Talent Maps / Columbia, SC / Civil Engineers

Columbia, SC Civil Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What civil engineers earn in metro Columbia, which firms and public owners employ them, where in the metro they work, and the interstate, water, plant and military projects competing for them.

Hiring civil 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 civil engineers in the Columbia, SC metro area, which spans Richland, Lexington, Kershaw, Fairfield, Saluda and Calhoun counties. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses project data published from 2024 to 2026. Our civil engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Columbia structural, mechanical and electrical engineer talent maps.

$94,520Median civil engineer pay in metro ColumbiaBLS, May 2025

$147,430+What the top 10% of Columbia civil engineers earnBLS, May 2025

$2.69BCarolina Crossroads rebuild of 14 miles of I-20, I-26 and I-126SCDOT

43New bridges in the Carolina Crossroads program, with seven rebuilt interchangesSCDOT

$150MColumbia Canal recovery: new river intake, headgates and embankment repairCarolina News and Reporter, 2025

1,100+ acresScout Motors production site in Blythewood, plus a $300M supplier parkScout Motors, 2026

Civil engineer salaries in Columbia

The median civil engineer in metro Columbia earns $94,520 a year. That is $7,080 below the South Carolina median of $101,600 and $6,320 below the national median of $100,840. The gap holds at the top: Columbia’s 90th percentile is $147,430, against $156,380 statewide and $163,220 nationally. The bottom is closer. The 25th percentile of $76,850 is $3,080 below the national figure. The hourly median is $45.44.

Annual pay percentile	Columbia metro	South Carolina	United States
10th percentile	$66,490	$67,950	$68,240
25th percentile	$76,850	$80,360	$79,930
Median	$94,520	$101,600	$100,840
75th percentile	$124,730	$131,550	$129,680
90th percentile	$147,430	$156,380	$163,220

Civil Engineers (SOC 17-2051). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

Civil engineering technicians, the drafters, inspectors and field techs who support design teams, earn a median of $57,640 in Columbia. That is $3,930 above the South Carolina median of $53,710 but $7,310 below the national median of $64,950. Pay ranges from $45,750 at the 10th percentile to $80,600 at the 90th.

What the spread means in practice: Columbia pays less than the Upstate and Charlotte. Greenville’s civil median is $102,830, which is $8,310 above Columbia’s, and its 90th percentile of $160,610 is $13,180 higher. Charlotte’s median of $102,370 is $7,850 above Columbia’s. Columbia sits between both metros on I-26 and I-77, so experienced engineers often compare offers across all three.

Where Columbia’s civil engineers work

Design firms

Kimley-Horn’s Columbia office offers roadway, civil, structural and transportation services, along with environmental planning. Thomas & Hutton has a Columbia office at 1501 Main Street.

Chao and Associates, a Columbia firm founded in 1987, does civil, structural and land surveying work. HDR provides program management to SCDOT on Carolina Crossroads.

Public owners

SCDOT is rebuilding the I-20, I-26 and I-126 corridor in Lexington and Richland counties. Columbia Water runs the city’s drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems.

Columbia still works under a 2014 federal consent decree on its sewer system. A change lodged in March 2026 adds four sewer capacity projects due by January 1, 2029.

Contractors and program teams

Archer Western and United Infrastructure Group built the first two Carolina Crossroads phases as a joint venture, about $350 million of work. A United-Blythe joint venture holds Phase 3C.

In 2024 the city named Ruby Collins as primary contractor on a $69 million sewer capacity project serving Scout Motors and northeast Richland County.

Federal and industrial sites

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, awarded a $24.5 million contract in August 2026 for a child development center at Fort Jackson. Scout Motors is building access roads, parking and rail supply lines at its Blythewood supplier park.

Where the talent sits: Columbia submarkets

I-20 and I-26 interchange area

TransportationBridges

Phase 3C widens I-20 between Exits 61 and 63 and was 25% complete in 2026. Phases 3A, 3D, 3E and the combined Phase 4/5 are in pre-procurement.

Downtown and the Riverfront

WaterFlood resilience

The Resilient Water Supply Project adds a Congaree River intake rated at 80 million gallons a day. Construction began in January 2025 on a 30-month schedule.

