Spartanburg is the prosperous business and commercial center of the old metro area triad Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson. For many years mainly a textile milling and agriculture center, the economy has made the turn to bring in more new-economy businesses, as well as strengthen the old ones. Spartanburg is still a major center for agriculture processing and shipping, most particularly peaches and other orchard fruit. Most of the textile mills are gone, but it still remains the headquarters of textile leader Milliken, which also operates a research facility in the city.

The addition of a BMW plant in nearby Greer brought a lot of smaller businesses supporting that operation, and a large Michelin plant has also located there. Spartanburg offers a business-friendly environment with skilled low-cost labor and a very low cost of living profile. Downtown is fairly plain but accessible; those looking for a more interesting downtown experience might go to Greenville, 15 miles west. Greenville is also the entertainment and cultural center of the area. There is plenty of outdoor recreation in the mountains to the north and lake areas to the west, and Charlotte offers a lot that might not be present locally.

The Southern Appalachians rise gradually to the northwest of Spartanburg, which itself is in an area of flat to gently rolling agricultural land. The climate is a mix of subtropical and continental. Summers are warm and humid with thunderstorms, the elevation and mountains can provide some summer evening cooling. The mountains usually protect the area from the brunt of winter, giving only occasional below-freezing daytime temperatures. Rainfall is abundant and spread throughout the year. There are usually a few small snowfalls and an occasional ice storm or spell of freezing rain.