Talent Maps / Columbia, SC / Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers

Columbia, SC Industrial and Manufacturing Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What industrial and manufacturing engineers earn in metro Columbia, which vehicle, tire, HVAC, nuclear fuel and pharmaceutical plants employ them, where in the metro they work, and the plant launches competing for them.

Hiring manufacturing 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 industrial and manufacturing 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 manufacturing engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Columbia mechanical, controls and electrical engineer talent maps.

$98,780Median industrial engineer pay in metro ColumbiaBLS, May 2025

$138,280+What the top 10% of Columbia industrial engineers earnBLS, May 2025

4,000+Permanent jobs planned at Scout Motors’ $2 billion Blythewood plantScout Motors, Sept. 2026

1,600+People at Michelin’s Lexington passenger and light truck tire plantMichelin

1,529Verified employees at Trane’s commercial HVAC plant in ColumbiaColumbia Area Development

1,200Verified employees at Westinghouse’s nuclear fuel plant in HopkinsColumbia Area Development

Industrial engineer salaries in Columbia

The median industrial engineer in metro Columbia earns $98,780 a year, $2,280 below the South Carolina median of $101,060 and $3,660 below the national median of $102,440. The hourly median is $47.49. Columbia’s top end is above the state but well below the nation. Its 90th percentile is $138,280, which is $1,560 above South Carolina’s $136,720 and $21,580 below the national $159,860.

Annual pay percentile	Columbia metro	South Carolina	United States
10th percentile	$73,510	$75,000	$74,370
25th percentile	$83,020	$82,460	$83,600
Median	$98,780	$101,060	$102,440
75th percentile	$117,980	$123,490	$129,250
90th percentile	$138,280	$136,720	$159,860

Industrial Engineers (SOC 17-2112). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

Industrial engineering technologists and technicians, who support time studies, layout and process improvement, earn a median of $63,960 in Columbia, below South Carolina’s $70,080 and the national $66,120. Pay ranges from $43,660 at the 10th percentile to $82,780 at the 90th.

Greenville pays a little more, with a median of $101,300, which is $2,520 above Columbia’s. Charlotte’s median is $102,090, which is $3,310 above. Columbia is stronger at the top: its 90th percentile of $138,280 is $4,920 above Greenville’s $133,360. See our Greenville-Spartanburg industrial engineer talent map.

Where Columbia’s industrial engineers work

Vehicles and tires

Scout Motors’ Production Center in Blythewood includes body, paint and final assembly buildings, a training center and a supplier park. At full capacity it can build up to 200,000 vehicles a year, about 40 an hour.

Michelin has made passenger and light truck tires in Lexington since 1981 and employs more than 1,600 people there.

HVAC and electrical equipment

Trane’s Columbia plant makes commercial HVAC equipment and has 1,529 verified employees. Schneider Electric’s Hopkins plant builds switchgear and switchboards to order and announced 150 new jobs in 2024.

Prysmian, one of three U.S. makers of fiber and optical cable, is spending $80 million to expand its Lexington plant.

Nuclear fuel and pharmaceuticals

Westinghouse’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility makes fuel used to generate 10% of U.S. electricity and has 1,200 verified employees.

Nephron Pharmaceuticals employed more than 1,000 people in December 2024 at its West Columbia plant. The Ritedose Corporation, the nation’s largest blow-fill-seal producer, has 600 verified employees in Columbia.

Food, beverage and logistics

Mark Anthony Brewing’s Columbia hard seltzer brewery has 420 verified employees after a $400 million investment.

Columbia Metropolitan Airport started a ground handling and air cargo department in 2024 and is preparing cargo capacity ahead of Scout’s supplier parks.

Where the talent sits: Columbia submarkets

Blythewood and the I-77 corridor

AutomotiveLogistics

Scout’s 1,100-acre site sits about 20 minutes northeast of Columbia. Amcor (plastic bottles) and AESC (EV battery repacking) also operate in Blythewood, and Amazon runs a delivery center there.

