Talent Maps / Columbia, SC / Architects

Columbia, SC Architect Talent Map (2026)

What architects earn in metro Columbia, which design firms and project owners employ them, where in the metro they work, and the university, medical and military projects competing for them.

Hiring architects 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 architects 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 Columbia architectural recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Columbia civil, structural and CAD designer talent maps.

$100,200Median architect pay in metro ColumbiaBLS, May 2025

$154,480+What the top 10% of Columbia architects earnBLS, May 2025

$300MUSC’s new School of Medicine in the BullStreet District, 330,000 square feet, opening August 2027BullStreet District, Dec. 2025

2034End date of USC Next, the university’s 10-year master plan of capital projectsBullStreet District, Dec. 2025

$24.5MArmy Corps contract for a 37,000-square-foot child development center at Fort JacksonWIS, Aug. 2026

2031Target for Phase II of Fort Jackson’s reception complex, including barracks and a clinicU.S. Army, March 2026

Architect salaries in Columbia

The median architect in metro Columbia earns $100,200 a year, $1,350 below the South Carolina median of $101,550 and $920 above the national median of $99,280. The hourly median is $48.17. The pattern changes by level. Columbia’s 75th percentile of $132,510 is $1,940 above the state and $5,960 above the nation. Its 90th percentile of $154,480 is $7,760 below the state’s $162,240.

Annual pay percentile	Columbia metro	South Carolina	United States
10th percentile	$61,640	$62,010	$62,300
25th percentile	$76,360	$75,140	$77,960
Median	$100,200	$101,550	$99,280
75th percentile	$132,510	$130,570	$126,550
90th percentile	$154,480	$162,240	$161,420

Architects, Except Landscape and Naval (SOC 17-1011). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

BLS publishes no South Carolina or Columbia estimate for landscape architects. The national median for that group is $79,870. Architectural and civil drafters, who produce many of the drawing sets, earn a Columbia median of $64,110. See our Columbia CAD designer talent map.

Greenville pays more, with a median of $103,090, which is $2,890 above Columbia’s, and a 90th percentile of $157,660. Charleston’s median is $102,880. Charlotte’s is $98,620, which is $1,580 below Columbia’s. See our Greenville-Spartanburg architect talent map.

Where Columbia’s architects work

Columbia-based firms

BOUDREAUX was founded in 1976 and works from 1519 Sumter Street, with a second studio in Charlotte. It is lead architect on USC’s new School of Medicine and is hiring an experienced project architect with at least seven years of experience.

Garvin Design Group, founded in 2003, designs for higher education, hospitality, historic preservation, athletics and K-12 clients. Its Columbia work includes USC Garnet Station, the USC IDEA Center and the reuse of BullStreet’s old energy plant.

Regional firms with Columbia studios

McMillan Pazdan Smith has practiced since 1955 and has a Columbia studio at 1316 Washington Street. It designed Prisma Health’s 135,729-square-foot Northeast Medical Park and additions at the SC State Museum.

LS3P, an architecture, interiors and planning firm of more than 60 years, has a Columbia office whose work includes the USC Sumter Science Building.

University and medical owners

USC’s School of Medicine is a public-private partnership with Gilbane. SLAM Collaborative is design architect, with Brownstone and Cumming as construction manager partners.

Prisma Health opened its Northeast Columbia Medical Park in November 2025, and Lexington Health opened Blythewood Medical Park in December 2025.

Federal work

The Charleston District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is rebuilding Fort Jackson’s 120th Adjutant General Reception Battalion area. A 99,539-square-foot gear issue building opened on March 23, 2026.

Where the talent sits: Columbia submarkets

Downtown and Main Street

Architecture firms

BOUDREAUX is on Sumter Street, and McMillan Pazdan Smith is in the restored 1939 Unity Life Building on Washington Street.

BullStreet District

Medical educationAdaptive reuse

USC’s School of Medicine is the first building on its new Health Sciences Campus. Construction began in February 2025 and the building topped out in December 2025.

USC campus

Higher education

USC Next sets out improvements and capital projects for USC Columbia students, faculty and staff through 2034.

Northeast Columbia and Blythewood

Healthcare

Prisma’s 135,000-square-foot Northeast Columbia Medical Park and Lexington Health’s Blythewood Medical Park both opened in 2025.

Fort Jackson

Military

Phase II of the reception complex adds a processing center, battalion headquarters, trainee barracks and a medical clinic, with completion expected by 2031.

What’s driving demand for architects in Columbia

USC School of Medicine. The $300 million, 330,000-square-foot building will hold classrooms, research labs, medical simulation space and a health sciences library, and is set to open in August 2027.
USC Next. The university’s 10-year master plan runs through 2034, and the Health Sciences Campus is one of its key goals.
Fort Jackson. Phase I of the reception battalion project includes a new dining facility, and Phase II runs to 2031. A separate $24.5 million child development center for up to 338 children was due to start construction in fall 2026.
Healthcare. Prisma Health’s $115 million Northeast Columbia Medical Park opened in November 2025, and Lexington Health planned to add women’s care and physical therapy at Blythewood Medical Park in 2026.
Firms hiring. BOUDREAUX is recruiting an experienced project architect for its Columbia or Charlotte studio.

Architecture specialties tied to these projects

Higher education and research architects for USC and other campuses.
Healthcare architects for medical parks, hospitals and medical education buildings.
Federal and military architects for Army Corps of Engineers work at Fort Jackson.
Historic preservation and adaptive reuse architects for projects such as BullStreet’s former energy plant.
K-12 and civic architects for school districts, libraries and museums.

The talent pipeline

Clemson University. Clemson’s School of Architecture offers NAAB-accredited Master of Architecture degrees, including a 90-credit track for students without an architecture degree and a 60-credit track for those with a pre-professional degree.
Midlands Technical College. MTC’s Architectural Engineering Technology associate degree is accredited by ABET’s Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission and trains technicians to turn designs into working drawings. For recruiting support see our Columbia architectural recruiters page.
Licensing. The South Carolina Board of Architectural Examiners licenses architects. Applicants need a NAAB-accredited degree, the NCARB Architectural Experience Program and a passing score on the Architect Registration Examination. Candidates who work for an architecture firm can start the exam before finishing the experience program.

What this means if you’re hiring

Price project architects above the median. Columbia’s 75th percentile of $132,510 is above both the state and national figures.
Expect Greenville to compete. Its median is $2,890 higher, and firms such as BOUDREAUX recruit for Columbia and Charlotte at the same time.
Junior pay is close to the state. The 25th percentile is $76,360, against $75,140 for South Carolina.
Match the project. Higher education, healthcare and federal experience is in demand on USC, hospital and Fort Jackson work.

Need architects in Columbia?

Apollo Technical has recruited for architecture and engineering firms since 2010. Our recruiting teams place architects, designers and project managers for architecture and engineering firms on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 803.832.4646 or see our Columbia engineering recruiters page.

Hire architects in Columbia

Frequently asked questions

How much do architects make in Columbia, SC?

The median architect salary in metro Columbia is $100,200 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $76,360 and $132,510, and the top 10% earn $154,480 or more.

Do architects earn more in Columbia or Greenville?

Greenville, at the median. Its median is $103,090, against $100,200 in Columbia, and its 90th percentile is $157,660 against $154,480. See our Greenville-Spartanburg architect talent map.

Who hires architects in Columbia, SC?

Columbia firms such as BOUDREAUX and Garvin Design Group, regional firms with Columbia studios such as McMillan Pazdan Smith and LS3P, and project owners such as the University of South Carolina, Prisma Health, Lexington Health and the Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Jackson.

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