ArkwrightSC
A town of 2,816.
Is Arkwright a good place to live?
Arkwright gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $164K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the Spartanburg metro’s $64K median household income. It grades C− overall, 119th of 167 graded towns in South Carolina. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 93% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and the median household income is $54K, and 24% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 82% of U.S. towns. Among 169 South Carolina towns, just 4 have a lower share of working residents who work in town than Arkwright.
What makes Arkwright stand out
Where Arkwright beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
How Arkwright grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Arkwright is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Arkwright: who provides what
Arkwright is unincorporated, so Spartanburg County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Arkwright.
Arkwright has homes that are cheap against local pay and has a longer frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of South Carolina; it also has little public open land.
Arkwright earns a D for health
19% of adults have diabetes in Arkwright, where South Carolina’s towns sit at 15% and U.S. towns at 12%. 30% of Arkwright adults worry about having enough food. Arkwright beats the South Carolina average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 25.
| Arkwright | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 12% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 21% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Arkwright | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.5% | 15.7% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.1% | 8.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 30.2% | 17.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Low risk in Arkwright, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1989, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Arkwright.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Arkwright has mild winters and hot summers
The Spartanburg 3 Sse weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 206 days: longer than most of the country, but shorter than 92% of South Carolina places with climate records. July afternoons average 90°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 77% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 31.5°.
Arkwright has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. At 32°F, Arkwright’s January low is close to South Carolina’s towns (34°F) and above U.S. towns (22°F). The July high in Arkwright is 90°F.
| Arkwright | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 32°F | 34°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Arkwright has 0.8 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs based here grew from 510 in 2013 to 843.
Most working residents leave Arkwright for work: only 1% work in town. Arkwright’s average trip to work is 20 minutes. Jobs based in Arkwright grew to 843 in 2023, 333 more than in 2013.
| Arkwright | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.1% of Arkwright is conserved land
Just 2 of its 1,665 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Arkwright itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.1 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Arkwright Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Arkwright earns a B+ for cost of living
At 2.5 years of the Spartanburg metro’s $64K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 82% of South Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
50% of households own their home in Arkwright.
| Arkwright | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $981 a month | $1,062 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Peachoid and 15 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Arkwright. Close and well known come first.
19 mi LandmarkPeachoid
26 mi Stadium & arenaBon Secours Wellness Arena
16 mi National BattlefieldCowpens National Battlefield175K visitors a year
40 mi State parkChimney Rock State Park
33 mi National Military ParkKings Mountain National Military Park176K visitors a year
37 mi National Historic SiteCarl Sandburg Home National Historic Site95K visitors a yearPhoto credits
Peachoid: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Bon Secours Wellness Arena: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas, CC BY 2.0 · Cowpens National Battlefield: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chimney Rock State Park: Jmturner, Public domain · Kings Mountain National Military Park: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site: Victoria Stauffenberg, Public domain
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Everything we know about Arkwright
Colleges nearby
6 within 15 miles of the center of Arkwright
About 9 of every 100 Arkwright residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
About Arkwright
Census-designated place in South Carolina, United States
Arkwright is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) adjacent to the city of Spartanburg in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census with a population of 2,311. The CDP is in central Spartanburg County and is bordered to the north and west by the city of Spartanburg. It is bordered to the south by unincorporated Roebuck. The CDP takes its name from the Arkwright neighborhood of Spartanburg, directly to the north. U.S. Route 221 is the main road through the community, leading north 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the center of Spartanburg and southwest 15 miles (24 km) to Woodruff.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.6 sq mi
- Elevation
- 699 ft
Arkwright’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Arkwright.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkwright | #119 | C− | B+ | — | B | D |
| Spartanburg | #117 | C− | C+ | — | B | C− |
| Roebuck | #50 | B | A− | — | B− | C+ |
Arkwright, Spartanburg and Roebuck report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Arkwright with a neighbor →
Questions about Arkwright
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Arkwright, SC a good place to live?
Arkwright grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #119 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades D for health and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Arkwright, SC expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $164,000, 46% below the South Carolina typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.