# Spartanburg County, South Carolina

Spartanburg County is a county located on the northwestern border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 327,997, making it the fifth-most populous county in South Carolina. Its county seat is Spartanburg. Spartanburg County is the largest county within the Spartanburg, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area.

## History

The county was founded in 1785 and was named after the Spartan Rifles (Spartan Regiment) which was a local militia during the American Revolutionary War. The largest community and the county seat is Spartanburg, which resides in Upstate South Carolina.
The ship USS Spartanburg County is named after the county.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 819.74 square miles (2,123.1 km$^2$), of which 808.34 square miles (2,093.6 km$^2$) is land and 11.40 square miles (29.5 km$^2$) (1.39%) is water.

### State and local protected areas/sites

* Arcadia Mill No. 1
* Arcadia Mill No. 2
* Battle of Musgrove Mill State Historic Site (part)
* Blackstock Plantation (part)
* Converse Heights Historic District
* Croft State Park
* Daniel Morgan Monument
* Emily Dickinson
* Glendale Ridge Archaeological Site
* Hampton Heights Historic District
* Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve
* Historic Price House
* Lake Cooley Park
* Nesbitt Shoals Nature Park
* Pacolet River Heritage Preserve
* Peter's Creek Heritage Preserve
* Santee Cooper Tract Wildlife Management Area
* Seay House
* Tyger River Park

### Major water bodies

* Enoree River
* Lake Craig
* Lake William C. Bowan
* Lawsons Fork Creek
* North Pacolet River
* Pacolet River
* South Pacolet River
* South Tyger River
* Tyger Lake
* Tyger River

### Adjacent counties

* Rutherford County, North Carolina – north
* Cherokee County – east
* Union County – southeast
* Laurens County – south
* Greenville County – west
* Polk County, North Carolina – northwest

### Major highways

* I-26
* I-85
* I-85 BL
* I-585
* US 29
* US 176
* US 176 Conn. (Spartanburg 1)
* US 176 Conn. (Spartanburg 2)
* US 221
* US 221 Alt.
* SC 9
* SC 11
* SC 43
* SC 49
* SC 56
* SC 56 Conn.
* SC 80
* SC 92
* SC 92 Conn.
* SC 101
* SC 101 Truck
* SC 110
* SC 129
* SC 146
* SC 150
* SC 150 Truck
* SC 215
* SC 290
* SC 290 Truck
* SC 292
* SC 292 Conn.
* SC 295
* SC 296
* SC 357
* SC 358

### Major infrastructure

* Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport
* Inland Port Greer, major rail depot in the county
* Spartanburg Downtown Airport
* Spartanburg Station

## Demographics
### 2020 census

Spartanburg County racial composition :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 214,440 | 65.38% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 63,565 | 19.38% |
| Native American | 699 | 0.21% |
| Asian | 8,176 | 2.49% |
| Pacific Islander | 190 | 0.06% |
| Other/Mixed | 13,195 | 4.02% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 27,732 | 8.45% |
As of the 2020 census, there were 327,997 people, 121,256 households, and 83,432 families residing in the county.

### 2010 census

At the 2010 census, there were 284,307 people, 109,246 households, and 75,404 families residing in the county. The population density was 351.9 inhabitants per square mile (135.9/km$^2$). There were 122,628 housing units at an average density of 151.8 per square mile (58.6/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 72.3% white, 20.6% black or African American, 2.0% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 3.1% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 13.6% were American, 10.5% were Irish, 9.6% were English, and 8.8% were German.
Of the 109,246 households, 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.0% were non-families, and 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age was 38.0 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,680 and the median income for a family was $53,149. Males had a median income of $41,445 versus $31,602 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,924. About 11.0% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.5% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

