Greenville ( ; ) is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 87,521. Greenville's estimated 2025 population is 96,184. It is the principal city of the Greenville, N.C., Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the 12th-most populous city in North Carolina. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain. The city has been experiencing an economic and population boom since the 1990s.
Many major companies have moved their regional, national, and international headquarters to Greenville. Companies include Grady-White Boats, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Catalent, and Avient, among others. Greenville is the home of East Carolina University, the fourth-largest university in the University of North Carolina System, and ECU Health Medical Center, the second largest hospital in North Carolina and the flagship hospital for ECU Health and the teaching hospital for the Brody School of Medicine.
History Founding Greenville formed in 1771 as "Martinsborough", named after the Royal Governor Josiah Martin. In 1774 the town was moved to its present location on the south bank of the Tar River, west of its original site. In 1786, the name was changed to Greenesville in honor of General Nathanael Greene, the American Revolutionary War hero. It was later shortened to Greenville.
19th century During Greenville's early years, the Tar River was a navigable waterway, and by the 1860s there were several established steamboat lines transporting passengers and goods on the river. Cotton was the leading agricultural crop, and Greenville became a major cotton export center. Before the turn of the century, however, tobacco surpassed cotton and became the leading money crop. Greenville became one of the state's leading tobacco marketing and warehouse centers.
20th century For over a century, Greenville was recognized only as an important tobacco market and the home of a small state-supported college, chartered by the Legislature in March 1907 and named East Carolina Teacher's Training School, a co-ed institution. By the mid-1960s, East Carolina College had become the third-largest state-supported college, and enrollment approached 8,000 students—twice the 1960 enrollment figure. In 1967, it became East Carolina University. ECU Medical School admitted its first four-year class in 1977. At the turn of the century, enrollment at ECU topped the 18,000 mark, and now exceeds 29,000 students.
Greenville's current economic development began in 1963 when Empire Brush was recruited to the new Greenville Industrial Park, established by Greenville Industries, Inc. (a for-profit land holding company) in partnership with the Pitt County Development Commission (established by a voter referendum in 1957) and Greenville Utilities Commission. One of the community's greatest successes came in 1968 when Burroughs Wellcome, a major pharmaceutical research and manufacturing firm, located a pharmaceutical development/manufacturing facility near the city. The site is now owned by Patheon, a Thermo Fisher Scientific company, which employs approximately 1,200 people. The city and Pitt County have also become home to many other major industries and businesses including Catalent, Attindas, Grady-White Boats, and Hyster-Yale Materials Handling.
Hurricane Floyd
In September 1999, Hurricane Floyd made landfall in eastern North Carolina, dropping nearly of rain during the hours of its passage. Many residents were not aware of the flooding until the water came into their homes. Most localized flooding happened overnight, and the Tar River suffered the worst flooding, exceeding 500-year flood levels along its lower stretches. An additional 20+ inches of rain had fallen prior in the month from the two passes of Hurricane Dennis.
Damages in Pitt County alone were estimated at $1.6 billion (1999 USD, $1.87 billion 2006 USD). Some residents in Greenville had to swim six feet underwater to reach the front doors of their homes and apartments. Due to the heavy flooding in downtown Greenville, the East Carolina Pirates were forced to relocate their football game against #9 Miami to N.C. State's Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, where they beat the Hurricanes 27–23.
21st century In 2017, Greenville signed an agreement with Yeonsu District in South Korea to become sister cities.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (1.99%) is water. It is located in the inner Coastal Plain.
Climate Greenville has a humid subtropical climate, which is characterized by hot and sweltering summers, and mild to cool winters, with temperatures rarely dropping below freezing. Greenville can be prone to cold weather, as the temperature was once recorded as , which is 36 below freezing. The summers are very hot, with temperatures averaging in the 90s, with nights in the mid-70s. The city is also prone to hot weather, as every summer month once recorded a record-high temperature of or more.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Greenville, North Carolina – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)36,66046,36840,05460.62%54.84%45.77%Black or African American alone (NH)20,53131,01035,83333.95%36.67%40.94%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1712652560.28%0.31%0.29%Asian alone (NH)1,0891,9962,4011.80%2.36%2.74%Pacific Islander alone (NH)2231500.04%0.04%0.06%Some Other Race alone (NH)951544940.16%0.18%0.56%Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)6641,5473,3571.10%1.83%3.84%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,2443,1835,0762.06%3.76%5.80%Total60,47685,55487,521100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Greenville had a population of 87,521 across 38,001 households and 18,115 families. The median age was 30.5 years. 20.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 84.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 79.7 males age 18 and over.
