Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Gaffney grades D− overall, 150th of 167 graded towns in South Carolina, mostly because of incomes and health. The median household income is $41K, and 29% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are less healthy than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What it does well: it is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns. 29% of residents live below the poverty line in Gaffney, against 17% in South Carolina’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Gaffney is home to Limestone University. Only one of the 169 South Carolina towns we compare has a lower January low than Gaffney.
Where Gaffney beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 400 in 1880, 12,764 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 2 maps from 1909 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Gaffney is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Gaffney, 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 Gaffney.
Gaffney is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of South Carolina; it also has poverty well above the South Carolina rate.
Against the 2,706 U.S. towns with household incomes like Gaffney’s, it is less healthy than 54%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
Of 32 CDC measures, Gaffney beats the South Carolina average on 1 and trails it on 18. The share of adults in Gaffney who worry about having enough food: 28%. Among adults in the town, 34% get no exercise outside work and 42% sleep under 7 hours.
| Gaffney | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 21% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 28% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 36% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Gaffney | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.5% | 8.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 14.4% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The largest public high school is Gaffney High, with 1,827 students. The public schools here belong to the Cherokee 01 school district. Two of its 5 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaffney MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 851 | C |
| Gaffney HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,827 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
The level of property crime for Gaffney comes to 28.1 per 1,000 residents. Within South Carolina, it does better than 52% of towns.
| Gaffney | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 28.1 per 1,000 residents | 21.1 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.3 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical value, about $190K, is 11% below its August 2022 peak. At about $190K, home values are down 3% in five years, against a rise of 24% across South Carolina.
A home in Gaffney typically sold within 47 days of listing. Values fell 2.1% in the year to September 2026. Gaffney: just over half of households are owner-occupiers.
| Gaffney | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 51% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $887 a month | $1,062 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
29.1% of residents live below the poverty line, against 14.1% across South Carolina, which weighs on its D for jobs and income. The median household earns $41,089, against $69,324 across South Carolina.
College graduates make up nearly a quarter of adults 25 and older, against 32% across South Carolina. Adults 18 to 34 are nearly a third of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 30% of residents (38% statewide). 16% of residents are 65 or older in Gaffney.
| Gaffney | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 31.9 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 24% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.9 points. Across South Carolina, 51.3% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 69% are women (SC 51%).
| Gaffney | SC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 15.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.5% | 12.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.9% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.5% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.3% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.4% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 15.5% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34.3% | 28.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.4% | 19.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.7% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.8% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.3% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
July afternoons average 89.6°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 85% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 30°.
Gaffney’s July high stands at 90°F. About 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 5,644 working residents takes 18.8 minutes, against 25.6 across South Carolina.
The top destinations are Spartanburg (6%), Charlotte (4%) and East Gaffney (2%). Its mean commuting time comes in at 19 minutes. The median commute is under 17 miles.
| Gaffney | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 6.1% | 8% |
| Median household income | $41,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2 flood insurance claims have been paid in Gaffney since 2013. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. 52% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by tornadoes at 18%. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 5 declared disasters, most recently in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Gaffney, the concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile. Across 8 parks and preserves: 0.8 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in the town: 8, covering 23 acres.
| Gaffney | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jolly Park | 0.4 mi | 4 |
| 2. Irene Park | — | 6 |
| 3. McCluney Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Gaffney. Close and well known come first.
in town LandmarkPeachoid
8 mi National BattlefieldCowpens National Battlefield175K visitors a year
14 mi National Military ParkKings Mountain National Military Park176K visitors a year28 mi Zoo & aquariumHollyWild Animal Park
35 mi GardenDaniel Stowe Botanical Garden
19 mi GardenHatcher Garden and Woodland PreservePeachoid: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Cowpens National Battlefield: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Kings Mountain National Military Park: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden: Robert Nunnally, CC BY 2.0 · Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve: Photo by and (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), CC BY-SA 2.5
2 within 15 miles of the center of Gaffney
About 12 of every 100 Gaffney residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
8 places in Gaffney on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Gaffney.
City in South Carolina, United States
Gaffney is a city in and the seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the Upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is known as the "Peach Capital of South Carolina". The population was 12,764 at the 2020 census. The city had an estimated population of 12,609 in 2019. It is the principal city of the Gaffney, South Carolina, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Cherokee County and which is further included in the greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, South Carolina Combined Statistical Area. Gaffney was the home of Limestone University, which operated from 1845 until 2025.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Gaffney.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaffney | #150 | D− | B− | D | C | D |
| East Gaffney | #123 | C− | A+ | — | C | D− |
East Gaffney reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Gaffney with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Gaffney grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #150 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades D for health, D for safety and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Within South Carolina, it does better than 52% of towns.
That is 3.8 years of the area's median household income ($50,288 across the Gaffney, SC 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−.
25 notable people were born here, including Andie MacDowell and Sam Graddy.
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