Best PlacesSpartanburg County, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Spartanburg County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Spartanburg County ranks 1,147th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on a strong job market and low disaster risk. The weaker spots are an overheated housing market, childcare costs, and air quality.
The best neighborhoods in Spartanburg County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Spartanburg County
The parts of Spartanburg County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Greer & Duncan
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more households have young kids.
Inman & Valley Falls
Crime runs lower and fewer homes sit empty.
Campobello & Landrum
It is quieter and more residents vote.
Moore, Woodruff & Roebuck
Scores close to Campobello & Landrum, except that commutes are shorter here.
Lyman & Wellford
Tree cover is thinner.
Spartanburg
More adults hold degrees and biking is better.
Pauline & Pacolet
Health outcomes score lower.
Chesnee & Cowpens
Homes cost less.
Saxon & Southern Shops
Health care is harder to reach and schools score lower.
Spartanburg County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Spartanburg County's strengths and weaknesses
Spartanburg County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. A strong job market, low disaster risk, and good schools carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. An overheated housing market, childcare costs, and air quality hold the score down. Cost swings more from one part of Spartanburg County to another than it does between Spartanburg County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Spartanburg County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 85% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of counties
- School gradeB, better than 77% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 77% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 76% of counties
Where Spartanburg County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 22% of counties
- Cheap childcare$908 a month, better than only 27% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 27% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 32% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 34% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Spartanburg County
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Spartanburg County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,838, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Spartanburg County's effective rate of 0.59%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Spartanburg County
Spartanburg County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Spartanburg County.
Who works in Spartanburg County, and how
Work in Spartanburg County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Spartanburg County
Spartanburg County has more late-night spots per resident than 88% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Spartanburg County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Spartanburg County growing, and who is moving in?
Spartanburg County has grown about 26% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Greenville, SC.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Spartanburg County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Spartanburg County, month by month
Spartanburg County sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 42° | 34° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 50° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 74° | 62° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Spartanburg County
The nearest airport, Greenville Spartanburg International, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charlotte/Douglas International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around Spartanburg County
Schools across Spartanburg County average a B, better than 77% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Oakview ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Pine St. ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Woodland ElementaryA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Riverside MiddleA · 61% proficient
- Chesnee MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- Mccracken MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Riverside HighA · 74% proficient
- Boiling Springs HighA · 71% proficient
- Woodruff HighA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Spartanburg County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Spartanburg County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Spartanburg County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Spartanburg County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Spartanburg County
Is Spartanburg County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Spartanburg County ranks 1,147th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, low disaster risk, and good schools, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Spartanburg County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $235,513. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $70,838 median income, cost of living beats 59% of counties.
Is Spartanburg County safe?
Spartanburg County is safer than 42% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $480 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Spartanburg County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 34. That works out to about 79 pleasant days a year, more than 38% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Spartanburg County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Greer & Duncan, Inman & Valley Falls, and Campobello & Landrum. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Spartanburg County good for families?
Schools beat 77% of counties, crime safety beats 42%, and childcare runs $908 a month.
Is Spartanburg County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 59% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 76% of counties. About 9% of workers already work from home.
Compare Spartanburg County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Spartanburg County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Spartanburg County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Spartanburg County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Spartanburg County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Spartanburg County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Spartanburg County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Spartanburg County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Spartanburg County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.