Higher Education Outcome Report · South

💰 Low-Cost / High Value

South Carolina Higher Education Outcome Report

Updated continuously · 48 degree-granting institutions graded

South Carolina's higher education system is a below-average mobility and lower earnings system. Median 10-year earnings sit at $46,033, -11% vs the national median.

automotive & aerospace
advanced manufacturing
tourism

85
INSTITUTIONS: $46,033
MEDIAN EARNINGS: ▼ -11% vs natl; $16,933
AVG NET PRICE: 34 / 24
PUBLIC / PRIVATE

OUTCOME GRADE

24/100 · #49 of 50

South Carolina At A Glance

State-Level Intelligence

Institutions

48

153,312 students enrolled
Graduates / Year

~22,063

Estimated annual completers
Median Earnings
14th pct

$42,437

43rd of 50 states
Mobility Score
20th pct

1.3%

37th of 46 states
Talent Retention
28th pct

68%

First-year retention rate
Value Ratio
18th pct

2.4x

Earnings per net-price dollar

Top Industries Hiring Graduates:

Business
Healthcare
Social Sciences

Executive Summary

South Carolina graduates earn a median of $42,437 a decade after entry, 13% below the national state average, ranking 43rd of 50 states.
Upward mobility sits mid-pack: the state's institutions move bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 1.3% rate, in the 20th percentile nationally.
Degree production is led by Business and Healthcare, which together account for 40% of graduates. That diversified mix sets what the state's labor pipeline can supply.
Humanities shows oversupply pressure: graduate earnings run 19.7% below the national median, suggesting the field produces more graduates than the local market rewards.
On value, South Carolina returns 2.4x earnings per dollar of net price, below average cost-to-outcome efficiency in the country.
The state's strongest mobility engine is Claflin University, which moves bottom-quintile students into the top quintile at a 3.6% rate, the highest in South Carolina.

Key Insights

Earnings vs National

-9.5%

Median graduate earnings in South Carolina are below the national average by 9%.
Cost vs National

-10.7%

Net price in South Carolina is lower than the national average by 11%.
Mobility Rate

-0.51pp

Upward mobility rate is 0.5 percentage points below the national average.
Completion Rate

-8.7pp

South Carolina's graduation rate is 8.7 percentage points below the national average.
Best Value

27.2x

Top value school: Trident Technical College ($38,253 earnings vs $1,406 net price).
Low-Income Access

14.2%

14% of students come from bottom-quintile households, a measure of how open the state's colleges are to low-income students.

Education Output Profile

Business (26% of graduates) and Healthcare (14% of graduates) dominate South Carolina's higher education output. Graduates in the top field earn a weighted average of $45,299.

Business

26%

$45,299 avg
Healthcare

14%

$51,727 avg
Social Sciences

12%

$49,155 avg
Sciences

10%

$49,736 avg
Humanities

9%

$40,301 avg

Concentration: diversified HHI: 13

Outcome Performance

South Carolina's highest-ROI degree cluster is Trades (Precision Production), where graduates average $38,726 against a net cost of $3,620, a 10.7x return. That's -24.9% vs the national median. At the other end, Communications produces $46,434 at a 2.5x return, less than half what the top cluster delivers.

Precision Production
10.7x

$38,726 earnings $3,620 net -24.9% vs natl
Mechanic & Repair Tech
5.9x

$37,817 earnings $6,396 net -26.7% vs natl
Construction Trades
5.4x

$37,348 earnings $6,926 net -27.6% vs natl
Transportation
3.6x

$42,076 earnings $11,536 net -18.4% vs natl
Culinary & Personal Services
3.6x

$39,232 earnings $10,924 net -23.9% vs natl
Legal Studies
3.3x

$40,782 earnings $12,408 net -20.9% vs natl

State Talent Profile

Three lenses on South Carolina's talent pipeline: which fields produce the most graduates, which command the highest earnings, and where high-pay demand outruns local supply.

Dominant Fields

Business & Marketing 26%
Health Professions 14%
Biology & Biomedical 9%
Humanities 8%
Psychology 6%

Highest-Earning Fields

Engineering $59,956
Health Professions $51,727
Social Sciences $50,589
Biology & Biomedical $48,854
Psychology $47,981

Opportunity Gaps

High earnings, low local production — fields where demand may outrun South Carolina's graduate supply.

Engineering $59,956 5% of grads
Social Sciences $50,589 5% of grads

Mobility & Retention

Opportunity Insights

South Carolina's colleges post an average mobility rate of 1.3%, which puts the state in the 20th percentile nationally. 11% of students arrive from bottom-quintile households, a larger share than most states enroll. Cross-class social connectedness averages 1.18, a proxy for the networks that help graduates convert a degree into mobility.

MOBILITY RATE

1.3%

▼ -0.38pp vs natl

Bottom 20% → Top 20%
LOW-INCOME ACCESS

11%

From bottom quintile
SUCCESS RATE

16%

If bottom 20% enroll
FIRST-GENERATION

33%

First-gen students
TALENT RETENTION

68%

First-year retention
SOCIAL CAPITAL

1.18

Economic connectedness

Mobility Leaders — Institutions Driving Upward Movement

Labor Market Alignment

Humanities graduates, however, earn 19.7% below the national median, a possible sign the state produces more of these degrees than its labor market absorbs.

