county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located on the northwestern border of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is
Spartanburg
Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...
The county was founded in 1785 and was named after the Spartan Rifles (
Spartan Regiment
The Spartan Regiment, a List of South Carolina militia units in the American Revolution, militia group of South Carolina in the American Revolution, was formed in 1775 by John Thomas (colonel), John Thomas at the request of the Council of Safety. ...
) which was a local militia during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. The largest community and the county seat is Spartanburg, which resides in
Upstate South Carolina
The Upstate, historically known as the Upcountry, is a region of the U.S. state of South Carolina, comprising the northwesternmost area of the state. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the ...
.
The ship is named after the county.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.39%) is water.
Daniel Morgan Monument
Daniel Morgan Monument is a historic monument located at Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, South Carolina. The statue was designed by John Quincy Adams Ward and the monument erected in 1881. The monument commemorates the centennial of the victory ...
*
Emily Dickinson
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...
Enoree River
The Enoree River is a tributary of the Broad River, 85 mi (137 km) long, in northwestern South Carolina in the United States. Via the Broad and Congaree Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Santee River, which flows to the Atlan ...
Lawsons Fork Creek
The Pacolet River is a tributary of the Broad River, about 50 miles (80 km) long, in northwestern South Carolina in the United States.North Pacolet River
*
Pacolet River
The Pacolet River is a tributary of the Broad River, about 50 miles (80 km) long, in northwestern South Carolina in the United States.South Pacolet River
* South Tyger River
* Tyger Lake
*
Tyger River
The Tyger River is a stream in the U.S. state of South Carolina, and a tributary of the Broad River. It is part of the Santee River Basin. It is a generally shallow and narrow river. Pollution in the north fork was the source of dispute in '' ...
Adjacent counties
*
Rutherford County, North Carolina
Rutherford County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 64,444. Its county seat is Rutherfordton, North Carolina, R ...
Greenville County
Greenville County ( ; locally ) is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 525,534, making it the most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is also home to t ...
– west
*
Polk County, North Carolina
Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,328. Its county seat is Columbus.
History
The county was formed in 1855 from parts of Henderson and Rutherford counties. It w ...
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 . There were 122,628 housing units at an average density of . 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
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
, and 8.8% were
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
.
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
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, 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 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
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...
was $19.5 billion (about $54,626 per capita), and the
real GDP
Real gross domestic product (real GDP) is a macroeconomic measure of the value of economic output adjusted for price changes (i.e. inflation or deflation). This adjustment transforms the money-value measure, nominal GDP, into an index for quantit ...
was $16.7 billion (about $46,895 per capita) in chained 2017 dollars.
, some of the largest employers in the county include
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
,
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
,
Ingles
Ingles Markets, Inc. (stylized as ingles) is an American supermarket chain based in Black Mountain, North Carolina. As of September 2021, the company operates 198 supermarkets in the Appalachian region of the Southeastern United States. The c ...
,
Michelin
Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
,
Optum
Optum, Inc. is an American healthcare company that provides technology services, pharmacy care services (including a pharmacy benefit manager) and various direct healthcare services.
Optum was formed as a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group in ...
,
QuikTrip
The QuikTrip Corporation, more commonly known as QuikTrip (QT), is an American chain of convenience stores based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that operates in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Southern United States, Southern, and Western United ...
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
, and
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
There are eight school districts which cover portions of the county. Text list /ref> 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
Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...
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
Spartanburg High School is a public high school in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. It is part of Spartanburg County School District 7.
The current principal is Andrew McMillan, former principal of Chapman High School in Inman, Sou ...
. 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
Greenville County School District (GCSD) is a public school district in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. It is the largest school district in the state of South Carolina and the 44th largest in the US.
As of the 2019–2020 ...
unincorporated area
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in the county, near Spartanburg.
Spartanburg Day School
Spartanburg Day School is a private, nonsectarian, college preparatory school located in unincorporated Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States, with a Spartanburg post office address, in the Greenville-Spartanburg area. It consists ...