## Government and politics

United States presidential election results for Spartanburg County, South Carolina :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 103,032 | 66.22% | 50,710 | 32.59% | 1,855 | 1.19% |
| 2020 | 93,560 | 62.94% | 52,926 | 35.60% | 2,169 | 1.46% |
| 2016 | 76,277 | 62.99% | 39,997 | 33.03% | 4,816 | 3.98% |
| 2012 | 66,969 | 60.93% | 41,461 | 37.72% | 1,476 | 1.34% |
| 2008 | 65,042 | 60.04% | 41,632 | 38.43% | 1,654 | 1.53% |
| 2004 | 62,004 | 64.08% | 33,633 | 34.76% | 1,121 | 1.16% |
| 2000 | 52,114 | 62.37% | 29,559 | 35.38% | 1,880 | 2.25% |
| 1996 | 35,972 | 53.53% | 26,814 | 39.90% | 4,410 | 6.56% |
| 1992 | 37,707 | 51.91% | 25,488 | 35.09% | 9,440 | 13.00% |
| 1988 | 40,801 | 63.19% | 22,964 | 35.57% | 803 | 1.24% |
| 1984 | 41,553 | 66.41% | 20,130 | 32.17% | 892 | 1.43% |
| 1980 | 30,092 | 51.12% | 27,245 | 46.28% | 1,532 | 2.60% |
| 1976 | 20,456 | 41.99% | 27,925 | 57.32% | 336 | 0.69% |
| 1972 | 31,308 | 75.34% | 9,586 | 23.07% | 662 | 1.59% |
| 1968 | 18,183 | 38.69% | 11,467 | 24.40% | 17,346 | 36.91% |
| 1964 | 18,411 | 47.89% | 20,034 | 52.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 10,940 | 35.21% | 20,134 | 64.79% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 6,822 | 26.67% | 16,637 | 65.03% | 2,124 | 8.30% |
| 1952 | 10,028 | 31.42% | 21,883 | 68.58% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 627 | 5.21% | 6,741 | 55.98% | 4,673 | 38.81% |
| 1944 | 402 | 4.60% | 8,092 | 92.61% | 244 | 2.79% |
| 1940 | 248 | 2.65% | 9,119 | 97.35% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 173 | 1.59% | 10,739 | 98.41% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 227 | 2.40% | 9,216 | 97.59% | 1 | 0.01% |
| 1928 | 760 | 16.45% | 3,859 | 83.53% | 1 | 0.02% |
| 1920 | 182 | 3.82% | 4,584 | 96.18% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 112 | 2.40% | 4,503 | 96.32% | 60 | 1.28% |
| 1912 | 37 | 0.96% | 3,616 | 94.07% | 191 | 4.97% |
| 1908 | 225 | 5.12% | 4,162 | 94.76% | 5 | 0.11% |
| 1904 | 84 | 3.11% | 2,621 | 96.89% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1900 | 101 | 3.93% | 2,467 | 96.07% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1896 | 247 | 5.51% | 4,234 | 94.49% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1892 | 551 | 13.13% | 3,515 | 83.79% | 129 | 3.08% |
Spartanburg County has long been a Republican stronghold, having not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since 1976. No Democrat has won 40% of the county’s vote since 1980.
Spartanburg County County Council has seven members, six Republicans and one Democrat. A. Manning Lynch serves as the county council chairman, having been in that role since 2019. Meetings are usually in the middle of the month on the third week and take place at the Spartanburg County administration building in the county council chamber.

