Greenville vs Raleigh
The short version
- Greenville is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 5% lower than in the Raleigh area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $415,800 in Raleigh and $487,500 in Greenville.
- Households earn more in Raleigh ($85,395 vs $71,472 median).
- Raleigh is growing faster: +8.2% since 2020 vs +5.9%.
- Commutes are shorter in Greenville (19 vs 23 minutes each way).
Side by side
| Greenville, SC | Raleigh, NC | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 75,310 | 506,306 |
| Growth since 2020 | +5.9% | +8.2% |
| People per square mile | 2,486 | 3,354 |
| Median age | 34.7 | 34.7 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 56% | 54% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $71,472 | $85,395 |
| Median home value | $487,500 | $415,800 |
| Home value to income | 6.8× | 4.9× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,312 | $1,572 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 93.3 | 98.2 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 76.8 | 103.5 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $69,900 | $73,600 |
| Homeowners | 41% | 51% |
| Top state income tax | 6% | 3.99% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.49% | 7.1% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 19.0 | 23.0 |
| Work from home | 16% | 26% |
| Take public transit | 1% | 1% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 4.4% | 4.4% |
| Poverty rate | 14% | 11.9% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 53° / 32° | 52° / 32° |
| July high / low | 90° / 69° | 91° / 70° |
| Precipitation per year | 50 in | 46 in |
| Snowfall per year | 4 in | 5 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 48 | 52 |
| Nights below freezing | 54 | 65 |
| Comfortable months | 4 | 3 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Relatively Moderate | Relatively High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 94.0 | 95.5 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 55% | 66% |
| Home prices, past year | +3.3% | +1.1% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +55.9% | +44.9% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Greenville: April to May and September to October. Raleigh: April to May and October.
Full monthly tables: Greenville weather by month and Raleigh weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $69,900 in Greenville and $73,600 in Raleigh. Moving from Greenville to Raleigh, you would need about $78,900 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Greenville and Raleigh
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Greenville and Raleigh.
Which would you pick?
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