, a private school, is in an unincorporated area.
Colleges and universities
*
Spartanburg Community College
Spartanburg Community College (SCC) is a public community college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The college serves the citizens of Spartanburg, Cherokee, and Union counties in Upstate South Carolina.
History
Spartanburg Community College w ...
*
University of South Carolina Upstate
The University of South Carolina Upstate (USC Upstate) is a public university in Valley Falls, South Carolina, United States. It has a Spartanburg postal address. Founded in 1967 and formerly known as University of South Carolina Spartanburg, ...
Spartanburg Methodist College
Spartanburg Methodist College (SMC) is a private college in Saxon, South Carolina, United States, with a Spartanburg, South Carolina, Spartanburg postal address. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and enrolled 1,128 studen ...
in
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
*
Converse University
Converse University is a private university in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was established in 1889 by a group of Spartanburg residents and named after textile pioneer Dexter Edgar Converse. It was originally a women's college but now admits ...
(Spartanburg)
*
Wofford College
Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...
(Spartanburg)
*
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) is a private osteopathic medical school on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, with branch campuses in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, and Monroe, Louisiana. ...
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
The Upstate, historically known as the Upcountry, is a region of the U.S. state of South Carolina, comprising the northwesternmost area of the state. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the ...
.
* 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 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.
Spartanburg
Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...
Cowpens Cowpens may refer to:
* Battle of Cowpens, a battle in the American Revolution
* Cowpens National Battlefield, a unit of the National Park Service that protects the battlefield.
* Cowpens, South Carolina
* USS Cowpens (CG-63), USS ''Cowpens'' (CG-63 ...
*
Duncan
Duncan may refer to:
People
* Duncan (given name), various people
* Duncan (surname), various people
* Clan Duncan
* Justice Duncan (disambiguation)
Places
* Duncan Creek (disambiguation)
* Duncan River (disambiguation)
* Duncan Lake (di ...
Ben Avon
Ben Avon (, 'mountain of the River Avon, Strathspey, Avon') is a mountain in the Cairngorms of Scotland. It is a sprawling mountain with a broad summit plateau dotted with granite Tor (rock formation), tors. One of these marks the summit, calle ...
Drayton Drayton may refer to:
People
* Drayton (surname)
Legal cases
* '' United States v. Drayton'', 536 U.S. 194 (2002)
Places Australia
*Drayton, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region
*Shire of Drayton, a former local government area in Quee ...
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
Crescent
A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself.
In Hindu iconography, Hind ...
Moore
Moore may refer to:
Language
* Mooré language, spoken in West Africa
People
* Moore (surname)
** List of people with surname Moore
* Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador
* Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...
Ira Roe Foster
Ira Roe Foster (January 9, 1811 – November 19, 1885) was a teacher, medical doctor, attorney, soldier, businessman, and politician from South Carolina. During the 1840s, Foster served as brigadier general in the Georgia Militia.
In 1861 ...
Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones
The Sparkletones (sometimes credited as Joe Bennett & the Sparkletones) were an American rock and roll/rockabilly group from Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States.
History
The Sparkletones formed in 1956 at Cowpens High School in Spartanb ...
*
Marshall Tucker Band
The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. Whi ...
See also
*
List of counties in South Carolina
The U.S. state of South Carolina is made up of 46 counties, the maximum allowable by state law. They range in size from 392 square miles (1,015 square kilometers) in the case of Calhoun County to 1,358 square miles (3,517 square kilometers) i ...
Tryon County, North Carolina
Tryon County is a former county which was located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It was formed in 1768 from the part of Mecklenburg County west of the Catawba River, although the legislative act that created it did not become effective unti ...
, former county in
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
which included modern-day parts of Spartanburg County
*
Eastern Cherokee, Southern Iroquois, and United Tribes of South Carolina
The Eastern Cherokee, Southern Iroquois and United Tribes of South Carolina, Inc. or ECSIUT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and "state-recognized group" not to be confused with a state-recognized tribe. The state of South Carolina gave them t ...