98.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.4% lived in rural areas.
Of the city's 38,001 households, 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 28.6% were married-couple households, 22.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 41.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 45,147 housing units, of which 15.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.7%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 40,991 46.8% Black or African American 36,197 41.4% American Indian and Alaska Native 326 0.4% Asian 2,416 2.8% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 54 0.1% Some other race 2,741 3.1% Two or more races 4,796 5.5% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 5,076 5.8%
2010 census At the 2010 census, there were 174,263 residents in the Greenville MSA, 130,204 households, and 110,997 residents residing within of the city limit. The population density was , making Greenville the densest city in Eastern North Carolina. There were 130,204 housing units at an average density of . The racial composition of the city was: 60.20% White, 32.14% African American, 5.06% Hispanic or Latino American, 1.82% Asian American, 0.80% Native American, 0.04% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, 1.01% some other race, and 1.29% two or more races.
There were 25,204 households, out of which 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.4% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city, the age distribution of the population showed 18.8% under the age of 18, 28.7% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,648, and the median income for a family was $44,491. Males had a median income of $31,847 versus $26,324 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,476. About 15.6% of families and 26.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 20.4% of those age 65 or over.
Religion The Roman Catholic community in Greenville has seen steady growth over the years, with the migration of Hispanic workers to the area, along with significant numbers of people from the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States who work for East Carolina University, the ECU Health, and other employers. There are two primary Catholic Parishes in Greenville including St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother on Dickinson Avenue and St. Peter Catholic Church on East 4th Street. St. Gabriel's serves hundreds of Spanish speaking families and supports a Head Start program in the West Greenville area. St. Peter's Catholic Church in Greenville supports a day school for grades K-8. John Paul II Catholic High School supports grades 9–12.
Greenville's Jewish community has seen continued growth. Congregation Bayt Shalom, a congregation affiliated with both Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism, was previously led by the first African-American female rabbi in the United States, Alysa Stanton. Economy + Biggest employers by headcount # Employer Product Employment 1 ECU Health Healthcare 6,760 2 East Carolina University Education 5,672 3 Pitt County Schools Education 3,699 4 Hyster-Yale Lift trucks 1,226 5 Thermo Fisher Scientific Pharmaceuticals 1,261 6 City of Greenville Government 1,132 7 Pitt Community College Education 1,100 8 County of Pitt Government 1,000 9 DENSO (formerly ASMO) Small electric motors 722 10 Walmart Department store 673 11 Mayne Pharma Pharmaceuticals 629 12 Physicians East Healthcare 615 13 Avient Protective Materials Textiles 487 14 Greenville Utilities Commission Public utilities 460 15 Attends Healthcare Products Paper products 400 16 Grady-White Boats Fiberglass boats 349
Greenville's economy is largely reliant on the local hospital system and East Carolina University. A diversified base of companies in advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, emerging technology, and food and beverage fuels the economy. MrBeast, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Avient, Catalent, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, and Weyerhaeuser are among a long list of companies that call Greenville home. In 2024, the North Carolina Department of Commerce announced that two international companies selected Greenville for their first United States based manufacturing locations. Boviet Solar, a Vietnamese renewable energy company, committed to creating 908 new jobs and investing more than $294 million to locate its first North American solar panel manufacturing facility in the City of Greenville. Nipro Medical Corporation, a Japanese healthcare and medical device company, will create 232 jobs and invest more than $397.8 million to build a new manufacturing campus and U.S. headquarters in Greenville.
Minges Bottling Group, a large Pepsi bottling and distribution facility, is also located just outside Greenville in Ayden. Greenville is also home to The HammockSource, the world's largest hammock manufacturer.