On Thursday, Dec. 3, it was announced on the moving industry website The Updater, an authorized blog, that Greenville, NC is the number one of the top twenty cities for relocation in the nation. Greenville was also announced as number one in the top ten cities for the highest growth of residents amidst COVID-19. Greenville has become well known for its health care at Vidant Medical Center, educational opportunities at East Carolina University and Pitt Community College as well as the growth of local businesses.

     “The quality of life and cost of living are definitely big attractions for people, and with COVID-19 you’re seeing a lot of people moving from larger cities to smaller towns that still offer cultural amenities such as the university and Vidant,” the Director of Communications and Marketing for Visit Greenville NC Sierra Jones said. 

     The economic and communal opportunities like social gatherings in Uptown Greenville and an increase in local businesses has provided an increase in growth within the city and has contributed to the attraction to new residents.

     “A word I like to use to describe Greenville is that the city is an artisanal movement,” real estate broker/owner of RE/MAX Rob Hall said. “Uptown Greenville organization has done a great job to make residents feel that they are a part of a community and not just a number in a big city.”

     Organizations such as Greenville Pitt County Chamber of Commerce, Uptown Greenville, Greenville ENC Alliance, Vidant Medical Center and East Carolina University have all worked together in order to create such growth. Greenville has recently reached its highest population in 2021 of 94,822 people and is growing at a rate of 0.76% annually according the the World Population Review.

     “I see Greenville as a community that is getting ready to explode,” Mayor of the City of Greenville PJ Connelly said. “I’ve made the comment before that Greenville is like a rocket ship getting ready to take off; it’s very important to understand Greenville is about to change in the next few years, but we can handle that growth.”

     Greenville has become known as an economically smart location to live in. The U.S. national average of cost of living is based on a scale of 100. Greenville’s cost of living is relatively lower   than the national average and larger cities in NC. Greenville’s cost of living is 83.2 while Charlotte's cost of living is 98.9. This allows for residents to have many more opportunities at a lower cost, like with housing, for example, the median home cost for Greenville is $125,900 and Raleigh is much higher at a median home cost of $273,900.