Quality of Life

A number of other factors add to the quality of life in the Upstate, including its proximity to mountains, the coast and national urban metropolitan centers, Charlotte and Atlanta. Recognized as one of the top real estate markets in the country, the Upstate has affordable rural and urban housing, 50 nationally renowned golf courses, and 14 hospital systems with more than 3,800 general medical and surgical beds and two level I Trauma Centers. Six of the ten counties in the Upstate have a South Carolina Crime Rate Index below the state average. The cost of living in South Carolina is 86% of the national average, and eight of the ten Upstate counties have a lower cost of living than the South Carolina average.