Greenville/Pitt County, cited as one of the Fifty Best Metro Areas for Quality of Life (1993) and among the Fifty Best Places for Manufacturing (Industry Week, 1997 & 1998), is the commercial, educational, medical, and cultural center of Eastern North Carolina. As a university community with a strong business/manufacturing base, the area is characterized by a highly productive labor force, a diversified economic base, a low cost of living, an excellent educational system, a large regional health care complex, and abundant cultural and recreational opportunities. The area is also known for its progressive, pro-business local government, and mild climate.

EDUCATION

East Carolina University

Pitt County is home to East Carolina University, the state’s third largest institution of higher education with an enrollment of over 21,000 and more than 4,000 staff, offering 191 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in such concentrations as Business, Technology, and Medicine. The University also operates several service and research centers to assist local government, business, and industry in resolving technical production problems, developing market strategies, and improving the quality of management skills. -- http://www.ecu.edu
 

Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

The ECU Brody School of Medicine, established in 1975 to produce primary care physicians, ranked 5th nationally in the year 2000 among medical schools in the percentage of its graduates who chose to specialize in family medicine. The School of Medicine employs over 1,400 people and typically maintains an enrollment of 72 medical students in each of 4 medical classes. -- http://www.ecu.edu/med/
 

Pitt Community College

In addition to ECU and the Brody School of Medicine, Pitt Community College, the sixth largest in North Carolina’s 59-campus community college system, offers a wide variety of business/industrial curriculum programs (machining, electronic servicing, industrial, maintenance, information systems, etc.) -- http://www.pitt.cc.nc.us
 

Pitt County Public School System

The area's educational system is the pride of eastern North Carolina. The public school system receives extensive local support, reflected in modern classroom facilities, a wide range of extra-curricular activities, and student performance above state and national averages on standardized achievement tests. Each of the thirty-three Pitt County Schools is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. System wide accreditation means that each school has met and/or surpassed a strict set of standards for educational excellence. -- http://www.pitt.k12.nc.us
 

HEALTHCARE

Pitt County Memorial Hospital

The creation of the Brody School of Medicine at ECU stimulated the emergence of University Health Systems as a regional health care referral center. The Pitt County Memorial Hospital serves a 29-county referral area with a multitude of services that include organ transplant, a Level I Trauma Center, air ambulance service, neonatal intensive care and centers for rehabilitation, diabetes, cancer, and cardiac care. -- http://www.uhseast.com/
 

LEISURE ACTIVITIES

One of the most unique characteristics of the area is the wide assortment of leisure and cultural activities. Parks, rivers, golf courses, historic old towns, coastal sounds, and the famous beaches of the Outer Banks offer many recreational outlets in addition to organized activities sponsored by local recreation departments. The mild climate allows residents the opportunity to enjoy outdoor recreational activities throughout the year. The presence of the School of Music and the School of Art at ECU provides the cultural diversity of a major metropolitan area. Local amateur musical, theatrical, and dance groups offer more than 200 free performances annually to fill nights and weekends. World-class, professional entertainers perform regularly in clubs and concert facilities. The Wellington B. Gray Gallery (on ECU campus) and the Greenville Museum of Art house excellent permanent exhibits as well as hosting traveling exhibitions.
 

ECONOMY

The Pitt County/Greenville area is one of the fastest growing urban centers in the State of North Carolina, consistently ranking among the top ten centers in dollar volume of construction activity. It is also a leading retail center in eastern North Carolina and ranks as one of only a dozen billion dollar retail markets in NC. The local economy is well diversified with government, wholesale/retail trade and manufacturing each accounting for approximately 25% of total employment. Agriculture is also a strong contributor to the economy; tobacco, corn, soybeans, wheat, peanuts, eggs, livestock, poultry and vegetables are the primary agricultural products. Major employers include: East Carolina University (education), University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina (health care), DSM Pharmaceuticals, Collins and Aikman (knitted fabrics), NACCO (lift trucks), Grady-White (boats), ASMO (electric motors), Rubbermaid Cleaning & Maintenance Products (brushes), Robert Bosch Tool Corp. (drill bits & routers), Greenville Yarns - A Division of Mohawk (carpet yarn), and Mestek (steam unit heaters).