HilltopSC
A town of 2,950.
What should you know before moving to Hilltop?
Hilltop's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades C, ranked 101st of 167 in South Carolina. Its weakest subject is health: residents are less healthy than 90% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Hilltop’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile, above both South Carolina’s towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Only 3 of the 169 South Carolina towns we compare have a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Hilltop. Upper Chinquapin Preserve, at 59 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
What makes Hilltop stand out
Where Hilltop beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Jobs vs. working residents
| Widest gap | Hilltop | SC |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing food insecurity | 29.5% | 17.4% |
Every workday, about 2,571 people come to Hilltop for work
Where Hilltop’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Hilltop grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Hilltop is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for health (better than 10%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Hilltop: who provides what
Hilltop 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 Hilltop.
Hilltop carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of South Carolina (mostly inland flooding), draws workers from Spartanburg and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Upper Chinquapin Preserve | 1.1 mi | 59 |
| 2. Glenn Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents commute out of Hilltop
2,631 jobs are based in Hilltop, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here fell from 3,477 in 2013 to 2,631.
Most working residents leave Hilltop for work: only 5% work in town. Hilltop’s median household income is $37,000, below both the South Carolina town median ($57,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). Jobs based in Hilltop fell to 2,631 in 2023, 846 fewer than in 2013.
| Hilltop | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $37,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.7% | 6.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Hilltop’s grade for health is a D
Against the 1,721 U.S. towns with household incomes like Hilltop’s, it is healthier than 55%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
30% of adults worry about having enough food in Hilltop. Hilltop beats the South Carolina average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 19% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Hilltop.
| Hilltop | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 21% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 28% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | Hilltop | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.1% | 8.6% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 29.5% | 17.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The FEMA risk score in Hilltop is lower than in most of South Carolina or the rest of the country
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 100% of South Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $235 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
Hilltop’s FEMA risk score is 6 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Hilltop, expect mild winters and hot summers
The Spartanburg 3 Sse weather station, 5 miles away, 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 89.4°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 88% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 31.5°.
Hilltop has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Hilltop is 32°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Hilltop | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 32°F | 34°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 91°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
A home in Hilltop sells for about $166K at the median
At 2 years of the Spartanburg metro’s $64K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 93% of South Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
45% of Hilltop households own their home.
| Hilltop | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 45% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,160 a month | $1,058 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Peachoid and 17 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Hilltop. Close and well known come first.
18 mi LandmarkPeachoid
26 mi Stadium & arenaBon Secours Wellness Arena
13 mi National BattlefieldCowpens National Battlefield175K visitors a year
36 mi State parkChimney Rock State Park
34 mi National Historic SiteCarl Sandburg Home National Historic Site95K visitors a year
32 mi National Military ParkKings Mountain National Military Park176K 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 · Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site: Victoria Stauffenberg, Public domain · Kings Mountain National Military Park: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Everything we know about Hilltop
Colleges nearby
6 within 15 miles of the center of Hilltop
About 4 of every 100 Hilltop residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
About Hilltop
Census-designated place in South Carolina, United States
Hilltop 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 3,273.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 869 ft
Hilltop’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Hilltop.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilltop | #101 | C | B− | — | B | D |
| Spartanburg | #117 | C− | C+ | — | B | C− |
| Saxon | #102 | C | B+ | — | B− | D− |
| Whitney | #92 | C | B | — | B | C− |
| Southern Shops | #111 | C− | B | — | A− | D− |
Hilltop, Spartanburg, Saxon, Whitney and Southern Shops report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Hilltop with a neighbor →
Questions about Hilltop
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Hilltop, SC a good place to live?
Hilltop grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #101 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades D for health and B for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Hilltop, SC expensive?
The typical home is worth about $126,000, 59% 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−.