Spartanburg County has more institutions of higher education per capita than any other county in S.C., and the combined economic impact of higher education in Spartanburg County exceeds $250,000,000 annually. When a community invests its resources in educating a citizen, it is important to the community that it receives return on its investment. From 2000–2006, 90.5% of U.S. economic growth was generated in metropolitan areas. Clearly, it behooves a metropolitan area economically and socially to retain its brightest and most well-educated citizens.

The first state-level migration study of public college and university graduates in S.C., including four-year, two-year, community and technical colleges, was published in November 2007 by the S.C. Commission on Higher Education. This study tracked graduates using Division of Motor Vehicles records and found that, of 2001-2002 public college and university graduates:

This study also found that graduates earning certificates, diplomas or associate‘s degrees are more likely to remain in S.C. than those earning bachelor’s degrees. Bachelor’s degree recipients are more likely to remain than master’s degree recipients, and master’s degree recipients are more likely to remain than doctoral degree recipients. Compared to a 1996-1997 cohort, there was no significant difference in findings.

When disaggregated by institution, the data indicate that, for all degree recipients, greater proportions of graduates from USC Upstate remain in S.C. than graduates of its comparable institutions, The Citadel and College of Charleston. Further, greater proportions of Spartanburg Community College graduates remain in S.C. than graduates of Greenville Technical College and Midlands Technical College, its comparable institutions (see Table 14).

Although a higher proportion of USC Upstate and Spartanburg Community College graduates remain in S.C., they do not remain in Spartanburg County at rates of comparable institutions in peer counties (Table 15). (Although data for independent institutions are not included, the preponderance of all graduates is from public institutions.) This phenomenon provides ground for further study.

The exodus of college graduates from Spartanburg County may explain, in part, the fact that Spartanburg County has the highest median population age of all peer counties, higher also than the state and national averages (see Table 1). It is likely a large factor in the status of Spartanburg as having the lowest median family income and per capita income of peer counties.