Lexington

TiresCable

Michelin’s US5 plant and Prysmian’s plant at 700 Industrial Drive are both in Lexington. Prysmian’s expansion is due online in May 2028.

Hopkins and Lower Richland

Nuclear fuelSwitchgear

Westinghouse’s 1,155-acre campus and Schneider Electric’s Garners Ferry Road plant are both in Hopkins.

West Columbia and Cayce

PharmaceuticalsAir cargo

Nephron’s 700,000-plus-square-foot plant is on 12th Street Extension. Columbia Metropolitan Airport is in West Columbia.

Columbia

HVACPharmaBeverage

Trane, Ritedose and Mark Anthony Brewing are among the largest manufacturers inside Columbia.

What’s driving demand for industrial engineers in Columbia

Scout Motors launch. Scout has started prototype production, opened a $25 million workforce training center and named a former GM body shop leader as vice president of manufacturing in July 2026. It expects to ship its first vehicles in 2027.
Assembly hiring. Scout planned to end 2026 with 200 to 400 initial floor workers, on top of 76 factory workers already hired, and to reach 4,000 workers at full capacity around 2030 or 2031.
Supplier park. Scout’s $300 million supplier park is expected to support about 1,000 jobs, including battery assembly and custom parts.
Product mix. As of March 2026, about 87% of Scout’s more than 160,000 reservations chose the extended-range version, which shapes parts flow and assembly sequence.
Electrical and fiber capacity. Prysmian’s $80 million, 135-job expansion and Schneider Electric’s 150 new jobs add process and production engineering work.

Industrial specialties tied to these employers

Manufacturing and process engineers for vehicle assembly, tires, HVAC and cable plants.
Launch and line balancing engineers for a new automotive plant and its suppliers. See our guide to hiring a manufacturing engineer.
Quality and validation engineers for nuclear fuel and regulated pharmaceutical production.
Supply chain and logistics engineers for supplier parks, delivery centers and air cargo.
Continuous improvement engineers for established plants such as Trane, Michelin and Westinghouse.

The talent pipeline

University of South Carolina. USC started a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, with 43 students in fall 2025. It becomes eligible for ABET accreditation after its first students graduate. USC’s mechanical engineering program had 753 students.
Midlands Technical College. MTC’s mechatronics associate degree trains technicians for automated plants, covering PLCs, hydraulics and pneumatics and process control.
readySC. The state technical college system’s training arm screens applicants for Scout’s production jobs.
Licensing. Industrial engineers do not always need a PE license. When a role calls for one, it is issued by the South Carolina Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors.

What this means if you’re hiring

Expect Greenville and Charlotte to compete. Their medians are $2,520 and $3,310 above Columbia’s.
Entry-level offers sit near the national level. Columbia’s 10th percentile is $73,510, only $860 below the national $74,370.
Price senior roles at the 75th percentile. Plan on $117,980 or more, and up to $138,280 for the top 10%.
Plan around the Scout ramp. Scout expects first deliveries in 2027 and full capacity around 2030 or 2031, and its supplier park adds about 1,000 more jobs.

Need manufacturing engineers in Columbia?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place industrial, manufacturing, process and supply chain engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 803.832.4646 or see our Columbia engineering recruiters page.

Hire manufacturing engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do industrial engineers make in Columbia, SC?

The median industrial engineer salary in metro Columbia is $98,780 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $83,020 and $117,980, and the top 10% earn $138,280 or more.

Do industrial engineers earn more in Columbia or Greenville?

Greenville, at the median. Its median is $101,300, against $98,780 in Columbia. Columbia’s 90th percentile is higher, $138,280 against $133,360. See our Greenville-Spartanburg industrial engineer talent map.

Who hires industrial engineers in Columbia, SC?

Manufacturers such as Scout Motors, Michelin, Trane, Westinghouse, Schneider Electric and Prysmian, pharmaceutical makers such as Nephron and Ritedose, beverage makers such as Mark Anthony Brewing, and logistics operators serving Scout’s supplier park.

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