FairforestSC
A town of 1,727, settled in 1884.
Is Fairforest a good place to live?
Fairforest’s weakest subject grade is a D for walkability. 29% of residents live below the poverty line in Fairforest, where South Carolina’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. No town in South Carolina scores higher than Fairforest on hazard risk. On the outdoors, just 5 of South Carolina’s 263 towns do worse. Fairforest has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Fairforest stand out
Where Fairforest beats most towns.
Every workday, about 2,031 people come to Fairforest for work
Where Fairforest’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Fairforest grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Fairforest is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Fairforest: who provides what
Fairforest 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 Fairforest.
Fairforest has 3.2 jobs for every working resident, and 2,031 people commute in
Most working residents leave Fairforest for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Fairforest grew to 2,050 in 2023, 490 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Spartanburg (16%), Greenville (5%) and Southern Shops (5%).
| Fairforest | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 6.1% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Public schools in Fairforest beat 53% of South Carolina districts
Its public schools are run by the Spartanburg 06 school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairforest MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,007 | C− |
| Oakbrook Preparatory School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 436 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Compared with most of South Carolina and the rest of the country, the FEMA risk score in Fairforest is lower
Fairforest’s FEMA risk score is 6 of 100, below both South Carolina’s towns (45 of 100) and U.S. towns (44 of 100).
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Health in Fairforest trails 67% of U.S. towns
Fairforest beats the South Carolina average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 21% of Fairforest adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Fairforest | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 13% | 8.1% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 33% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 21% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 28% | 25% |
| What stands out | Fairforest | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.9% | 8.6% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 25.6% | 28.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 20.7% | 11.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Fairforest has mild winters and hot summers
Fairforest has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Fairforest is 90°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median home in Fairforest sells for about $250K
79% of households own their home in Fairforest.
| Fairforest | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 79% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,329 a month | $1,060 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Peachoid and 18 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fairforest. Close and well known come first.
21 mi LandmarkPeachoid
22 mi Stadium & arenaBon Secours Wellness Arena
17 mi National BattlefieldCowpens National Battlefield175K visitors a year
36 mi State parkChimney Rock State Park
33 mi National Historic SiteCarl Sandburg Home National Historic Site95K visitors a year
37 mi Park & preserveDuPont State ForestPhoto 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 · Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site: Victoria Stauffenberg, Public domain · DuPont State Forest: Ccalvin, CC BY-SA 3.0
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Everything we know about Fairforest
Colleges nearby
6 within 15 miles of the center of Fairforest
About 4 of every 100 Fairforest residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
About Fairforest
CDP in South Carolina, United States
Fairforest is a Census-designated place located in Spartanburg County in the U.S. State of South Carolina. According to the 2010 United States census, the population was 1,646.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.1 sq mi
- ZIP code
- 29336
Fairforest’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Fairforest.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairforest | — | — | C+ | — | B− | C |
| Arcadia | #112 | C− | B− | — | B− | C− |
Fairforest has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Fairforest and Arcadia report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fairforest with a neighbor →
Questions about Fairforest
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fairforest, SC expensive?
The typical home is worth about $200,000, 34% 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 C+.
What is Fairforest, SC known for?
2 notable people were born here, including Abner B. Martin and John L. Martin Jr..