Southern ShopsSC
A town of 3,797.
Is Southern Shops a good place to live?
On CDC health estimates it is near the bottom nationally. Overall it grades C−, 111th among South Carolina's 167 graded towns. Its schools outperform 76% of the state's and natural-hazard risk is low. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $38K, and 43% of residents live below the poverty line. 43% of residents live below the poverty line in Southern Shops, above both the South Carolina town median (17%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Of the 169 South Carolina towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Southern Shops. Southern Shops is home to Spartanburg Community College.
What makes Southern Shops stand out
Where Southern Shops beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Jobs vs. working residents
| Widest gap | Southern Shops | SC |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 34.3% | 11.8% |
Spartanburg Community College calls Southern Shops home
How Southern Shops grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Southern Shops is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 1%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Southern Shops: who provides what
Southern Shops 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 Southern Shops.
Southern Shops carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of South Carolina (mostly inland flooding), draws workers from Spartanburg and beyond and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
Compared with most of South Carolina and the rest of the country, more of Southern Shops’ adults say their health is fair or poor
39% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Southern Shops. Among 169 South Carolina towns, just 1 have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Southern Shops. 22% of adults report frequent mental distress in Southern Shops.
| Southern Shops | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 22% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 15% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Southern Shops | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.9% | 8.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 34.3% | 11.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For schools, Southern Shops earns an A−
Its public schools are run by the Spartanburg 06 school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lone Oak ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 336 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Most working residents commute out of Southern Shops
5,920 jobs are based in Southern Shops, 4.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Southern Shops for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2013, Southern Shops has lost 912 jobs, to 5,920 in 2023. The average trip to work in Southern Shops is 22 minutes.
| Southern Shops | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $38,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Southern Shops stands out in South Carolina and nationally: the FEMA risk score there is lower
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 99% of South Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $186 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
Southern Shops’ FEMA risk score is 7 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Southern Shops has mild winters and hot summers
The Spartanburg 3 Sse weather station, 7 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°.
Southern Shops has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Southern Shops | 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
Homes in Southern Shops sell for about $236K
At 1.7 years of the Spartanburg metro’s $64K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 96% of South Carolina towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
50% of Southern Shops households own their home.
| Southern Shops | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,058 a month | $1,062 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Southern Shops has set aside 0% of its land for conservation
Just 0 of its 2,276 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Southern Shops itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Campus Green | 0.2 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Peachoid and 17 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Southern Shops. Close and well known come first.
19 mi LandmarkPeachoid
24 mi Stadium & arenaBon Secours Wellness Arena
14 mi National BattlefieldCowpens National Battlefield175K visitors a year
34 mi State parkChimney Rock State Park
32 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
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Everything we know about Southern Shops
Colleges nearby
6 within 15 miles of the center of Southern Shops
About 2 of every 100 Southern Shops residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
Every workday, about 5,828 people come to Southern Shops for work
Where Southern Shops’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Southern Shops’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Southern Shops.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Shops | #111 | C− | B | — | A− | D− |
| Valley Falls | #36 | B | C+ | — | A+ | B− |
| Arcadia | #112 | C− | B− | — | B− | C− |
| Hilltop | #101 | C | B− | — | B | D |
| Saxon | #102 | C | B+ | — | B− | D− |
Southern Shops, Valley Falls, Arcadia, Hilltop and Saxon report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Southern Shops with a neighbor →
Questions about Southern Shops
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Southern Shops, SC a good place to live?
Southern Shops grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #111 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades D− for health and A− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Southern Shops, SC expensive?
The typical home is worth about $110,000, 64% 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.