Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County, principal city of the Greenville metropolitan area, and the 10th largest city in the state of North Carolina. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain. The city's official population as of the 2013 United States census estimate is 89,130 residents while the Greenville Metropolitan Area includes 174,263 people. In January 2008 and January 2010, Greenville was named one of the nation's "100 Best Communities for Young People" by the America's Promise Alliance. In June 2012, Greenville was ranked in the top ten of the nation's "Best Small Places For Business And Careers" by Forbes Magazine. In 2010 Greenville was ranked twenty-fourth in mid-city business growth and development by Forbes Magazine.

The city is also known as "BMX Pro Town USA", as it is home for many top professional BMX riders. Greenville is the home of East Carolina University, the third-largest university and fastest-growing campus in the University of North Carolina system, and Vidant Medical Center, the flagship hospital for Vidant Health and the teaching hospital for the Brody School of Medicine. The city has the fifth-highest percentage of residents in North Carolina – almost 30 percent – who have obtained bachelor's degrees.

Greenville was founded in 1771 as "Martinsborough," after the Royal Governor Josiah Martin. In 1774 the town was moved to its present location on the south bank of the Tar River, three miles (5 km) west of its original site. In 1786, the name was changed to Greenesville in honor of General Nathanael Greene, the American Revolutionary War hero. It was later shortened to Greenville.

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