*in 2008 inflation-adjusted dollars
American Community Survey

When poverty is examined at the neighborhood level by Census tract, there are 11 tracts in Spartanburg County where median household income (2010) is between $9,999 and $30,198.  Ten of these cluster in, or contiguous to, the City of Spartanburg; the other tract includes the Spartanburg County portion of the City of Greer.  Median household income is higher in all other county census tracts.

As of April 30, 2009, South Carolina was among the states with the highest proportion of the population receiving supplemental nutrition assistance (formerly known as food stamps).  One in seven of the state’s residents received assistance.  During the 2006-2008 period, the average percentage of Spartanburg County households that received food stamps was 8.2%.  Geographical comparisons are provided in Table 4. 

According to the USDA (2007), 4.0% of the households in the south had low food security in the 30 days prior to a 2007 study; further, 2.4% had very low food security for the same period.  For the period 2006-2008 the average prevalence rate of food insecurity for SC was 13.1%.  Reliable data at the county level is not available; however, the nationwide prevalence ranges from 6.9% to 17.4%, placing South Carolina, and Spartanburg County by extrapolation, among the more highly food insecure states.

 Free and reduced cost meal eligibility is a key indicator of student poverty status.  Table 5 reports this eligibility by district for all Spartanburg County Schools, with findings ranging from 43% in District 5 to 65% in District 7.