PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Spartanburg, SC

64.4
Life Score / 100
A
Grade (curved)
#16
of 387 metros
96%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Spartanburg ranks #16 of 387 US metros, ahead of 96% - carried by its safety (96/100) and held back most by schools (27/100).

96
strongest: Safety
85
then: Environment
27
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Spartanburg sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

64 Top 4% higher than 96% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Below this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Below this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Below this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). This entry sits in this band. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Spartanburg Life Score

Spartanburg's composite score of 64.4 out of 100, a grade of A, places the metro at rank #16 of 387, ahead of 96% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (96/100) and Environment (85/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (27/100) and Wages (41/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 91.1 (rent-RPP 68.0). BLS median salary $63,034, 158,460 jobs (Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,187/mo (studio $1,034).

FBI UCR (SC): 439 violent, 1988 property/100K. NCES: 14.3:1 ratio, 7.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,732/yr. EPA: 34 Superfund sites (SC). Ranks #13-#19 below.

Dimension detail

How Spartanburg scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 69/100 (20%)
Wages 41/100 (20%)
Rent 65/100 (15%)
Safety 96/100 (15%)
Schools 27/100 (10%)
Childcare 69/100 (10%)
Environment 85/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

91.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$63,034
Avg Median Salary
$1,187
2BR Fair Market Rent
439
Violent Crime/100K (SC)
14.3:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,732
Infant Childcare/yr (SC)
34
Superfund Sites (SC)
158,460
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Spartanburg With...

Spartanburg vs Sumter Compare → Spartanburg vs Florence Compare → Spartanburg vs Charlotte Compare → Spartanburg vs Wildwood Compare → Spartanburg vs Waterloo Compare → Spartanburg vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Spartanburg outranks 96% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#13 Parkersburg-Vienna, WV 65.2 A
#14 Ames, IA 65.2 A
#15 Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH 65.7 A
#16 Spartanburg, SC 64.4 A
#17 Cedar Rapids, IA 64.2 A
#18 Sioux Falls, SD-MN 64.0 A
#19 Peoria, IL 63.9 A

SC Metro Scores

Sumter, SC A- 60.5 Florence, SC A- 60.2 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC A- 59.2 Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC B+ 58.5 Columbia, SC B 52.6 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC B- 52.1

Using Spartanburg's Life Score

Spartanburg is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (96/100) and its weakest is schools (27/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Spartanburg head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Spartanburg lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Spartanburg's biggest strengths? ▼
Spartanburg's strongest dimensions are Safety (96/100), Environment (85/100), Childcare (69/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Spartanburg's weakest areas? ▼
Spartanburg's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (27/100), Wages (41/100), Rent (65/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Spartanburg compared to the national average? ▼
Spartanburg's Regional Price Parity is 91.1 (8.9% less than national); rent RPP 68.0.
What is the average salary in Spartanburg? ▼
Spartanburg median salary: $63,034, 158,460 jobs. Top: Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Spartanburg's 64.4/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.