Census-designated place · Greenville County, South Carolina

Five Forks, South Carolina

Five Forks is a census-designated place in Greenville County, South Carolina, part of the Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC metro area. It has 18,656 residents. Five Forks, South Carolina has a quality-of-life score of 84 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,440 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within South Carolina it ranks #3 of 268 cities and towns. It ranks best on child poverty rate (low), loneliness (low) and adult smoking (low). It ranks worst on public libraries (low), drought exposure (high) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high).

84Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,440 of 15,651 cities and towns
South Carolina: #3 of 268 in SC
Population: 18,656 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 2,464.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4525540

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety22#12,196/15,637
Economy97#474/15,631
Housing34#9,878/14,977
Health74#4,047/15,609
Healthcare93#1,150/15,650
Environment56#6,802/15,453
Education87#2,092/15,649
Infrastructure93#1,137/15,650
Community74#4,107/15,651
Leisure & amenities81#3,005/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Five Forks, South Carolina ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Greenville County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Child poverty rate · low1.9%
98/100South Carolina 18.1%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Loneliness · low28.8%
98/100South Carolina 32.7%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Adult smoking · low7.7%
95/100South Carolina 16.0%United States 16.1%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poverty rate · low2.5%
95/100South Carolina 13.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Lack of reliable transportation · low4.9%
95/100South Carolina 9.1%United States 8.3%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Poor or fair health · low11.4%
94/100South Carolina 22.0%United States 19.9%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
12/100South Carolina 0.4 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesGreenville County value
Drought exposure · high80%
12/100South Carolina 72%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAGreenville County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.8 µg/m³
18/100South Carolina 8.1 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyGreenville County value
Injury deaths · high112 /100k
21/100South Carolina 111 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGreenville County value
Rent as share of income · high48.1%
22/100South Carolina 31.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Rent-burdened households · high61.7%
22/100South Carolina 52.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.7% (2015-2019) → 48.1% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
45.9% (2015-2019) → 61.7% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$114,049 (2015-2019) → $141,786 (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.6× (2015-2019) → 3.2× (2020-2024)
+21%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
61.5% (2015-2019) → 65.6% (2020-2024)
+4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateImproving
5.6% (2015-2019) → 1.9% (2020-2024)
−3.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Five Forks, South Carolina improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+24%$114,049 → $141,786

Declined1

Price / income+0.6×2.6× → 3.2×

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Five Forks, South Carolina between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.1 min2015-2019	25.2 min2020-2024	−0.9 min	Within the margin of error	59%
Bachelor's degree or higher	61.5%2015-2019	65.6%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Broadband subscriptions	97.3%2015-2019	94.5%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	4%
Effective property tax rate	0.61%2015-2019	0.49%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	40%
High school diploma or higher	98.6%2015-2019	97.7%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	44%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4132015-2019	0.4082020-2024	−0.005	Within the margin of error	55%
Median household income	$114,0492015-2019	$141,7862020-2024	+24%	Improved	42%
Poverty rate	4.7%2015-2019	2.5%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Rent-burdened households	45.9%2015-2019	61.7%2020-2024	+16 points	Within the margin of error	13%
Unemployment rate	3.7%2015-2019	3.0%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.9%2015-2019	4.3%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	41%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Five Forks, South Carolina five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Five Forks, South Carolina in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Five Forks, South Carolina itself moved −6.9 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

18,656 residents (±2,166)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

6,492 households (±599)

Five Forks, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Under $25k5.3%†342
$25k–50k7.7%†499
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

6,492 households (±599)

Five Forks, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Own87%5,625
Rent13%867

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

8,360 workers (±936)

Five Forks, South Carolina
South Carolina share

Drive alone75%6,248
Carpool3.1%†261
Public transit0.2%†14

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Greenville County, the county holding most of Five Forks's residents.

Greenville County has 15,493 employer establishments, 276 for every 10,000 residents (1.11× the US rate of 248; 1.21× South Carolina's), with 266,065 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,393. The Census Bureau also counts 57,906 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 15,493; 57,906 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 276; US 248 · South Carolina 228
Paid employees: 266,065
Average annual pay: $56,393; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Greenville County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	1,161	20.7	1.13×About typical	23,261	$21,876	317
Ambulatory health care services	1,138	20.3	0.97×About typical	14,429	$67,586	2,370
Lessors of real estate	977	17.4	1.41×More than typical	3,127	$61,590	6,465
Specialty trade contractors	942	16.8	1.08×About typical	8,041	$66,689	3,938
Full-service restaurants	519	9.3	1.20×About typical	11,508	$25,469	127
Limited-service restaurants	512	9.1	1.14×About typical	9,930	$18,395	126
Religious organizations	508	9.1	1.63×More than typical	5,069	$24,971	—
Real estate agents and brokers	480	8.6	1.76×More than typical	840	$66,004	1,758
Construction of buildings	458	8.2	1.08×About typical	3,161	$91,573	1,951
Management, scientific and technical consulting	430	7.7	1.14×About typical	2,720	$111,949	2,479
Services to buildings and dwellings	413	7.4	1.09×About typical	9,707	$27,161	3,892
Offices of other health practitioners	388	6.9	1.14×About typical	1,899	$45,024	1,147

Rank places for an industry Open Greenville County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 560,986 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $1.1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Five Forks, South Carolina: $60.17 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $1.1M; +29% vs FY2025
Per resident: $60.17; US $1,995
Sole-source: 3.1%; US 30%
Single offer: 63%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$1.1M98%
Department of the Navy$21.3K1.9%

Top recipients

USVETSERV, LLC$1.1M98%
WOVEN ELECTRONICS, LLC$21.3K1.9%

Spending by fiscal year

64.3KFY2017
-5.1KFY2018
17.3KFY2019
83.1KFY2020
10.5KFY2021
809.8KFY2022
1.2MFY2023
1.3MFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$803K72%
Plastics product manufacturing · 3261$301.3K27%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$21.3K1.9%
Audio and video equipment manufacturing · 3343$4,7440.4%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Five Forks, South Carolina, so they do not add up across cities.

Five Forks, South Carolina's figures are part of those of Greenville County, SC ($140.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.8% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Five Forks is mostly in Greenville County.

See federal money in Greenville County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Five Forks, South Carolina is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Greenville County77100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC60

Other cities and towns in Greenville County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4525540

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends