Talent Maps / Columbia, SC / Controls Engineers

Columbia, SC Controls Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What controls engineers earn in metro Columbia, who employs them, where in the metro they work, and the vehicle plant, electrical equipment, water and nuclear projects competing for them.

Hiring controls engineers in Columbia?

A talent map shows where a group of professionals works, what they are paid and who else is trying to hire them. This one covers controls engineers in the Columbia, SC metro area, which spans Richland, Lexington, Kershaw, Fairfield, Calhoun and Saluda counties. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses project and company data published from 2024 to 2026. Our controls engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Columbia electrical, mechanical and data center engineer talent maps.

$101,320Median electrical engineer pay in metro Columbia, the main code for controls engineersBLS, May 2025

$154,870+What the top 10% of Columbia electrical engineers earnBLS, May 2025

$2BScout Motors Production Center in Blythewood, planned for more than 4,000 jobsScout Motors, Sept. 2026

$300MScout supplier park on the same site, expected to support about 1,000 supplier jobsScout Motors, Sept. 2026

$80MPrysmian fiber and cable plant expansion in Lexington, with about 135 jobsSC Governor’s office, Aug. 2026

36 MGDPlanned capacity of West Columbia’s $86 million Lake Murray water plant upgradeWIS, 2024

Controls engineer salaries in Columbia

BLS has no separate code for controls engineers. Most are counted as electrical engineers (SOC 17-2071), so the table below uses that code as the main benchmark. The median in metro Columbia is $101,320 a year. That is $2,880 above the South Carolina median of $98,440 and $19,310 below the national median of $120,630. The hourly median is $48.71.

Annual pay percentile	Columbia metro	South Carolina	United States
10th percentile	$69,260	$69,260	$76,550
25th percentile	$77,520	$75,540	$92,830
Median	$101,320	$98,440	$120,630
75th percentile	$133,490	$128,060	$152,950
90th percentile	$154,870	$156,330	$184,300

Electrical Engineers (SOC 17-2071), the main BLS code for controls engineers. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

Three nearby codes give context. Electronics engineers (SOC 17-2072) earn a median of $88,380 in Columbia, against $113,720 for South Carolina and $130,220 nationally. Industrial engineers (SOC 17-2112), common on automation and plant floors, earn a median of $98,780 in Columbia. Electrical and electronic engineering technicians (SOC 17-3023) earn a median of $65,400, below the state’s $73,450.

Greenville is close at the median. Its electrical engineer median is $101,620, which is $300 above Columbia’s. Greenville pays more at the top, with a 90th percentile of $165,270 against $154,870, a gap of $10,400. Charlotte’s median is $103,360, which is $2,040 above Columbia’s. See our Greenville-Spartanburg controls engineer talent map.

Where Columbia’s controls engineers work

Vehicle and tire plants

Scout Motors is building its Production Center on more than 1,100 acres in Blythewood. In September 2026 its body shop robotics were in testing and conveyors were running between the body and paint shops.

Michelin’s Lexington passenger and light truck tire plant employs more than 1,600 people. It posted an electrical and automation engineer opening on October 2, 2026.

Electrical and HVAC equipment

Schneider Electric makes NW breakers, low-voltage switchgear and switchboards at its engineer-to-order plant in Hopkins and announced 150 new jobs there in 2024.

Trane’s Columbia commercial HVAC plant has 1,529 verified employees. Prysmian makes optical fiber and cable on Industrial Drive in Lexington.

Nuclear and power

Westinghouse’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in Hopkins has made nuclear fuel since 1968. It holds manufacturing, product engineering and testing labs on a 1,155-acre campus.

Santee Cooper and Brookfield are studying completion of the two unfinished V.C. Summer reactors in Fairfield County.

Water and wastewater

Columbia Water’s Canal and Lake Murray plants have a combined rated capacity of 150 million gallons a day and serve about 400,000 customers. Its Metro wastewater plant is rated for 60 million gallons a day.

West Columbia is expanding its Lake Murray water plant and adding ozone treatment.

Where the talent sits: Columbia submarkets

Blythewood and the I-77 corridor

AutomotiveRobotics

The Scout site is about 20 minutes northeast of Columbia. Its supplier park will house battery assembly and parts makers next to the main plant.

