GREENVILLE CONTINUES TO OFFER AN AFFORDABLE QUALITY OF LIFE ACCORDING TO ACCRA COST OF LIVING SURVEY

The Greenville Chamber announced today that among the 309 urban areas that participated in the first quarter 2009 ACCRA Cost of Living Index, the after-tax cost for a professional/managerial standard of living in Greenville, SC was at 89.2 percent of the national average. The national cost of living ranged from more than twice the national average in New York (Manhattan), NY to just over 17 percent below the national average in Pryor Creek, OK.

The ACCRA Cost of Living Index is published quarterly by C2ER (Council for Community and Economic Research) and measures regional differences in the cost of consumer goods and services, excluding taxes and non-consumer expenditures, for professional and managerial households in the top income quintile. It is based on more than 90,000 prices covering almost 60 different items for which prices are collected quarterly by chambers of commerce, economic development organizations or university applied economic centers in each participating urban area. Small differences should not be interpreted as showing a measurable difference.

The composite index is based on six components - housing, utilities, grocery items, transportation, health care and miscellaneous goods and services. The indices - relative to the US average of 100 - for the components in Greenville were:

Composite 89.2Grocery Items 104.5Housing 73.0Utilities 84.7Transportation 89.7Health Care 99.0Miscellaneous 97.8

"This continues to show that Greenville is well-positioned to compete for talent from across the country and world by providing an unsurpassed quality of life at a reasonable cost," said Hank Hyatt, vice president of economic development at the Greenville Chamber. "The ACCRA Cost of Living Index is widely used by economic developers, real estate professionals and others to objectively gauge cost differentials. We are not surprised to see these results and are glad to know that others will see these as well."

For additional information on the ACCRA Cost of Living Index results, contact Hank Hyatt at either hhyatt@greenvillechamber.org or 864-239-3714. To subscribe to the quarterly ACCRA Cost of Living Index or for information on the COLI Web Calculator or the COLI Historical Index, go to www.coli.org.

The Greenville Chamber is the largest business organization in the Upstate, serving more than 2,200 members. The Chamber's mission is to build one of the premier business communities in the world by: Leading through collaboration, building community prosperity, being the voice of business and enhancing quality of life. For more information on the Greenville Chamber, call 864-242-1050, or visit www.greenvillechamber.org.

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