Talent Maps / Greenville-Spartanburg / Mechanical Engineers

Greenville-Spartanburg Mechanical Engineer Talent Map (2026)

What mechanical engineers earn in Greenville and Spartanburg, which manufacturers, utilities and hospitals employ them, where in the Upstate they work, and the turbine, automotive, power and healthcare projects competing for them.

Hiring mechanical 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 mechanical 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 project and company data published from 2025 to 2026. Our mechanical engineering recruiters update it as new data comes out. See also our Greenville-Spartanburg electrical, data center and controls engineer talent maps.

$101,570Median mechanical engineer pay in metro GreenvilleBLS, May 2025

$165,710+What the top 10% of Greenville mechanical engineers earnBLS, May 2025

$160M+GE Vernova investment in its Greenville gas turbine plant, with more than 650 new jobsGE Vernova, 2025

$1.7BBMW investment in Plant Spartanburg and Plant Woodruff, completed in 2026WardsAuto, 2026

11,000+Workers at BMW Plant Spartanburg, the company’s largest production siteWardsAuto, 2026

1,365 MWDuke Energy’s approved Anderson County gas plant, construction from summer 2027Duke Energy, 2026

Mechanical engineer salaries in Greenville-Spartanburg

The median mechanical engineer in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro earns $101,570 a year, $3,010 below the South Carolina median of $104,580 and $2,540 below the national median of $104,110. The hourly median is $48.83. Greenville’s floor is firm: its 10th percentile of $78,820 is above both the state ($74,260) and the nation ($73,990). At the top, its 90th percentile of $165,710 is $1,370 above the national figure and just under the state’s $166,340.

Annual pay percentile	Greenville metro	Spartanburg metro	South Carolina	United States
10th percentile	$78,820	$76,250	$74,260	$73,990
25th percentile	$84,160	$85,620	$84,810	$84,130
Median	$101,570	$104,990	$104,580	$104,110
75th percentile	$133,560	$127,030	$133,480	$132,590
90th percentile	$165,710	$136,160	$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.

Spartanburg pays more in the middle and less at the top. Its median of $104,990 is $3,420 above Greenville’s, but its 90th percentile of $136,160 is $29,550 below Greenville’s $165,710.

Mechanical engineering technicians, who build, test and support production equipment, earn a median of $69,580 in metro Greenville, the same as the South Carolina median and $4,930 below the national $74,510. Pay runs from $48,640 at the 10th percentile to $85,030 at the 90th. In Spartanburg the technician median is $61,670.

Charlotte pays almost exactly what Greenville does. Its mechanical median is $101,950, $380 above Greenville’s, but Greenville pays more at the top, $165,710 at the 90th percentile against $157,120 in Charlotte. Engineers on the I-85 corridor can move between the metros, so offers are often compared across the state line. See our Charlotte mechanical engineer talent map.

Where Greenville-Spartanburg’s mechanical engineers work

Power equipment

GE Vernova has built gas turbines in Greenville since 1968 and calls the site the world’s center of gas turbine manufacturing. In January 2025 it announced more than $160 million and more than 650 factory and engineering jobs there, on top of more than 2,500 workers already in the state.

Duke Energy’s approved Anderson County combined-cycle plant will use GE Vernova equipment.

Automotive and tires

BMW Plant Spartanburg employs more than 11,000 people and built more than 400,000 X models in 2025. Isuzu is setting up a $280 million truck plant on Augusta Road in Greenville County with more than 700 jobs.

Michelin North America is headquartered in Greenville, with about 23,500 US employees and 36 US production facilities. Its 1.2 million square foot US3 plant in Spartanburg makes truck tires.

Aerospace and defense

Lockheed Martin’s Greenville site is home to the F-16 production line and has done aircraft modification and overhaul work since 1984. Peru’s order for 12 F-16 Block 70 jets, announced in April 2026, will be built there.

Healthcare and buildings

Spartanburg Regional’s $325 million heart hospital includes a new power plant to support future expansion. Kimley-Horn’s Greenville office offers mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering.

Where the talent sits: Greenville-Spartanburg submarkets

Greer and the BMW corridor

AutomotiveRobotics

Plant Spartanburg opened in 1994 and is now able to build one vehicle with five drivetrain types on one line. BMW is also adding humanoid robots and AI quality checks.

Woodruff

Battery assembly

Plant Woodruff assembles high-voltage batteries using a cell-to-pack process. BMW plans at least six fully electric models in South Carolina by 2030.

