Columbia, SC (population: 130,246) has two game schools within its city limits. South University, the highest ranked school in the city with a game program, has a total student population of 1,273. It is the 4359th highest ranked school in the USA and the 54th highest in the state of South Carolina (#1 is Clemson University).
Game students from Columbia schools who go on to become game developers, game designers, video game designers, video game developers, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 3,390 people working as gaming managers alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $74,030.
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 2 game schools in Columbia, none have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, South University comes out as the most expensive ($22,810/yr) for game students, with ITT Technical Institute-Columbia as the lowest, reported at only $22,225/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 |