## Economy

In 2022, the GDP was $19.5 billion (about $54,626 per capita), and the real GDP was $16.7 billion (about $46,895 per capita) in chained 2017 dollars.
As of April 2024, some of the largest employers in the county include Adidas, BMW, Ingles, Michelin, Optum, QuikTrip, Sage Automotive Interiors, Siemens, and Walmart.
Employment and Wage Statistics by Industry in Spartanburg County, South Carolina - Q3 2023 :
| Industry | Employment Counts | Employment Percentage (%) | Average Annual Wage ($) |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 13,059 | 8.7 | 21,736 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 7,800 | 5.2 | 40,300 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 293 | 0.2 | 41,652 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 1,378 | 0.9 | 20,696 |
| Construction | 7,245 | 4.8 | 62,868 |
| Educational Services | 9,896 | 6.6 | 49,140 |
| Finance and Insurance | 2,842 | 1.9 | 73,996 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 22,105 | 14.7 | 65,104 |
| Information | 985 | 0.7 | 68,016 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 1,843 | 1.2 | 99,060 |
| Manufacturing | 36,291 | 24.1 | 64,896 |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 103 | 0.1 | 66,092 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 3,353 | 2.2 | 47,944 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 4,748 | 3.1 | 71,552 |
| Public Administration | 3,821 | 2.5 | 50,752 |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 1,752 | 1.2 | 53,456 |
| Retail Trade | 16,410 | 10.9 | 34,424 |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 9,011 | 6.0 | 53,872 |
| Utilities | 693 | 0.5 | 67,704 |
| Wholesale Trade | 7,163 | 4.8 | 64,428 |
| Total | 150,791 | 100.0% | 54,303 |

## Education
### Primary and secondary schools

There are eight school districts which cover portions of the county. Seven of them are within the Spartanburg County School System.
Some of the districts share a vocational school, and also share the McCarthy Teszler School, a special education school.
* School District One includes Campobello-Gramling, Chapman High School, Holly Springs-Motlow Elementary, Inman Elementary, Inman Intermediate, Landrum High, Landrum Middle, Mabry Middle, New Prospect Elementary, and O.P. Earle Elementary. District One students can also attend Swofford Career Center
* School District Two includes Boiling Springs Elementary, Cooley Springs-Fingerville Elementary, Chesnee Elementary, Hendrix Elementary, Carlisle-Foster's Grove Elementary, Mayo Elementary, Oakland Elementary, Boiling Springs Intermediate, Boling Springs Junior High, Rainbow Lake Middle School, Chesnee Middle School, Boiling Springs High 9th grade, Boiling Springs High School, and Chesnee High School. District Two students can also attend Swofford Career Center.
* School District Three includes Cannons Elementary, Clifdale Elementary, Cowpens Elementary School, Pacolet Elementary School, Cowpens Middle School, Middle School of Pacolet, and Broome High School. District Three students to the Daniel Morgan Technology Center.
* School District Four has four schools: Woodruff Primary, Woodruff Elementary, Woodruff Middle and Woodruff High School. High school students also can attend R.D. Anderson Applied Technology Center to learn vocational skills.
* School District Five consists of Abner Creek Academy (formerly Abner Creek Elementary), Duncan Elementary, Lyman Elementary, Reidville Elementary, River Ridge Elementary, Wellford Academy of Science and Technology (formerly Wellford Elementary), Beech Springs Intermediate, Berry Shoals Intermediate, D. R. Hill Middle, Florence Chapel Middle, James F. Byrnes Freshman Academy, and James F. Byrnes High School. Vocational school students can attend R. D. Anderson Applied Technology Center.
* School District Six comprises Anderson Mill Elementary, Arcadia Elementary, Jesse S. Bobo Elementary, Fairforest Elementary, Lone Oak Elementary, Pauline-Glenn Springs Elementary, Roebuck Elementary, West View Elementary, Woodland Heights Elementary, Fairforest Middle, R. P. Dawkins Middle, L. E. Gable Middle, Dorman Freshman Campus, and Paul M. Dorman High School. District Six students can attend R. D. Anderson Applied Technology Center.
* School District Seven consists of Jesse Boyd Elementary, Chapman Elementary, Cleveland Elementary, Houston Elementary, Park Hills Elementary, Pine Street Elementary, Mary H. Wright Elementary, Edwin P. Todd School, George Washington Carver Middle, Joseph G. McCracken Middle, Whitlock Junior High, Spartanburg High School Freshman Academy, and Spartanburg High School. The Daniel Morgan Technology Center, ZL Madden Learning Center, The Myles W. Whitlock Flexible Learning Center, and The Early Learning Center at Park Hills also serve District Seven.
* Greenville County School District covers small portions, including parts of Greer.
South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind is in an unincorporated area in the county, near Spartanburg.
Spartanburg Day School, a private school, is in an unincorporated area.

