About three in ten people with a credit file in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, have unpaid debt sent to a collector
In Spartanburg County, 31.0% of people with a credit file had unpaid debt sent to a collector. That is higher than in 76% of U.S. counties.
More distressed than 66% of U.S. counties.
What drives Spartanburg County's score
In Spartanburg County, late payments on loans weigh most: the score for late payments on loans is 74.2. People with a car or retail loan behind: 7.7%, August 2025, higher than in 80% of U.S. counties. Housing costs come next, at 63.4.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Spartanburg County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Spartanburg County does better than most counties on two measures: bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (85.2, 2025) and median household income ($70,103, 2024).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 74.2 of 100
Late payments
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind7.2% · August 202576th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind7.7% · August 202580th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score44.9% · second quarter of 202666th percentile
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- 63.4 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent23.2% · 2020 to 202478th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income20.5% · fiscal year 202747th percentile
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- 60.2 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year4.5% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202669th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working20.9% · 2020 to 202450th percentile
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- 52.6 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Credit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector31.0% · August 202576th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people85.2 · 202528th percentile
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- 48.3 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.5% · 202444th percentile
- Children below the poverty line15.9% · 202443rd percentile
- People with a disability15.1% · 2020 to 202441st percentile
- People without health insurance10.7% · 2020 to 202470th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$70,103 · 202440th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Spartanburg County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Spartanburg County, 16.3% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Spartanburg County
South Carolina
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
Benefit checks' share of income in Spartanburg County made its largest gain on the way to its 2009 high, from 18.0% in 2004 to 23.7% in 2009.
In Spartanburg County, benefit checks' share of income has tripled since 1969, reaching 22.1% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Spartanburg County, South Carolina, benefit checks' share of income tripled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 22.1%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Spartanburg County getting SNAP food aid had its largest rise, from 8.9% in 2010 to 10.6% in 2011.
The share of households in Spartanburg County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2015 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 7.7% in 2009. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
How Spartanburg County has changed
Spartanburg County's population had its largest rise in the last span, from 323,180 in 2019 to 369,256 in 2024.
Spartanburg County's population doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 369,256, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1974 to 1979, reaching 199,543. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Spartanburg County rose by about half to 157,484, the highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 2015 to 2020, reaching 144,453. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Spartanburg County, South Carolina.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 4.5% | 2025 4.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.9% | 2024 12.5% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,629 | 2024 $70,103 |
The table uses 4.6% for 2025; the score uses 4.5% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Spartanburg County's history
1950
Textile manufacturing declined after 1950s as wages increased; most jobs moved offshore. Wikipedia
1952
A tornado in May 1952 killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
1989
A tornado in May 1989 did $2.5 million in property damage and killed two people. NOAA Storm Events Database
2015
A flash flood in October 2015 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 327,997, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
2024
A flash flood in September 2024 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
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Since 1977
25 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Spartanburg County, 4 of them for flooding. FEMA
Spartanburg County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Spartanburg County, in South Carolina and North Carolina, four score higher. For the share of income from benefit checks, Spartanburg County ranks 6th of the seven; Union County is highest, at 40.1%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union County, SC | 91 | 18.7% | 40.1% |
| Cherokee County, SC | 82 | 16.4% | 32.6% |
| Laurens County, SC | 80 | 16.9% | 36.9% |
| Rutherford County, NC | 75 | 14.8% | 37.0% |
| Spartanburg County, SC | 66 | 12.5% | 22.1% |
| Greenville County, SC | 43 | 9.9% | 19.2% |
| Polk County, NC | 23 | 12.3% | 27.3% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Spartanburg County the poorest county in South Carolina?
No, Spartanburg County's poverty rate was 12.5% in 2024, 37th highest of 46 in South Carolina (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Allendale County, at 31.6%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Spartanburg County ranks 32nd of 46 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Spartanburg County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Regenesis Community Development Corporation F/k/a Upstate Housing Partnership
HUD-approved housing counselor
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Telamon Corporation - Greenville Branch
HUD-approved housing counselor
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South Carolina Legal Services
Legal aid
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Pro Bono Legal Services — SC Bar
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Spartanburg County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Spartanburg County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.