Talent Maps / Greenville-Spartanburg / Architects

Greenville-Spartanburg Architect Talent Map (2026)

What architects earn in Greenville-Spartanburg, which design firms and project owners employ them, where in the Upstate they work, and the mixed-use, civic, hospital and industrial projects competing for them.

Hiring architects in Greenville-Spartanburg?

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 Greenville-Spartanburg. BLS reports it as two metro areas: Greenville-Anderson-Greer, which spans Anderson, Greenville, Laurens and Pickens counties, and Spartanburg, which spans Spartanburg and Union 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 2025 to 2026. Our Greenville architectural recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Greenville-Spartanburg civil, structural and CAD designer talent maps.

$103,090Median architect pay in metro GreenvilleBLS, May 2025

$157,660+What the top 10% of Greenville architects earnBLS, May 2025

$1B+County Square redevelopment on 40 acres in Greenville, due in spring 2028WYFF, 2026

$500M+Project CORE in downtown Spartanburg, four buildings by one design firmSpartan Weekly News, 2026

$350MPrisma Health expansion of Greer Memorial Hospital, raising licensed beds to 175Greenville Journal, 2025

$180MPrisma Health Fountain Inn Medical Park, with first patients due in December 2027WSPA, 2026

Architect salaries in Greenville-Spartanburg

The median architect in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro earns $103,090 a year, $1,540 above the South Carolina median of $101,550 and $3,810 above the national median of $99,280. The hourly median is $49.56. The top end is lower. Greenville’s 90th percentile is $157,660, against $162,240 statewide and $161,420 nationally. BLS publishes no architect estimate for the Spartanburg metro.

Annual pay percentile	Greenville metro	Spartanburg metro	South Carolina	United States
10th percentile	$61,970	n/a	$62,010	$62,300
25th percentile	$77,660	n/a	$75,140	$77,960
Median	$103,090	n/a	$101,550	$99,280
75th percentile	$132,450	n/a	$130,570	$126,550
90th percentile	$157,660	n/a	$162,240	$161,420

Architects, Except Landscape and Naval (SOC 17-1011). Greenville metro is Greenville-Anderson-Greer. BLS does not publish a Spartanburg estimate for this code (n/a). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025, via O*NET OnLine. Wage surveys run about a year behind current offers.

BLS publishes no Greenville or South Carolina estimate for landscape architects (SOC 17-1012). The national median for that group is $79,870.

Greenville pays more than Charlotte at the median. Charlotte’s median is $98,620, which is $4,470 below Greenville’s. Charlotte is higher at the top, with a 90th percentile of $165,210, which is $7,550 above Greenville’s $157,660. See our Charlotte architect talent map.

Where Greenville-Spartanburg’s architects work

Greenville-based firms

McMillan Pazdan Smith is based in Greenville and has offices in 11 Southeastern cities. The firm is among those credited for renderings of the $18 million 111 E. Main St. redevelopment in downtown Spartanburg. In March 2026 it bought Greenville’s MCA Architecture, founded in 1976, to grow its industrial and advanced manufacturing practice.

MCA’s past work includes Boeing’s Fuselage Paint Facility and Nexans’ high voltage cable plant, both in North Charleston.

Regional firms

LS3P has 12 offices, including Greenville. It was the architect for Airsys’s new headquarters campus in Woodruff, and renderings of the Mosaic project in Greenville’s West End are credited to LS3P and developer Saint Capital.

Design teams on downtown projects

David M. Schwarz Architects designed all four Project CORE buildings in downtown Spartanburg: an office building, a hotel and office building, an apartment building and a joint government center.

Hospital and public owners

Prisma Health is expanding Greer Memorial Hospital and building medical parks in Greer and Fountain Inn. Greenville County is selling the former County Square site to private developers, with RocaPoint Partners as master developer.

Where the talent sits: Greenville-Spartanburg submarkets

Downtown Greenville and University Ridge

Mixed-useRetail

County Square’s current phase includes 10 mixed-use buildings and three parking garages. About 200,000 square feet of retail has been leased, and townhomes and a city garage are under construction.

