Talent Maps / Columbia, SC / CAD Designers

Columbia, SC CAD Designer Talent Map (2026)

What CAD designers and drafters earn in metro Columbia, which design firms, contractors and manufacturers employ them, where in the metro they work, and the interstate, university and plant projects competing for them.

Hiring CAD designers 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 CAD designers and drafters 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 CAD staffing recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Columbia civil, mechanical and architect talent maps.

$64,110Median pay for architectural and civil drafters in metro ColumbiaBLS, May 2025

$74,590Median pay for electrical and electronics drafters in metro ColumbiaBLS, May 2025

$2.69BCarolina Crossroads, rebuilding 14 miles of the I-20/I-26/I-126 corridorSCDOT

43New bridges in the Carolina Crossroads project, with 132 new lane milesSCDOT

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

22Credit hours in Midlands Technical College’s Computer-Aided Design certificateMidlands Technical College

CAD designer and drafter salaries in Columbia

BLS has no single code for CAD designers. It counts them as drafters, split by specialty. This page uses architectural and civil drafters as the main benchmark. They earn a median of $64,110 a year in Columbia. That is $570 below the South Carolina median of $64,680 and $2,040 below the national median of $66,150. The hourly median is $30.82. Columbia’s 75th percentile of $82,490 is $3,170 above the state’s, but its 90th percentile of $94,860 is $6,110 below the state’s $100,970.

Annual pay percentile	Columbia metro	South Carolina	United States
10th percentile	$46,680	$46,410	$46,260
25th percentile	$51,530	$50,110	$55,650
Median	$64,110	$64,680	$66,150
75th percentile	$82,490	$79,320	$80,870
90th percentile	$94,860	$100,970	$99,710

Architectural and Civil Drafters (SOC 17-3011). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

The other two specialties pay differently. Electrical and electronics drafters (SOC 17-3012) earn a Columbia median of $74,590, which is $10,480 above architectural and civil drafters, against $76,440 for South Carolina and $76,870 nationally. Mechanical drafters (SOC 17-3013) earn $61,300 in Columbia, below the state’s $63,740 and the national $71,550.

Greenville’s architectural and civil drafter median is $62,480, which is $1,630 below Columbia’s. Greenville pays more for mechanical drafters, $66,170 against $61,300, and for electrical drafters, $77,120 against $74,590. Charlotte’s architectural and civil median is $63,940, just $170 below Columbia’s. See our Greenville-Spartanburg CAD designer talent map and our CAD designer salary guide.

Where Columbia’s CAD designers work

Engineering firms

AECOM’s Columbia office has 95 verified employees, and Terracon’s has 35. Kimley-Horn’s Columbia office offers roadway, civil, structural and transportation services.

HDR has been prime consultant on Carolina Crossroads since 2015 and is doing final design for Phases 3A, 4 and 5.

Architecture firms

BOUDREAUX, Garvin Design Group, McMillan Pazdan Smith and LS3P all keep Columbia studios that produce drawing sets for university, healthcare, civic and K-12 projects.

BOUDREAUX is lead architect on USC’s new School of Medicine.

Transportation contractors

The United Blythe Joint Venture won the Carolina Crossroads Phase 3C design-build contract, which replaces the I-20 bridges over the Saluda River and CSX railroad and widens I-20.

Manufacturers

Schneider Electric’s Hopkins plant builds switchgear and switchboards to order. Trane makes commercial HVAC equipment in Columbia, and Westinghouse runs product engineering and testing labs at its Hopkins fuel plant.

Scout Motors’ Blythewood plant includes body, paint and assembly buildings and a supplier park.

Where the talent sits: Columbia submarkets

Downtown Columbia

ArchitectureCivil

Architecture studios such as BOUDREAUX on Sumter Street and McMillan Pazdan Smith on Washington Street are downtown.

The I-20/I-26/I-126 corridor

Transportation

Carolina Crossroads covers interchanges at Harbison Boulevard, St. Andrews Road, Bush River Road and Broad River Road. More than 134,000 vehicles use the corridor each day.

