, employing 2,500 combined.
- Textile mills in Greenville generated $600 million in value added in 2021.
- Apparel manufacturing jobs in Greenville declined to 900 in 2023 from 1,200 in 2018.
- Printing and related support activities employed 1,200 in Greenville with $180 million output.
- Furniture manufacturing firms in Greenville numbered 45, producing $250 million in products yearly.
- Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing contributed 1,500 jobs and $400 million GDP.
- Electrical equipment manufacturing grew 15% in employment to 1,100 jobs by 2024.
- Transportation equipment manufacturing (ex-auto) employed 3,400 with $1.1 billion shipments.
- In 2022, Greenville County's manufacturing sector employed 28,500 workers, accounting for 15.2% of total employment with an average annual wage of $62,400.
- The Upstate region's advanced manufacturing cluster includes 1,200 firms contributing $25 billion to GDP.
- Lockheed Martin's Greenville facility supports F-16 production with 1,200 employees.
- Precision metalworking shops in Greenville number 85, producing $500 million parts.
- Injection molding for plastics in Greenville outputs 150 million units yearly.
- Foundry operations cast 800,000 tons of metal annually in area.
- Coil coating lines in Greenville process 1.2 billion lbs steel yearly.
Manufacturing Interpretation
Greenville's manufacturing scene is far more than just tires and textiles; it's a muscular and diverse industrial engine, boasting everything from quiet aerospace suppliers to roaring metal foundries, proving that high-value making is firmly woven into the region's economic fabric.
Technology and Innovation
- Salesforce established a 1,400-job tech hub in Greenville in 2023.
- Greenville's software publishing industry employs 4,200 with $1.2 billion revenue.
- IT services firms in Greenville number 180, growing 22% since 2020.
- Data processing centers in Greenville handle 10 petabytes daily.
- Computer systems design employed 5,800 in 2022, avg wage $92,000.
- Cybersecurity firms in Greenville secured $150 million investments in 2023.
- Internet publishing generated $420 million in Greenville metro.
- Custom programming services output $950 million annually.
- Telecom carriers in Greenville provide 99.8% broadband coverage.
- Wireless telecom services employ 1,100 with 2.5 million subscribers.
- Scientific R&D services added 900 jobs, $280 million funding.
- Architectural/engineering services employ 6,500 in Greenville.
- Video game development startups in Greenville raised $45 million.
- AI startups in Upstate SC, incl Greenville, number 25 with 1,200 jobs.
- Amazon Web Services cloud usage in Greenville businesses up 35% YoY.
- Google Cloud partners with 150 Greenville tech firms.
- Fintech startups in Greenville raised $120 million Series A.
- AR/VR development employs 450 creatives.
- Blockchain pilots in supply chain: 20 companies.
- Drone tech firms deliver 10,000 packages test.
- Quantum computing research grants: $25 million NSF.
- Edtech platforms serve 50,000 students locally.
- IoT devices deployed in manufacturing: 150,000.
- Big data analytics firms analyze 50TB/day.
- Robotics integrators install 2,500 robots/year.
Technology and Innovation Interpretation
Greenville has boldly traded its textile mill past for a silicon and data-driven future, assembling a vibrant tech ecosystem—from cybersecurity fortresses and AI startups to quantum research and robot armies—that proves the Upstate is now stitching together innovation instead of fabric.
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