Spartanburg County is 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.
Contents
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.
Spartanburg County was the center of the 2025-2026 South Carolina measles outbreak. By the end of January 2026, South Carolina exceeded any other state in terms of confirmed measles cases with over 990 cases mostly centered around Spartanburg County. The county was ground zero for the largest measles outbreak since 2000, the year that measles was declared eliminated in the United States. Spartanburg has been characterized by extensive vaccine skepticism and low vaccination rates; at one school, only 20 percent of students were vaccinated.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 819.74 square miles (2,123.1 km2), of which 808.34 square miles (2,093.6 km2) is land and 11.40 square miles (29.5 km2) (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 infrastructure
Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport
Inland Port Greer, major rail depot in the county
Spartanburg Downtown Airport
Spartanburg Station
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 327,997 people, 125,836 households, and 83,432 families residing in the county.
The median age was 38.8 years, with 23.2% of residents under the age of 18 and 16.9% aged 65 years or older; for every 100 females there were 94.2 males and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.3 males.
The racial makeup of the county was 66.9% White, 19.6% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.6% from some other race, and 6.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.5% of the population.
70.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 29.5% lived in rural areas.
Of the 125,836 households, 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 28.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 137,009 housing units, of which 8.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 70.6% were owner-occupied and 29.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.3%.
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/km2). There were 122,628 housing units at an average density of 151.8 per square mile (58.6/km2). 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
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. In 2024, the county saw a strong rightward trend, with Donald Trump performing better than any Republican in the county since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
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.
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.
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.
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 m2) 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
Notable people
Harold Cohen
Ira Roe Foster
Jacob Bridgeman
Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones
Marshall Tucker Band