Greenville County

Gas turbinesAerospaceTrucks

GE Vernova’s gas turbine plant, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 line and Isuzu’s Augusta Road plant are all in the county. Isuzu expects operations to begin in 2027.

Anderson County

PowerManufacturing

Duke’s new plant will sit on Highway 81 South at True Temper Road. Adeptus USA’s $215.6 million wood products plant in Honea Path is due in the second quarter of 2027, and Bosch’s Anderson plant, opened in 1985, makes sensors and electronic control units for powertrains.

Spartanburg

HealthcareTires

The heart hospital on Serpentine Drive is due in 2030. Michelin’s US3 truck tire plant has run since 1978.

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

Gas turbine demand. GE Vernova is expanding Greenville capacity and adding hydrogen fuel testing, after announcing plans to raise global heavy-duty gas turbine capacity by more than 25%.
BMW’s new models. The new X5 was set to enter production for global markets in August 2026, and the electric iX5 is due later in 2026, with batteries from Plant Woodruff.
New plants. Isuzu’s plant will be able to build up to 50,000 trucks a year. Adeptus plans 217 jobs. Bosch halted a planned $200 million fuel cell expansion in Anderson in 2025 and says it will reconsider when demand grows.
Power plant construction. Duke’s 1,365 MW Anderson plant is set to start construction in summer 2027 and serve customers by early 2031. It will use an air-cooled condenser that needs about 0.6 million gallons of water a day, more than 90% less than wet cooling.
Defense. Peru’s 12 F-16s add to the work on Greenville’s production line.
Onsite power for data centers. The Valara computing center in Spartanburg County is bringing 24 natural gas generators online and plans 11 gas turbines next year. See our data center engineer talent map.

Mechanical specialties tied to these projects

Turbine design and manufacturing engineers for GE Vernova’s Greenville plant.
Automotive manufacturing, robotics and battery process engineers for BMW, Isuzu and suppliers.
Power plant mechanical engineers for Duke’s combined-cycle plant and onsite generation.
HVAC and MEP design for the heart hospital, the arena and downtown hotels.
Aerospace and sustainment engineers for the F-16 line and Lockheed’s overhaul work.

The talent pipeline

Clemson University. Clemson’s Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering is ABET-accredited. Its CU-ICAR campus in Greenville covers 250 acres, has conferred more than 1,110 graduate degrees since 2009, and awarded the nation’s first undergraduate automotive engineering degrees in May 2025.
Technical colleges. Greenville Technical College offers a Mechatronics Technology associate degree, CNC programming and a bachelor’s in Advanced Manufacturing Technology. Spartanburg Community College’s BMW Scholars program lets students work 20 hours a week at BMW while studying mechatronics or machine tool technology. See our guide to hiring a mechanical engineer.
Licensing. Senior design roles usually require a South Carolina PE license from the SC State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors. The path is an ABET-accredited degree, the FE exam, four years of progressive experience and the PE exam.

What this means if you’re hiring

Watch Spartanburg’s middle. Its median of $104,990 is $3,420 above Greenville’s, so Spartanburg employers can pull mid-career engineers.
Pay up for senior talent. Greenville’s 90th percentile of $165,710 is above the national figure, and GE Vernova and BMW compete for the same people.
Price licensed roles at the 75th percentile. For PEs, plan on $133,560 or more.
Budget for technicians. The Greenville technician median is $69,580, so support roles are not cheap to replace.

Need mechanical engineers in the Upstate?

Apollo Technical has recruited engineers since 2010. Our recruiting teams place mechanical, manufacturing, power and MEP 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 mechanical engineers

Frequently asked questions

How much do mechanical engineers make in Greenville?

The median mechanical engineer salary in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer metro is $101,570 a year, according to May 2025 BLS data. The middle half earn between $84,160 and $133,560, and the top 10% earn $165,710 or more. In the Spartanburg metro the median is $104,990.

Do mechanical engineers earn more in Greenville or Charlotte?

About the same at the median. Charlotte’s is $101,950, $380 above Greenville’s $101,570, but Greenville’s 90th percentile is higher at $165,710 against $157,120. See our Charlotte mechanical engineer talent map.

Who hires mechanical engineers in Greenville-Spartanburg?

Manufacturers such as GE Vernova, BMW, Michelin, Isuzu and Bosch, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 line, utilities such as Duke Energy, health systems such as Spartanburg Regional, and design firms such as Kimley-Horn.

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