Spartanburg is a city located in Spartanburg County in South Carolina, a state of the United States of America, and 98 miles north of Columbia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 39,673. It is the county seat of Spartanburg County⁶. Spartanburg is second largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region.

History

When the United States entered World War I in 1917 one of the 16 divisional cantonments, Camp Wadsworth, for the training of National Guard troops, was established near the town. Most of the New York State troops were trained there.

Geography

Spartanburg is located at 34°56'48" North, 81°55'39" West (34.946771, -81.927603)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 49.9 km² (19.2 mi²). 49.6 km² (19.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.47% water.

Economy

The economy of the Spartanburg mostly revolves around the BMW manufacturing facility located in the western end of Spartanburg County. BMW begun manufacturing its Z3 roadster in Spartanburg in 1996, and currently manufactures its Z4 roadster, X5 SUV and X3 SUV. The world headquarters of Denny's restaurants is also located in Spartanburg.

Education

Spartanburg is served by the Spartanburg County School System, which is divided in to individual districts. The city of Spartanbug as well as Duncan are located in District 5 of Spartanburg County School System.

Spartanburg is home to the University of South Carolina-Spartanburg. Other institutions of higher education in Spartanburg and Spartanburg County includes:

• Converse College
• Spartanburg Methodist College
• Spartanburg Technical College
• Wofford College

Attractions

Spartanburg is home to many of the Upstate's attractions and arts/cultural venues as well as Greenville. Spartanburg is home to the Ballet Spartanburg which has host over 20 national and internation ballet companies.

Arts/Culture

• Arts Center
• Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium

Transportation

Spartanburg is located along the Interstate 85 corridor. Also many spurs of Interstate 85 are located in the area such as Interstate 585 and Business Interstate 85. Interstate 26 is the other major cooridor that travels through Spartanburg on its way toward Asheville.

Suburban Greer, South Carolina, located on the Greenville and Spartanburg County border, is home to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, which serves Greenville, South Carolina as well as Spartanburg.

Amtrak's Crescent train connects Spartanburg with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham and New Orleans. The Amtrak station is situated at 290 Magnolia Street.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 39,673 people, 15,989 households, and 9,721 families residing in the city. The population density is 799.9/km² (2,071.2/mi²). There are 17,696 housing units at an average density of 356.8/km² (923.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 47.15% White, 49.55% African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.33% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.76% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. 1.78% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 15,989 households out of which 28.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.0% are married couples living together, 23.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% are non-families. 34.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.33 and the average family size is 3.00.

In the city the population is spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 79.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 73.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $28,735, and the median income for a family is $36,108. Males have a median income of $30,587 versus $23,256 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,136. 23.3% of the population and 19.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 34.6% of those under the age of 18 and 15.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

• Official Website of the City of Spartanburg (http://www.cityofspartanburg.org)
• Spartanburg Herald-Journal (http://www.goupstate.com)
• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=34.946771&longitude=-81.927603&zoom=6)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=34.946771&lon=-81.927603&s=200&size=m&layer=DRG100)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=14&lon=-81.927603&lat=34.946771&w=750&h=500)