### Colleges and universities

* Spartanburg Community College
* University of South Carolina Upstate in Valley Falls
* Spartanburg Methodist College in Saxon
* Converse University (Spartanburg)
* Wofford College (Spartanburg)
* Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (Spartanburg)
* Sherman College of Chiropractic (Spartanburg)

## Healthcare

Spartanburg County's healthcare is mainly provided by Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. Spartanburg Regional is a public, not-for-profit, integrated health care delivery system with several facilities in Spartanburg, including:
* Bearden-Josey Center for Breast Health, a state-of-the-art imaging center for digital mammography, ultrasound, stereotactic breast biopsy and bone densitometry.
* Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute, providing an inpatient oncology unit and outpatient care, along with access to clinical trials and the latest cancer technology. With locations across Upstate S.C., including Spartanburg and Greer in Spartanburg County.
* Medical Group of the Carolinas, a physician group with offices located throughout Spartanburg and Upstate South Carolina.
* Pelham Medical Center, in Greer, provides emergency services, general surgery, a medical office building and numerous practices.
* Regional HealthPlus (RHP), a network of hospitals and physicians of a wide range of specialty.
* Spartanburg Hospital for Restorative Care (SHRC), a 97-bed long-term, acute-care hospital with a 25-bed skilled nursing facility.
* Spartanburg Medical Center (SMC), a research and teaching hospital with two locations: Spartanburg Medical Center campus on East Wood Street and Spartanburg Medical Center — Mary Black Campus on Skylyn Drive. Together, these campuses share a history that stretches back to the 1920s. Spartanburg Medical Center includes a total of 747 beds, and services that include emergency, surgical, maternity, cancer, a Heart Center and inpatient rehabilitation.
* The Sports Medicine Institute, located at Upward Star Center, where doctors, athletic trainers, and physical therapists serve professional and recreational athletes.
* Woodruff Manor, an 88-bed skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Woodruff.

### Cancer care expansion

In early 2018, Spartanburg Regional began construction on an expansion of its Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute at Pelham location. The 191,000-square-foot (17,700 m$^2$) expansion is intended to provide cancer care for more patients along the border of Spartanburg and Greenville counties. The expansion of the building was completed and began accepting patients in March 2020.

## Communities
### Cities

* Chesnee (partly in Cherokee County)
* Greer (mostly in Greenville County)
* Inman
* Landrum
* Spartanburg (county seat and largest community)
* Wellford
* Woodruff

### Towns

* Campobello
* Central Pacolet
* Cowpens
* Duncan
* Lyman
* Pacolet
* Reidville

### Census-designated places

* Arcadia
* Arkwright
* Ben Avon
* Boiling Springs
* Camp Croft
* Clifton
* Converse
* Cross Anchor
* Drayton
* Enoree
* Fairforest
* Fingerville
* Glendale
* Glenn Springs
* Gramling
* Hilltop
* Inman Mills
* Mayo
* Pauline
* Roebuck
* Saxon
* Southern Shops
* Startex
* Valley Falls
* Whitney

### Other unincorporated communities

* Campton
* Cashville
* Cherokee Springs
* Crescent
* Holly Springs
* Little Africa
* Little Chicago
* Moore
* New Prospect
* Pelham (also known as Sugar Tit)
* Stone Station
* Switzer
* Una
* White Stone

## Notable people

* Harold Cohen
* Ira Roe Foster
* Caleb Kennedy
* Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones
* Marshall Tucker Band