Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,257, settled in 1847. Public schools that outperform most of South Carolina.
Trash day: MondayCowpens’ best subject grade is an A− for schools; its weakest is a D for health. 29% of residents live below the poverty line in Cowpens, against 17% in South Carolina’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Among 170 South Carolina towns, just 3 have a lower January low than Cowpens. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 78% of U.S. towns. Cowpens's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 98% of U.S. towns. Cowpens Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places. Cowpens has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Cowpens beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Cowpens Elementary | PK–5 | 460 |
| Widest gap | Cowpens | SC |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.7% | 13.9% |
Where Cowpens’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Cowpens is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 112 in 1880, 2,023 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1912 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cowpens, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Cowpens.
The share of adults in Cowpens who sleep under 7 hours: 39%. In Cowpens, 43% of adults have high blood pressure, where South Carolina’s towns sit at 40% and U.S. towns at 35%.
| Cowpens | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 40% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 28% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 23% | 19% |
| What stands out | Cowpens | SC |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.7% | 13.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.6% | 7.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 23.3% | 17.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its one school is below. The public schools here belong to the Spartanburg 03 school district. Enrollment at Cowpens’s public school: 460 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowpens ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 460 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Cowpens’ level of property crime stands at 15.3 per 1,000 residents. For Cowpens, the violent offense rate is 1.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Cowpens | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 4.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.3 per 1,000 residents | 21.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In Cowpens, 69% of households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Cowpens had 236 jobs in 2023, up 54 from 2013. Commuting out is the norm locally: 2% of working residents work locally. The middle household income in the town is $39,000. The top destinations are Spartanburg (18%), Southern Shops (3%) and Gaffney (3%).
| Cowpens | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $39,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2% | 6.1% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
On expected storm and flood damage, Cowpens sits below three quarters of U.S. communities. 56% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 11%. Federal aid has come to Cowpens households in 5 declared disasters; the latest was in 2024.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Walkers can cover 0.2 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The trail density for Cowpens comes to 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Cowpens | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gordon Henry Park | — | 6 |
| 2. Cowpens Veterans Memorial Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cowpens. Close and well known come first.
9 mi LandmarkPeachoid
7 mi National BattlefieldCowpens National Battlefield175K visitors a year
35 mi Stadium & arenaBon Secours Wellness Arena
38 mi State parkChimney Rock State Park
23 mi National Military ParkKings Mountain National Military Park176K visitors a year
40 mi National Historic SiteCarl Sandburg Home National Historic Site95K visitors a yearPeachoid: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Cowpens National Battlefield: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bon Secours Wellness Arena: Nicolas Henderson from Coppell, Texas, CC BY 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
7 within 15 miles of the center of Cowpens
About 2 of every 100 Cowpens residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
3 notable people were born in Cowpens.
Town in South Carolina, United States
Cowpens is a town in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cowpens had a population of 2,023. The town was chartered February 20, 1880, and was incorporated in 1900.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Public schools that outperform most of South Carolina.
That is 3.1 years of the area's median household income ($64,382 across the Spartanburg, SC metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
3 notable people were born here, including Hank Garland and Gabe Wilkins.
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