Columbia, SC (population: 130,246) has three engineering schools within its city limits. Centura College, the highest ranked school in the city with an engineering program, has a total student population of 248. It is the 4178th highest ranked school in the USA and the 52nd highest in the state of South Carolina (#1 is Clemson University).
Engineering students from Columbia schools who go on to become engineers, audio engineers, aerospace engineers, automotive engineers, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 2,412,730 people working as architecture and engineering employees alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $73,590. Also, Aerospace engineers make on average $96,270 per year and there are about 70,570 of them employed in the US today.
Columbia lies in Richland county, which is one of the 27 counties in South Carolina. Overall, the Columbia area has 334,600 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0.9% unemployment rate, $18.76/hr average worker wage, and a $39,020 average annual salary.
Of the 3 engineering schools in Columbia, none have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Centura College comes out as the most expensive ($22,806/yr) for engineering students, with Benedict College as the lowest, reported at only $13,633/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Columbia |
| Denmark | SC | - | 2 | 12.8531 | 54 | 51.7 miles |
| Hartsville | SC | - | 2 | 23.3042 | 83 | 52.1 miles |
| Graniteville | SC | - | 1 | 8.50122 | 49 | 62.2 miles |
| Rock Hill | SC | 72,341 | 5 | 30.0256 | 144 | 62.8 miles |
| North Augusta | SC | - | 1 | 27.4739 | 4 | 72.2 miles |
| Augusta | GA | - | 8 | 15.8236 | 215 | 75.4 miles |
| Martinez | GA | - | 2 | 23.4797 | 14 | 77.2 miles |
| Charlotte | NC | 723,514 | 18 | 27.5295 | 455 | 80.3 miles |
| Belmont | NC | - | 2 | 36.2771 | 82 | 83.6 miles |
| Gastonia | NC | 75,340 | 1 | 28.6194 | 5 | 85.2 miles |
| Spartanburg | SC | 40,665 | 7 | 35.0859 | 216 | 86.0 miles |
| North Charleston | SC | 99,930 | 3 | 24.6487 | 24 | 92.3 miles |
| Laurinburg | NC | - | 1 | 18.8047 | 40 | 96.0 miles |