[11] Spartanburg is the second-largest city in the greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 1,590,636 in 2023.

Spartanburg was formed in 1785, after a deal was made with the Cherokee in 1753, and was named after a local militia called the Spartan Regiment in the American Revolutionary War.

The Spartan Regiment, commanded by Andrew Pickens, participated in the nearby Battle of Cowpens.

In 1911, under the sponsorship of the Spartanburg Herald and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the city erected a confederate monument at the intersection of South Church and Henry Streets, overlooking downtown.

Within the past decade, developers and community leaders have spearheaded an effort to revitalize Spartanburg's downtown commercial district.

This has resulted in a remodeling of Morgan Square, the restoration of a number of historic structures and the relocation of several businesses and company headquarters to the downtown vicinity.

Spartanburg is also home to the world headquarters and research facility for Milliken & Company, a textile and chemical manufacturer.According to Spartanburg's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[21] the principal employers in the city are: Cultural events and institutions in the city include: Early European settlers to this area included French fur trappers, English woodsmen, and Scots-Irish farmers.

Few remnants survive from these early pioneering days, but traces can be found in the more rural areas of the county.

First established in the 1780s as a courthouse village, Spartanburg may have been named for the Spartan regiment of the South Carolina militia.

The city was incorporated in 1831, at the time of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Cowpens, a pivotal fight of the American Revolution that took place only a few miles away.

Although there were few mills in the area before the Civil War, technological advances, northern capital, and out-migration from the poor farms that made white labor available, created a wave of postbellum mill development here and in much of the Piedmont South.

Additionally, the abundant streams and rivers in the area are just beginning their descent towards the lower-lying Midlands region.

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, one of the sixteen divisional cantonments for the training of National Guard troops was Camp Wadsworth, which is located in the vicinity of Westgate Mall.

Large numbers of New York National Guardsmen trained there in addition to many southern troops.

During World War II, Camp Croft south of the city trained Army recruits.

Spartanburg formerly hosted the NFL's Carolina Panthers training camp each year on the campus of Wofford College from 1995–2023.

[47] The Down East Wood Ducks baseball team of the Carolina League are planned to move to the currently under-construction Fifth Third Park in downtown Spartanburg in April 2025.

Council members represent districts within the city and the mayor is elected at large.

[54] City council meets on the second and fourth Monday of the month at the Spartanburg County Administration Building.

[66] The Meeting Street Academy in downtown Spartanburg is a branch of a Charleston-based private school and currently offers PreK and Kindergarten.

[75] The SPARTA Passenger Center is located at 100 North Liberty Street and also serves Greyhound buses.

The Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) lies mostly in suburban Greer, and it serves Greenville as well as Spartanburg.

[76] Amtrak's Crescent train connects Spartanburg with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Greensboro, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham and New Orleans.