Greer

Greer is a city in Greenville and Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 35,308 as of the 2020 census. The city is home to the South Carolina Inland Port, an intermodal facility that receives and sends containers by rail to the Port of Charleston. Greer is also the site of the largest BMW manufacturing facility in North America, which employs about 9,000 people.Greer was named for James Manning Greer, whose ancestry traces from Scotland, through Ireland. The area now known as Greer was once part of the "Domain of the Cherokees" prior to the American Revolutionary War. In 1777, the area was added to the state of S.C., and Greer became an attractive site for local farmers to ship their crops, mainly cotton and peaches, out of the state. After World War II, the city began to grow and diversify its industrial base to grow its high school and high school. A new high school was built in Greer in the 1950s, and it is now home to Greer Heritage Museum and the Greer Museum of American Art. The town is located at 34°5549N 82°1330W (34.930304, -82.225052). It is 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Greenville, 17 miles (27 km) west of Spartanburg, and 2.1 square miles (5.4 km²), or 9.18%, are water.

Geography

Greer is the primary city name, but also Duncan are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is Greer, South Carolina.

Economy

Greer, SC has experienced great economic growth in recent years with headquarters of BMW US Manufacturing Company, Alexium International, and more. Greer is home to the South Carolina Air Force Academy and the S.C. Air Force Museum. The town has a population of more than 1.5 million people. It is located in the eastern part of the state, near the state line with North Carolina. The city is located on the banks of the Little River, which runs through Greer. It also has a harbor, which was built in the 19th century for the U.S. Navy. It has also been the home of the Air Force Air Force, Air Force Base, and Air Force Station Greer since the 1950s. It was the site of the Battle of the Bulge, which took place in the early 1900s, and is now the location of the Southeastern Air Force base. It's also home to a number of military bases, including the National Guard and the Air National Guard, as well as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is based in nearby Hartsville, South Carolina.

History

Greer was named for James Manning Greer, whose ancestry traces from Scotland, through Ireland. The area now known as Greer was once part of the "Domain of the Cherokees" The railway meant big business for local farmers, enabling them to ship their crops, mainly cotton and peaches, out of state. Greer also became a textile-manufacturing center, with flourishing mills that included Victor, Franklin, Apalache and Greer Mills. In the early 1960s, Interstate 85 was opened, as well as the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. Imports derailed the textile industry in the 1970s and threatened to turn Greer into a ghost town, but the citizens of Greer worked together to attract new industry. In 1939, artist Winfred Walkley painted a mural, Cotton and Peach Growing, for the town's old post office as one of thirteen works commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts between 1938 and 1941 for post offices and federal buildings throughout South Carolina. The building is now home to the Greer Heritage Museum. After World War II, the city began to grow and diversify its industrial base. A new hospital and high school were built. The Greer Downtown Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The city's first post office was located in the new depot, Greer's Depot, which was demolished in 1976 by its then owner, the Southern Railway System, in order to avoid property taxes.

Demographics

As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 35,308 people, 11,531 households, and 7,507 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 73.39% white, 19.49% African American, 1.16% Asian, 0.22% Native American, 4.42% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. 90.6% spoke English and 8.5% Spanish as their first language. Since 2000, the city has seen an explosive increase in Hispanic immigration. The median income for a household in theCity was $33,140, and the median income. for a family was $41,864. About 12.2% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19. 5% of those under age 18 and15.1% ofThose age 65 or over. The city has a population of 16,843 people, with 7,386 housing units at an average density of 458.0 per square mile (176.8/km²) The city's population is expected to grow to 35,000 by the end of the decade. The population of the City of Laredo, Texas, in the 2020 United States census will be 16,000. The City of Los Angeles, Texas will be the largest city in the state with a population in the region of 20,000 people, according to the 2010 Census.

Recreation

Greer Recreation (Greer Rec) has many sports opportunities. Their best accomplishments include the 2007 910 Little League softball state championship, and the 2019 6u Rookie Ball Dixie Youth Baseball State Championship. City Stadium in Greer is a WPA project completed in 1938; it currently seats 3,000. The City Recreation Department has been honored with South Carolina Recreation and Parks Agency of the Year twice since 2005. In 2012 the City of Greer successfully renovated the Cannon Center, a former National Guard armory that later became a basketball gym. The 12-acre Greer City Park is located adjacent to Greer city Hall and offers numerous recreational opportunities in Historic Greer Station. The Greer Recreation Department is led by Ann Cunningham (Director) and Red Watson (Assistant Director). Greer Rec is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was established to provide services to the citizens of South Carolina in the form of grants, loans, grants, and other assistance. Greer has a thriving recreation sports program. In the summer of 2010, the combined team of two schools, (Blue Ridge Middle School, and Greer Middle) the 11- to 12-year-old Little Leaguesoftball team went to the regional tournament in Warner Robins, Georgia, but lost the first two games and was eliminated. The 6u team went undefeated in a 12 team tournament held in West Columbia to give Greer baseball its first state Championship ever. The city has hosted Little League, scholastic, The American Legion World Series, and semi-professional sports and received a major renovation in 1997.