Hopkins and Lower Richland

Nuclear fuelSwitchgear

Westinghouse’s fuel plant has 550,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space. Schneider Electric’s plant is at 8821 Garners Ferry Road.

Lexington

TiresFiber optics

Michelin’s US5 plant has built tires since 1981. Prysmian’s expanded plant at 700 Industrial Drive is due online in May 2028.

West Columbia and Cayce

WaterPharmaceuticals

The Lake Murray water plant is Lexington County’s largest drinking water provider. Nephron Pharmaceuticals’ 700,000-plus-square-foot drug plant is on 12th Street Extension.

Fairfield County

Nuclear

V.C. Summer sits near Jenkinsville. Brookfield has until the end of March 2028 to decide whether to buy and finish the two partly built units.

What’s driving demand for controls engineers in Columbia

Scout Motors launch. The $2 billion plant is designed to build up to 200,000 vehicles a year. Scout has started prototype production and expects to ship its first vehicles in 2027, with full capacity around 2030 or 2031.
Supplier park. Scout’s $300 million supplier park is expected to support about 1,000 jobs, and access roads, parking and rail lines were going in as of September 2026.
Electrical equipment. Schneider Electric announced 150 jobs at its Hopkins switchgear plant in 2024, and Prysmian’s $80 million Lexington expansion is due online in May 2028.
Water treatment. West Columbia’s $86 million Lake Murray plant project raises capacity from 27 to 36 million gallons a day and includes $40 million of ozone treatment. It was set to finish in 2027.
Nuclear. Brookfield plans federal loan applications for V.C. Summer at the end of 2026 and April 2027, and an initial cost estimate is expected by the end of 2027.
New generation. The SC Public Service Commission approved Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper’s 2,200 MW Canadys Station gas plant on May 14, 2026. The plant is in Colleton County, outside the metro.

Controls specialties tied to these projects

Robotics and PLC engineers for body shop, paint and assembly lines.
Industrial automation engineers for tire, HVAC and cable plants.
Instrumentation and control engineers for nuclear fuel manufacturing and power plants.
SCADA engineers for water and wastewater plants and pump stations.
Electrical systems and switchgear engineers for engineer-to-order equipment makers.

The talent pipeline

University of South Carolina. USC’s ABET-accredited electrical engineering program had 189 students in fall 2025, and its mechanical engineering program had 753.
Benedict College. The Columbia college’s electrical engineering program earned ABET accreditation in September 2026, so its graduates can now sit for the FE exam.
Midlands Technical College. MTC’s two-year mechatronics degree covers PLCs, industrial electricity, hydraulics and pneumatics and an introduction to process control.
What the role involves. See our controls engineer guide and how to hire a controls engineer.
Licensing. Utility and public water work often needs engineers licensed by the South Carolina Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors.

What this means if you’re hiring

Benchmark against electrical pay. Controls roles are counted with electrical engineers, so use the $101,320 median and $133,490 at the 75th percentile as your guide.
Expect Greenville and Charlotte to compete. Greenville’s 90th percentile is $10,400 above Columbia’s, and Charlotte’s median is $2,040 higher.
Know the rival buyers. Scout, Michelin, Schneider Electric, Westinghouse and the water utilities all hire the same PLC and automation skills.
Plan around the Scout ramp. Launch work runs through first deliveries in 2027, and the plant’s full build-out runs to around 2030.

Need controls engineers in Columbia?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place controls, PLC, SCADA and automation engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 803.832.4646 or see our Columbia engineering recruiters page.

Hire controls engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do controls engineers make in Columbia, SC?

BLS has no controls engineer code. The median electrical engineer salary in metro Columbia, the main benchmark, is $101,320 a year, according to May 2025 data. The middle half earn between $77,520 and $133,490, and the top 10% earn $154,870 or more.

Do controls engineers earn more in Columbia or Greenville?

The medians are almost the same, $101,620 in Greenville against $101,320 in Columbia. Greenville pays more at the top, with a 90th percentile of $165,270 against $154,870. See our Greenville-Spartanburg controls engineer talent map.

Who hires controls engineers in Columbia, SC?

Manufacturers such as Scout Motors, Michelin, Schneider Electric, Trane, Prysmian and Westinghouse, utilities and water owners such as Columbia Water, the City of West Columbia, Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper, and the suppliers moving into Scout’s Blythewood campus.

Sources (22)