about the upstate

The Upstate of South Carolina is an eight-county region with a population of approximately 1.5 million, and is the 7^th fastest-growing metro area in the nation. Upstate counties include Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Pickens, Laurens, Cherokee, Oconee and Union counties. The largest cities in the upstate are Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson, in that order. Other cities and towns with more than 10,000 residents include Clemson, Easley, Gaffney, Greer, Mauldin, Simpsonville and Taylors. The rest of the Upstate consists of unincorporated rural areas and small towns with less than 10,000 residents each.

When you enroll at Clemson University, you will most likely want to live in Pickens, Oconee, Anderson or Greenville county (they are the closest to campus and other University resources).

You can learn more about each of the counties and some of the towns and cities in the Upstate by visiting the following links:

• Upstate Forever
• SCIway
• Wikipedia
• Anderson County
• Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce
• Cherokee County
• Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce
• Greenville County
• Greenville County Chamber of Commerce
• Laurens Count y Chamber of Commerce
• Oconee County
• Pickens County
• Pickens County Chamber of Commerce
• Spartanburg County
• Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce
• Union County
• Union County Chamber of Commerce

Climate

It’s hard to beat Clemson’s four seasons. The average high temperature in July is 88F, and the average low in January 31F. The Blue Ridge Mountain foothills, which surround Clemson, are particularly beautiful in the spring and fall. A minor snowfall or two each year and frequent summer thunderstorms add excitement to the usually calm, pleasant climate.

Travel

The Greenville Spartanburg International Airport offers non-stop flights to most major cities in the eastern United States. Passenger airlines serving GSP include Allegiant Air, American Eagle, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Express Airlines and US Airways. Amtrak has stations in Clemson, Greenville and Spartanburg. You can often get the best airfares by flying into or out of Atlanta's Hartsfield airport and either renting a car or arranging for someone to pick you up there; it's about two hours from campus.