3. Greer
About 1 in 5 residents are millennials in Greer. This suburb of Greenville boasts one of the lowest median rents on the list at $747 a month. For commuters, it’s conveniently located along Interstates 85, 185 and 385. It also is home to the South Carolina Inland Port and lies next to the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. While Greer’s economy was once rooted in textiles, it is now home to North America’s only BMW manufacturing plant.
Key takeaways
Millennials are jetsetters — or live near airports. South Carolina millennials can get away at a moment’s notice thanks to their proximity to the state’s airports. Five of the places on our list have airports within city limits including Aiken Municipal Airport, Berkeley County Airport, Charleston International Airport, Columbia Metropolitan Airport and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.
Methodology
The overall score for each place was derived from the following sources:
- Millennials as a percentage of the population and the growth in the millennial population from 2010 to 2013 are each 15% of the score.
- The unemployment rate for each city is 20% of the score. The lower the unemployment rate, the higher the score.
- Average annual worker salary is 30% of the overall score. Salary figures were calculated by averaging salaries by ZIP code, then dividing by the population.
- Median gross rent is 20% of the score. The lower the rent, the higher the score.
All data are from the 2013 American Community Survey and the 2012 Business Patterns Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. NerdWallet analyzed 66 places in South Carolina. Places missing payroll data weren’t included.