Blythewood and northeast Richland

Site developmentUtilities

The Scout Production Center covers more than 1,100 acres about 20 minutes northeast of Columbia. The city’s $69 million sewer project was planned to serve Scout, the Crane Creek community and northeast Richland County.

Lexington County

Industrial sitesGrowth

Lexington County grew about 8% from 2020 to 2025, to an estimated 317,588 residents. ALLTAPE’s $70 million plant in the Saxe Gotha Industrial Park was due online in July 2026.

Fort Jackson and Hopkins

FederalIndustrial

The Fort Jackson child development center covers about 37,300 square feet. In Hopkins, Westinghouse is preparing a site for an LEU Plus expansion at its Columbia fuel plant.

What’s driving demand for civil engineers in Columbia

Carolina Crossroads. The $2.69 billion program adds 132 lane miles, 43 new bridges and seven rebuilt interchanges along 14 miles. More than 134,000 vehicles use the corridor each day. Phases 1 and 2 are complete, and SCDOT expects substantial completion in the mid-2030s.
Phase 3C on I-20. This phase replaces the I-20 bridges over the Saluda River and CSX railroad and widens I-20 between Exits 61 and 63. SCDOT posted the executed contract in July 2025.
Canal and water supply. Columbia Water says about $150 million is split between new canal headgates, embankment repair and the Resilient Water Supply Project. The intake alone is about $62 million, with a $32.5 million FEMA grant.
Sewer capacity. The March 2026 consent decree change adds four capacity projects due by 2029. The $69 million expansion approved in 2024 drew on a $25 million state Commerce grant and a $10 million state infrastructure grant.
Scout Motors. The $2 billion plant is expected to employ more than 4,000 people, and a $300 million supplier park adds about 1,000 supplier jobs. Scout says initial production is targeted for 2027.
Population growth. The metro had an estimated 879,918 residents in 2025, up about 6% from 2020. SCDOT projects Midlands population growth averaging 70% by 2040.

Civil specialties tied to these projects

Transportation and bridge engineers for SCDOT and the remaining Carolina Crossroads phases.
Water and wastewater engineers for Columbia Water’s canal, intake and sewer capacity work.
Geotechnical engineers for drilled shafts and walls. ENR reported more rock than expected on Phase 1 near the Saluda River.
Site and utility engineers for Scout’s supplier park and Lexington County industrial parks.
Federal facilities engineers for Fort Jackson construction.

The talent pipeline

University of South Carolina. USC’s Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing has an ABET-accredited civil engineering bachelor’s program. Civil enrollment reached 488 in fall 2025, up from 369 in 2023, and the program awarded 72 degrees in 2024.
Midlands Technical College. MTC’s General Engineering Technology associate degree includes a civil engineering technology specialization, which trains drafters and field techs.
Licensing. Senior roles usually require a South Carolina PE license from the SC Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors. The path is an ABET degree and the FE exam for engineer-in-training status, four years of supervised experience, then the PE exam.

What this means if you’re hiring

Budget against the Upstate, not just the local median. Greenville’s median is $8,310 above Columbia’s, so engineers who could work there may expect more.
Price senior roles at the 75th percentile. For licensed PEs, plan on $124,730 or more, and more for project managers.
Hire technicians locally. Columbia technicians earn $57,640, above the state median but below the national one.
Match offers to long projects. Carolina Crossroads runs into the mid-2030s, the canal intake into 2027 and the sewer capacity projects to 2029.

Need civil engineers in Columbia?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place civil, transportation, water and site development engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 803.832.4646 or see our Columbia engineering recruiters page.

Hire civil engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do civil engineers make in Columbia, SC?

The median civil engineer salary in metro Columbia is $94,520 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $76,850 and $124,730, and the top 10% earn $147,430 or more.

Do civil engineers earn more in Columbia or Greenville?

Greenville. Its median is $102,830, $8,310 above Columbia’s $94,520, and its 90th percentile is higher at $160,610 against $147,430. See our Greenville-Spartanburg civil engineer talent map.

Who hires civil engineers in Columbia?

Design firms such as Kimley-Horn, Thomas & Hutton and Chao and Associates, program managers such as HDR, contractors such as Archer Western, United Infrastructure Group and Blythe, and public owners such as SCDOT, Columbia Water and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Jackson.

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