West End and West Greenville

Mixed-useResidential

Mosaic plans three five-story mixed-use buildings off Academy Street. Woven, in the Village of West Greenville, has 214 homes under construction and is due in late 2027.

Downtown Spartanburg

CivicHospitality

The Spartanburg Government Center will bring city and county offices into one 200,000-square-foot building. The Morgan, a 152-key hotel, is designed to resemble early 20th-century commercial buildings.

Greer and Fountain Inn

Healthcare

Greer Memorial’s three-story, 110,000-square-foot tower is due in early 2028. The Fountain Inn Medical Park includes a four-story, 130,000-square-foot medical office building.

Woodruff and the industrial belt

IndustrialCorporate

Airsys opened a 60-acre headquarters and manufacturing campus in Woodruff in 2026, with more buildings planned in later phases.

What’s driving demand for architects in Greenville-Spartanburg

County Square. The $1 billion-plus project is moving into vertical construction. Remaining phase one buildings are in design approval and permitting, and the project is due in spring 2028.
Project CORE. The four Spartanburg buildings represent more than $500 million of private investment within about three city blocks.
Healthcare. Prisma Health’s $350 million Greer expansion is its largest Upstate campus investment in nearly 20 years. The $180 million Fountain Inn park adds a 27,000-square-foot outpatient surgery center.
Industrial design. Site Selection reports the Upstate drew $7.6 billion of projects last year, and McMillan Pazdan Smith bought MCA to grow its industrial work.
Housing and mixed-use. The 90-acre Bolden Street District on Laurens Road begins site work in mid-2026, and the Greenville Gateway site will hold 327 apartments.
Recreation. Greer has committed $60 million to a 200,000-square-foot sports complex, with programs from 2027.

Architecture specialties tied to these projects

Mixed-use and multifamily architects for County Square, the West End and downtown Spartanburg.
Healthcare architects for hospital towers, medical office buildings and surgery centers.
Industrial architects for plants, headquarters campuses and advanced manufacturing sites.
Civic architects for government centers and public recreation buildings.
Historic and urban infill architects for downtown Greenville and Spartanburg.

The talent pipeline

Clemson University. Clemson’s School of Architecture offers NAAB-accredited Master of Architecture degrees, including a 90-credit first-professional track and an Architecture + Health concentration. Its Integrated Path to Architectural Licensure track aims to have students licensed by graduation.
Greenville Technical College. Its Architectural Engineering Technology associate degree is ABET-accredited and covers building information modeling and code analysis. For recruiting support see our Greenville architectural recruiters page.
Licensing. The South Carolina Board of Architectural Examiners licenses architects. Candidates need a NAAB-accredited degree, an NCARB record, the Architectural Experience Program and a passing score on the Architect Registration Examination. They can start the exam before finishing AXP.

What this means if you’re hiring

Price project architects above the median. The 75th percentile is $132,450, above the state’s $130,570.
Senior pay trails the region. Greenville’s 90th percentile is $157,660, which is $7,550 below Charlotte’s.
Junior pay is close to national. The 25th percentile of $77,660 is within $300 of the national $77,960.
Match the project. Healthcare, mixed-use and industrial experience are all in demand at the same time in 2026 and 2027.

Need architects in Greenville-Spartanburg?

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 Greenville engineering recruiters and Spartanburg engineering recruiters pages.

Hire architects in Greenville-Spartanburg

Frequently asked questions

How much do architects make in Greenville-Spartanburg?

The median architect salary in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro is $103,090 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $77,660 and $132,450, and the top 10% earn $157,660 or more. BLS does not publish a Spartanburg figure.

Do architects earn more in Greenville-Spartanburg or Charlotte?

Greenville, at the median. Its median is $103,090, against $98,620 in Charlotte. Charlotte’s 90th percentile is higher, $165,210 against $157,660. See our Charlotte architect talent map.

Who hires architects in Greenville-Spartanburg?

Greenville-based firms such as McMillan Pazdan Smith, regional firms such as LS3P, design teams on projects such as Project CORE and County Square, and owners such as Prisma Health and Greenville County.

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