Talent Maps / Greenville-Spartanburg / Electrical Engineers

Greenville-Spartanburg Electrical Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What electrical engineers earn in Greenville and Spartanburg, which utilities and manufacturers employ them, where in the Upstate they work, and the generation, data center, battery and airport projects competing for them.

Hiring electrical engineers in the Upstate?

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 electrical engineers in the Upstate’s two federal metro areas: Greenville-Anderson-Greer, which spans Greenville, Anderson, Pickens and Laurens counties, and Spartanburg, which covers Spartanburg and Union counties. Pay figures come from the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey (May 2025), and the demand picture uses utility and project data published from 2025 to 2026. Our electrical engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Greenville-Spartanburg civil, mechanical and data center engineer talent maps.

$101,620Median electrical engineer pay in metro GreenvilleBLS, May 2025

$165,270+What the top 10% of Greenville electrical engineers earnBLS, May 2025

1,365 MWDuke Energy’s approved Anderson County combined-cycle plant, serving customers by early 2031Duke Energy, 2026

450 MWOnsite gas generation the Valara computing center has sought in Spartanburg CountySC Daily Gazette, 2026

12.5 MWDartPoints’ Greenville data center after a $125M expansion, up from 2.5 MWUpstate Business Journal, 2025

$27.5MGSP microgrid with a 3 MW solar canopy and a 4 MW battery, due fall 2027GSP, 2026

Electrical engineer salaries in Greenville-Spartanburg

The median electrical engineer in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro earns $101,620 a year. That is $3,180 above the South Carolina median of $98,440 and $19,010 below the national median of $120,630. Greenville is strong at the top for the state: its 90th percentile of $165,270 is $8,940 above the South Carolina figure, though still $19,030 below the national $184,300. The hourly median is $48.85.

Annual pay percentile	Greenville metro	Spartanburg metro	South Carolina	United States
10th percentile	$73,800	$72,800	$69,260	$76,550
25th percentile	$83,300	$87,360	$75,540	$92,830
Median	$101,620	$103,390	$98,440	$120,630
75th percentile	$128,650	$127,000	$128,060	$152,950
90th percentile	$165,270	$147,170	$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.

Spartanburg’s median is $103,390, $1,770 above Greenville’s, but its 90th percentile of $147,170 is $18,100 lower. Electronics engineers, the related BLS code for circuit and equipment design, earn a median of $101,710 in metro Greenville, against $113,720 for South Carolina and $130,220 nationally. In Spartanburg the electronics median is $118,760, $17,050 above Greenville’s.

Charlotte pays a little more in the middle and much more at the top. Its electrical median is $103,360, $1,740 above Greenville’s, and its 75th percentile of $137,850 is $9,200 higher. Charlotte’s 90th percentile of $213,210 is $47,940 above Greenville’s $165,270, so senior power and utility engineers often weigh offers in both metros.

Where Greenville-Spartanburg’s electrical engineers work

Electric utilities

Duke Energy Carolinas owns 20,800 MW of capacity and serves 2.9 million customers in the Carolinas. Duke Energy has more than 860,000 retail customers in South Carolina and 327 employees in Anderson County.

Lockhart Power, a subsidiary of Pacolet Milliken, lobbied Spartanburg County in 2026 to limit its data center moratorium to larger sites, arguing small data centers are good for the grid.

Power equipment and automotive

GE Vernova’s Greenville gas turbine plant is adding more than 650 factory and engineering jobs. BMW’s Plant Woodruff assembles high-voltage batteries for electric models built at Plant Spartanburg.

Bosch’s Anderson plant makes sensors and electronic control units for powertrains.

Data centers

DartPoints is expanding its Greenville data center at 78 Global Drive to 12.5 MW, with operations due in July 2027. DC BLOX runs a colocation site at 33 Global Drive, whose Data Hall 2 holds Uptime Institute Tier III certification, with up to 3 MW of critical load in phase one, expandable to 18 MW.

NorthMark Strategies’ Valara center in Spartanburg County generates its own power.

Airport and defense

GSP International Airport is building a microgrid that can power the whole terminal for up to four hours. Lockheed Martin’s Greenville F-16 site offers avionics and mission systems upgrades and runs an electrical and battery shop.

Where the talent sits: Greenville-Spartanburg submarkets

Anderson County

GenerationSubstations

Duke’s new plant will sit on Highway 81 South at True Temper Road. Duke’s existing W.S. Lee combined-cycle plant in the county was commissioned in 2018.

