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Spartanburg, South Carolina

Spartanburg is a small city of about 40,000 people in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. It's the county seat. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.9 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Greenville, is about 26 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
39,978
up 3.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$203,700
Spartanburg County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$51,964
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Spartanburg area
91.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Spartanburg Medical Center
To Greenville
26 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.9% below the U.S. average in the Spartanburg metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Spartanburg itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town24 public schools: 16 elementary, 4 middle, 2 high schools and 2 other.
  • A hospital close bySpartanburg Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityGreenville is about 26 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Spartanburg meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$203,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Spartanburg County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,099 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$51,964U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
54%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,542 a yearSouth Carolina: $1,251
Homes built before 1940
12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91.1U.S. average = 100 (the Spartanburg metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Spartanburg metro area, not Spartanburg alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
39,9782020: 38,606
Median age
36 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
33%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%U.S.: 6%
College students
9%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (26%); manufacturing (17%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
24%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Spartanburg Medical Center, Spartanburg, SC, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

24 public schools in Spartanburg, run by Spartanburg 07 and Spartanburg 06.

Colleges in or next to town: Spartanburg Community College (5,000 to 9,999 students); Converse University (1,000 to 4,999 students); Wofford College (1,000 to 4,999 students); Spartanburg Methodist College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on South Carolina's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
74%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
86%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
32°F
July average high
90°F
Days 90°F or hotter
57 a year
Nights at or below freezing
76 a year
Rain and melted snow
50.2 inches a year
Snow
1 inches a year
Elevation
777 feet

Weather station: Spartanburg 3 SSE (3 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Greer, Greenville.

Spartanburg County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

38 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Arcadia Mill No.1, the Converse College Historic District, the Converse Heights Historic District and Duncan Park Stadium.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Cowpens National Battlefield14 miles
  • Kings Mountain National Military Park31 miles
  • Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site37 miles
  • Blue Ridge Parkway52 miles
  • Ninety Six National Historic Site55 miles

Campus life. Check Converse University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Spartanburg's history on Wikipedia.

Know Spartanburg?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Drayton, SC (unincorporated)1,452 people, 3 miles
  • Ben Avon, SC (unincorporated)2,487 people, 3 miles
  • Camp Croft, SC (unincorporated)1,586 people, 4 miles
  • Glendale, SC (unincorporated)211 people, 5 miles
  • Fairforest, SC (unincorporated)1,727 people, 5 miles
  • Converse, SC (unincorporated)463 people, 6 miles
  • Clifton, SC (unincorporated)792 people, 7 miles
  • Pauline, SC (unincorporated)447 people, 8 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.