Talent Maps / Columbia, SC / Data Center Engineers

Columbia, SC Data Center Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What data center engineers earn in metro Columbia, who employs them, where in the metro they work, and the colocation, utility and policy changes shaping the work.

Staffing a data center project?

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 data center 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 project picture uses news, filings and county actions published from 2025 to 2026. Our data center recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Columbia electrical, mechanical and controls engineer talent maps.

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

$102,280Median mechanical engineer pay in metro Columbia, the cooling side of the workBLS, May 2025

2.5 MWDartPoints’ downtown Columbia data center, 8,200 square feetDartPoints

20 MWThreshold for Central Electric’s 2026 large-load rate, with 15-year minimum contractsCentral Electric Power Cooperative

2 countiesKershaw and Fairfield, inside the metro, have year-long data center moratoriumsPost and Courier, 2026

1Hyperscale data center in South Carolina, Google’s Berkeley County campus, among an estimated 20 to 30 sitesPost and Courier, 2026

Data center engineer salaries in Columbia

BLS has no data center engineer code. Most data center engineers are counted as electrical engineers (SOC 17-2071), with mechanical engineers (SOC 17-2141) covering cooling. The median electrical engineer in metro Columbia earns $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). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

Mechanical engineers in Columbia earn a median of $102,280, which is $2,300 below the state’s $104,580 and $1,830 below the national $104,110. The 25th percentile is $80,550, and the 90th percentile is $150,630.

Mechanical engineers, annual pay	Columbia metro	South Carolina	United States
10th percentile	$72,120	$74,260	$73,990
25th percentile	$80,550	$84,810	$84,130
Median	$102,280	$104,580	$104,110
75th percentile	$127,220	$133,480	$132,590
90th percentile	$150,630	$166,340	$164,340

Mechanical Engineers (SOC 17-2141). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

Greenville pays about the same in the middle. Its electrical median is $101,620, $300 above Columbia’s, and its mechanical median is $101,570, $710 below. The Upstate has more capacity today: DartPoints’ Greenville site has 12.5 megawatts against 2.5 in Columbia. Columbia has no hyperscale data centers, so most hiring is for colocation, utility and enterprise work.

Where Columbia’s data center work is

Colocation operators

DartPoints runs a 2.5 megawatt, 8,200 square foot data center at 1000 Catawba Street. It is adding more than 25 megawatts across Greenville and Columbia through early 2027, with up to 120 kilowatts per cabinet and direct-to-chip liquid cooling.

Data Center Dynamics names DartPoints and Lumen as the most notable operators in the city.

Enterprise and utility sites

Dominion Energy operates its own data center in Lexington County. The Post and Courier describes it as a traditional company-run site, the kind that draws up to 100 megawatts, not a hyperscale campus.

Utilities

Central Electric Power Cooperative in Columbia adopted a 2026 rate for users of 20 megawatts or more. Dominion Energy South Carolina, based in Cayce, and Santee Cooper plan to build the 2,200 megawatt Canadys Station to meet rising demand.

Suppliers

Prysmian’s $80 million Lexington expansion will make more fiber optic cable and supports a $6.29 billion agreement to supply Molex for data centers. In neighboring Orangeburg County, MCIS opened a $7.4 million plant that makes conveyance systems for data center buildouts.

Where the talent sits: Columbia submarkets

Downtown Columbia

Colocation

DartPoints’ Catawba Street site is the main colocation hub in the city.

Lexington County

EnterpriseUnder review

Lexington has no large-scale data centers. In June 2026 council members debated setting rules, and the two members quoted both opposed a moratorium.

Kershaw County

Paused

Kershaw adopted a one-year moratorium on September 22, 2026. A 162-acre data center rezoning near Camden was withdrawn in October 2025.

Fairfield County

Paused

Fairfield is using its moratorium to study data centers, with public meetings running through June 2027.

Cayce

Zoning

The city across the river from Columbia is weighing data center limits as part of a zoning update.

What’s driving demand for data center engineers in Columbia

State rules. S. 867, the Data Center Development Act, would require a state siting permit and have the Public Service Commission make data centers pay the full cost of new generation and transmission. It cleared committee in April 2026 and is still in the Senate.
Utility contract terms. Central’s 2026 large-load rate sets 15-year minimum contracts with early termination penalties for loads of 20 megawatts or more.
New generation. Canadys Station was approved on May 14, 2026. Santee Cooper expects demand on its system to reach 7,246 megawatts by 2040.
Local pauses. Kershaw and Fairfield have moratoriums. Newberry County, next to the metro, confirmed a year-long moratorium in July 2026.
AI-ready colocation. DartPoints’ new builds offer air, direct-to-chip liquid or hybrid cooling, with phased deployments through early 2027.
Supply chain. Prysmian’s Lexington plant and MCIS in Orangeburg County supply data center construction.

Data center specialties tied to these projects

Critical power engineers for UPS, generators and switchgear at colocation and enterprise sites.
Mechanical and cooling engineers for high-density and liquid-cooled suites.
Utility interconnection engineers for large-load studies and long-term service contracts.
Commissioning and facilities engineers for existing colocation and company-run sites.
Manufacturing engineers for fiber cable and data center products at Prysmian.

The talent pipeline

University of South Carolina. USC has ABET-accredited bachelor’s programs in electrical and mechanical engineering, with 189 and 753 students in fall 2025.
Further reading. See our US data center map and top US data center markets for how Columbia compares with larger markets, and how to hire data center engineers.
Licensing. Senior power and mechanical design roles usually require a South Carolina PE license from the SC Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors.

What this means if you’re hiring

Do not wait on hyperscale projects. Lexington has no large-scale data centers, Kershaw has approved none, and two metro counties have paused new sites. Most near-term hiring is colocation, utility and enterprise work.
Pay for experience from outside the metro. Columbia’s electrical median is $19,310 below the national figure, so candidates from larger markets may expect more.
Expect Greenville to compete. It has more colocation capacity and pays about the same at the median.
Price senior roles at the 75th percentile. For electrical PEs, plan on $133,490 or higher, and $127,220 for mechanical.

Staffing a Columbia data center project?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place data center, critical power, mechanical and commissioning engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 803.832.4646 or see our Columbia engineering recruiters page.

Hire data center talent

Frequently asked questions

How much do data center engineers make in Columbia, SC?

BLS has no data center engineer code. The median electrical engineer salary in metro Columbia is $101,320 a year, and the median mechanical engineer earns $102,280, according to May 2025 BLS data. The top 10% of electrical engineers earn $154,870 or more.

Do data center engineers earn more in Columbia or Greenville?

About the same. Greenville’s electrical engineer median is $101,620 against $101,320 in Columbia, and its mechanical median is $101,570 against $102,280. See our Greenville-Spartanburg data center engineer talent map.

Who hires data center engineers in Columbia?

Colocation operators such as DartPoints and Lumen, companies that run their own sites such as Dominion Energy, utilities such as Central Electric Power Cooperative and Dominion Energy South Carolina, and suppliers such as Prysmian.

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