| Employment | 1,070 |
|---|---|
| Mean annual wage | $101,260 |
| Median annual wage | $94,520 |
| Median hourly wage | $45.44 |
| 10th percentile | $66,490 |
| 25th percentile | $76,850 |
| 75th percentile | $124,730 |
| 90th percentile | $147,430 |
| Location quotient | 1.14 |
| Civil engineers per 1,000 jobs | 2.70 |
What this means for owners
The median in Columbia, SC runs 7 percent below the South Carolina statewide figure of $101,600. That gap helps margins on fixed-fee work, but it also makes your staff easy targets for firms recruiting remotely from higher-paying markets.
The 90th percentile is 2.2 times the 10th ($66,490 to $147,430). Use the 25th to 75th band ($76,850 to $124,730) as the working range for licensed staff, and keep principals and senior PEs near or above the 75th.
A location quotient of 1.14 means civil engineers make up a larger share of local jobs than the national average, so the talent pool is deep but competition from agencies and large firms is real.
The median hourly wage of $45.44 is the starting point for direct labor cost. Run it through the salary and billing rate calculator to see loaded cost and billing rate at your multiplier.
Technicians
Civil engineering technologists and technicians here earn a median of $57,640, with 280 employed. That is the reference point for drafters, CAD technicians and field staff who support your engineers.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, SOC 17-2051 Civil Engineers and 17-3022 Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians. bls.gov/oes. Figures are base wages and exclude bonuses and benefits. Cells BLS suppresses show as not published.