Healthcare

Greer is home to two hospitals and a cancer center which is undergoing an expansion. Pelham Medical Center is licensed for and operates 48 beds and is located at 250 Westmoreland Road. Greer Memorial Hospital is an 82-bed facility with emergency, ICU and maternity care. In early 2018, Spartanburg Regional began construction on an expansion of its Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute at Pelham location. The 190,000-square-foot expansion is intended to provide cancer care for more patients along the border of Spartanburg and Greenville counties. It is anticipated that the construction will be completed in spring 2020. In 2015, Gibbs added the Cyberknife M6 system, which is the first of its kind in the southeastern United States and was the first system in the U.S. to treat with precision. Gibbs was theFirst in North or South Carolina, and one of the first cancer centers in the United States, to utilize a new tool for prostate cancer called the SpaceOAR® System. SpaceOar is thefirst FDA-approved procedure for placing a spacer to protect the rectum of men undergoing prostate cancer radiation. In 2013, Gibbs was also the first in North and South Carolina to utilize the Space OAR System for the treatment of prostate cancer. In 2014, Gibbs became the first to use the new Cyberknife system to treat prostate cancer with precision, and to provide a new type of treatment for the disease called Cyberknife Prostate Cancer. In 2016, Gibbs at Pelam added the new SpaceO AR System, which provides a new way to place spacer for therectum during prostate cancer treatment.

Transportation

Greer is served by the GreenvilleSpartanburg International Airport Roger Milliken Field, which in 2012 handled over 1.7 million passengers. Greer is also within 20 miles (32 km) of Donaldson Center Airport, Greenville Downtown Airport, and Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport all general aviation facilities. Inland Port Greer, one of two inland ports in South Carolina, built to handle containerized goods, is also served by Norfolk Southern. The city is located on the main line of the U.S. rail system, which operates to Greenville, Spartanburg, and Charleston. It is also the location of the South Carolina Air National Guard, which is based in Spartanburg. The Greer-Greenville International Airport is a commercial Class C airport located 4 miles (6 km) south of the center of Greer. In 2012, the airport handled more than 1.5 million passengers and over 1,000,000 tons of cargo. It was the second-busiest airport in the state, behind only Greenville International, which handled over 2.2 million passengers in 2011. The airport is also one of the busiest in the United States, with over 2,000 flights a day. In 2011, the city was home to more than 100,000 people, the third-highest number of people living in the South. It has a population of 1.4 million. The town is located near the border with North Carolina, and is about 30 miles (50 km) from Greenville.

Highways

One two-digit Interstate highway runs through Greer. I-85 leads northeast 90 miles (140 km) to Charlotte, North Carolina. U.S. Route 29 runs through the city, connecting Greenville and Spartanburg. South Carolina Highway 14 and SC 290 both run through the town. The city is located on the South Carolina-North Carolina border and is near the North Carolina-Mississippi border. It is also near the state's easternmost point, near the border with North Carolina, and its southernmost point is near Simpsonville. It has a population of about 2,000, with the majority of its residents living in or near the city's downtown area, which is located 5 miles (8 km) south of the city center. It also has a number of small, unincorporated communities, which are often referred to as "county towns" or "cities" by locals. The town's population is less than 1,000; it is located in the eastern part of the state, near North Carolina and South Carolina's southernmost points, and has a small percentage of its population living in rural areas. It was the site of the World War II Battle of the Bulge, which took place in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Battle was fought between the Confederate States of America and the American Civil War-era South Carolina Army and Navy, which were based in the area. The battle was won by the South Carolinians in the early 20th century, and the Battle is still fought today.

Education

Greer has a public library, a branch of the Greenville County Library System. Greer is located in the eastern part of the county. The town has a population of about 1,000. The library is located at the center of Greer's downtown area. It is open to the public on weekdays, and on the weekend. It has a branch in Greenville, South Carolina, as well as one in Greer, North Carolina, and one in Graniteville, North Cape Creek, South Cayman and Spartan Pilot County, South Pairing with the Greenville Library System in Greer, North Cleveland and South Prairie Pleasant Preston, S.C. The  library in Greer was built in the early 1900s. It was the first of its kind in the state, and is located on the town's eastern edge. It's also the only one in the county to serve the entire Greenville Carpool and Piedmont Citizenship regions. The county has a library system, which was established in the late 1800s. The system was later expanded to include the town. It also has a satellite library in Granite Crown Crest, N.C., which opened in the mid-20th century.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Greer, Greenville County, South Carolina = 12.1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 40. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Greer = 5 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 35,308 individuals with a median age of 36.4 age the population grows by 29.67% in Greer, Greenville County, South Carolina population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,506.38 residents per square mile of area (581.62/km²). There are average 2.45 people per household in the 8,806 households with an average household income of $36,915 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.60% of the available work force and has dropped -4.11% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 21.18%. The number of physicians in Greer per 100,000 population = 249.7.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Greer = 49.9 inches and the annual snowfall = 5.5 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 117. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 222. 89 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 30.8 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 38, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Greer, Greenville County, South Carolina which are owned by the occupant = 55.49%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 20 years with median home cost = $120,190 and home appreciation of 0.27%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $5.48 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,124 per student. There are 12.3 students for each teacher in the school, 654 students for each Librarian and 432 students for each Counselor. 5.16% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 12.82% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 5.70% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).