Global Business Park, Greenville

Data centers

DartPoints and DC BLOX both operate here near I-85 and Laurens Road, less than 2 miles from Clemson’s CU-ICAR campus.

Woodruff and the BMW corridor

BatteriesAutomotive

Plant Woodruff uses a cell-to-pack process, placing cells directly in the pack housing. BMW plans at least six fully electric models in South Carolina by 2030.

South Pine Street, Spartanburg County

Onsite generation

The Valara site is permitted for 24 gas generators of 2,000 kilowatts each and has asked for five 17 MW and six 54 MW combustion turbines.

Greer and GSP

MicrogridSolar

Solar panels are going on the roofs of GSP’s Parking Garages B and C, with Garage A in a later phase.

What’s driving demand for electrical engineers in Greenville-Spartanburg

New gas generation. South Carolina regulators approved Duke’s Anderson County plant on March 26, 2026, the first approved under the 2025 Energy Security Act. Construction is set to start in summer 2027 and the plant should serve customers by early 2031.
Self-powered computing. Valara’s first phase of 48 MW from 24 generators was weeks from going live on September 1, 2026, with about 400 MW more from turbines planned for next year. On August 27, 2026, the Public Service Commission ruled the project is not subject to the state’s Utility Siting Act because it does not export power to the grid.
Colocation growth. DartPoints’ $125 million expansion supports AI, enterprise and edge workloads for regional companies and universities.
Limits on new data centers. Spartanburg County approved a one-year moratorium on most new data centers in September 2026, and Anderson County has a six-month moratorium. Smaller proposals on existing industrial sites are exempt in Spartanburg.
Vehicle electrification. BMW’s $1.7 billion investment, completed in 2026, prepares Plant Spartanburg to build battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models alongside gasoline ones.
Airport resilience. GSP’s $27.5 million microgrid started in June 2026 and is due in fall 2027.

Electrical specialties tied to these projects

Power generation and substation engineers for Duke’s Anderson plant and onsite generation at data centers.
Critical power engineers for UPS, generators and switchgear at colocation sites.
High-voltage battery and EV systems engineers for BMW and its suppliers.
Solar and storage engineers for projects such as the GSP microgrid.
Controls and automation engineers for plants across the region. See our Greenville-Spartanburg controls engineer talent map.

The talent pipeline

Clemson University. Clemson’s bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer engineering are ABET-accredited.
Technical colleges. Spartanburg Community College’s BMW Scholars program includes Electronics Engineering Technology students, who work 20 hours a week at BMW. Greenville Technical College offers an Industrial Electricity certificate and a Mechatronics Technology degree.
Data centers. Large power projects also need electrical engineers. See our US data center map.
Licensing. Senior power and design roles usually require a South Carolina PE license from the SC State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors.

What this means if you’re hiring

Know the national gap. Greenville’s median is $19,010 below the US figure, so candidates recruited from outside the Southeast may expect more.
Expect Charlotte to compete for senior people. Its 90th percentile of $213,210 is far above Greenville’s.
Watch Spartanburg. Its median of $103,390 is $1,770 above Greenville’s.
Price senior roles at the 75th percentile. For licensed PEs, plan on $128,650 or higher, and use long contracts for generation work running to 2031.

Need electrical engineers in the Upstate?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place electrical, power, controls and electronics engineers on a contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire basis.

Call 803.832.4646 or see our Greenville engineering recruiters page. For Spartanburg County roles, see our Spartanburg engineering recruiters page.

Hire electrical engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do electrical engineers make in Greenville?

The median electrical engineer salary in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro is $101,620 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $83,300 and $128,650, and the top 10% earn $165,270 or more. In the Spartanburg metro the median is $103,390.

Do electrical engineers earn more in Greenville or Charlotte?

Charlotte, mostly at the top. Its median is $103,360 against $101,620 in Greenville, and its 90th percentile is $213,210 against $165,270. See our Charlotte electrical engineer talent map.

Who hires electrical engineers in Greenville-Spartanburg?

Utilities such as Duke Energy and Lockhart Power, manufacturers such as GE Vernova, BMW and Bosch, data center operators such as DartPoints, DC BLOX and NorthMark Strategies, Lockheed Martin, and GSP International Airport.

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