BullStreet District

Medical education

USC’s 330,000-square-foot School of Medicine topped out in December 2025.

Hopkins and Lower Richland

ElectricalNuclear

Schneider Electric’s engineer-to-order plant and Westinghouse’s 1,155-acre fuel campus are both in Hopkins.

Blythewood

Automotive

Scout’s 1,100-acre Production Center and its supplier park sit about 20 minutes northeast of Columbia.

What’s driving demand for CAD designers in Columbia

Carolina Crossroads. Phase 3C was 25% complete and is due to finish in 2029. Phases 3A and 4/5 are expected to start construction in 2027, Phase 3D in 2029 and the I-20/I-26 interchange rebuild in 2030, with the whole corridor done in the mid-2030s.
USC School of Medicine. The $300 million building is set to open in August 2027, and USC Next plans further capital projects through 2034.
Fort Jackson. Phase II of the Army’s reception complex, including barracks and a medical clinic, runs to 2031.
Scout supplier park. Scout’s $300 million supplier park is expected to support about 1,000 jobs, and roads, parking and rail lines were going in as of September 2026.
Electrical equipment. Schneider Electric announced 150 jobs at its Hopkins engineer-to-order plant in 2024, and Prysmian’s $80 million Lexington expansion is due online in May 2028.
Water. West Columbia’s $86 million Lake Murray water plant project adds capacity and ozone treatment, with completion set for 2027.

CAD specialties tied to these projects

Civil and roadway drafters for SCDOT interstate and bridge work.
Architectural and BIM drafters for university, healthcare and military buildings.
Electrical drafters for switchgear, power and plant electrical systems.
Mechanical drafters for HVAC equipment, automotive suppliers and plant layouts. See our guide to what a CAD drafter does.
Piping and process drafters for water plants and nuclear fuel manufacturing.

The talent pipeline

Midlands Technical College. MTC’s Computer-Aided Design certificate is 22 credit hours and covers print reading, 2D CAD, parametric 3D design and rapid prototyping. It can be used as an option within the college’s Mechanical Engineering Technology degree.
Architectural technicians. MTC’s 68-credit Architectural Engineering Technology associate degree is ABET-accredited and trains students to turn architects’ and engineers’ designs into working drawings.
Hiring help. See our guide to hiring a CAD designer.

What this means if you’re hiring

Hire by specialty. Electrical drafters earn a $74,590 median in Columbia, $10,480 more than architectural and civil drafters at $64,110.
Expect Greenville to compete for mechanical drafters. Its median of $66,170 is $4,870 above Columbia’s $61,300.
Price experienced civil and architectural drafters at the 75th percentile. Plan on $82,490 or more.
Use the local certificate pipeline. MTC’s 22-credit CAD certificate feeds entry-level drafting roles.

Need CAD designers in Columbia?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place CAD designers, drafters and BIM technicians on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 803.832.4646 or see our Columbia engineering recruiters page.

Hire CAD designers

Frequently asked questions

How much do CAD designers make in Columbia, SC?

BLS counts CAD designers as drafters. In metro Columbia, architectural and civil drafters earn a median of $64,110 a year, electrical drafters earn $74,590 and mechanical drafters earn $61,300, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half of architectural and civil drafters earn between $51,530 and $82,490.

Do CAD designers earn more in Columbia or Greenville?

It depends on the specialty. Architectural and civil drafters earn more in Columbia, $64,110 against $62,480. Mechanical drafters earn more in Greenville, $66,170 against $61,300, and so do electrical drafters, $77,120 against $74,590. See our Greenville-Spartanburg CAD designer talent map.

Who hires CAD designers in Columbia, SC?

Engineering firms such as AECOM, Terracon, Kimley-Horn and HDR, architecture firms such as BOUDREAUX, Garvin Design Group, McMillan Pazdan Smith and LS3P, contractors on Carolina Crossroads, and manufacturers such as Schneider Electric, Trane, Westinghouse and Scout Motors.

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