Business
26% of enrollment

$45,510 -11.8% vs natl

39 schools
Healthcare
14% of enrollment

$46,642 -9.6% vs natl

25 schools
Social Sciences
12% of enrollment

$48,759 -5.5% vs natl

26 schools
Sciences
10% of enrollment

$48,622 -5.7% vs natl

22 schools
Humanities
9% of enrollment

$41,424 -19.7% vs natl

14 schools
Technology
6% of enrollment

$42,517 -17.6% vs natl

10 schools

Potential Oversupply Signals

Humanities: -19.7% vs national — wage pressure suggests oversupply

Technology: -17.6% vs national — wage pressure suggests oversupply

Business: -11.8% vs national — wage pressure suggests oversupply

Institutional Landscape

South Carolina's higher education system includes 4 research-oriented, 9 specialized, 10 access-oriented, 25 regional institutions. Each group plays a different role in the state's outcomes.

4

Research Universities
25

Regional Universities
10

Access-Oriented Institutions
9

Specialized Institutions

Research Universities

Access-Oriented Institutions

Cost & Access Corridors

38% of South Carolina's colleges charge under $15K net. Graduates of those schools average $39,443 at 10 years.

NET PRICE UNDER $15K

17

38% of schools
Avg earnings: $39,443
NET PRICE $15K–$25K

23

51% of schools
Avg earnings: $48,220
NET PRICE $25K–$40K

5

11% of schools
Avg earnings: $50,872

Top Earners

Schools ranked by median graduate earnings 10 years after enrolling.

Higher education in South Carolina

South Carolina is home to 85 colleges and universities, from 34 public institutions to 24 private nonprofits. University of South Carolina-Columbia anchors the public system, and graduates across the state earn a median of about $39,676 ten years after enrolling.

Higher education clusters around Charleston, Columbia and Greenville, and the strongest programs by enrollment are Business & Marketing, Health Professions and Computer Science & IT. We rank every school here by what its graduates actually earn and how far they move up — not by reputation or sticker price.

What college costs in South Carolina

The average net price — what students actually pay after grants and scholarships — runs about $16,144 a year across South Carolina. University of South Carolina Aiken stands out on return: strong graduate earnings against a comparatively low net price. Public universities and in-state tuition remain the clearest path to a low-debt degree, while need-based aid can make selective private schools surprisingly competitive.

Most Affordable Schools

Jobs & industries

South Carolina's economy leans on automotive & aerospace, advanced manufacturing and tourism, which shapes which degrees pay off fastest in-state. Programs in Business & Marketing, Health Professions and Computer Science & IT feed directly into those employers, and graduates who stay in-region benefit from established hiring pipelines and alumni networks.

Licensure & transfer

Licensure and articulation are state-specific: nursing, teaching, law, and the health professions are regulated at the South Carolina level, so an in-state program is often the most direct route to practicing here. Community-college transfer agreements with public universities can also cut the cost of a four-year degree substantially.

Cost vs Return

What graduates in South Carolina earn relative to what they pay for college.

MEDIAN EARNINGS (10YR)

$39,676

▼ $-4,161 vs natl

AVG NET PRICE

$16,144

▲ $-1,932 vs natl

EARNINGS / COST RATIO

2.5x

Return per dollar invested

Best Value Schools

HBCUs in South Carolina

Is South Carolina Right for You?

South Carolina is a strong fit if you want to build a career in automotive & aerospace and advanced manufacturing, value in-state tuition, or plan to work in the region after graduation. Use the rankings and filters below to weigh earnings, cost, and mobility for every school in the state.

Every figure on this page is derived from public federal data and read within its regional and economic context. Information Gain Policy →

Related Rankings

Top Schools

Medical University of South Carolina · SC Citadel Military College of South Carolina · SC Clemson University · SC Wofford College · SC Furman University · SC University of South Carolina-Columbia · SC

FAQ

How many colleges are in South Carolina?

There are 85 colleges and universities in South Carolina in our dataset — 34 public, 24 private nonprofit, including 8 HBCUs.

What is the highest-earning college in South Carolina?

By median graduate earnings 10 years out, Medical University of South Carolina leads, followed by schools like Citadel Military College of South Carolina and Clemson University.

How much does college cost in South Carolina?

The average net price — tuition and living costs after grants — is about $16,144 per year. In-state public tuition is typically the lowest-cost path.

What are the best-paying career fields in South Carolina?

South Carolina's economy is anchored by automotive & aerospace, advanced manufacturing and tourism, so degrees feeding those industries tend to pay off fastest in-state.

Is it worth going to college in South Carolina?

For most students, yes — especially at in-state public universities and high-value private schools. University of South Carolina Aiken, for example, pairs strong earnings with a low net price. Weigh earnings against net price using the data on this page.

All 85 schools in South Carolina

Data Behind This Page Updated 2026

85 institutions in South Carolina

2026 Last updated

100% Public / federal sources

Source datasets

Methodology

States are graded on graduate earnings, social mobility, completion, and cost — each drawn from federal data and Opportunity Insights research, then normalized into a single Outcomes Index (0–100).

See the full methodology and weights →

Confidence notes

Earnings, completion, and debt figures come from federal administrative records — tax data and student-aid filings — not surveys or self-reports, the highest-confidence tier of education data available.
Social-mobility estimates are drawn from de-identified tax records covering more than 30 million students (Opportunity Insights).
Where an institution is missing a metric, it is excluded from that metric rather than imputed, so averages are never inflated by guesses.

Limitations

Federal earnings data primarily cover students who received federal financial aid; outcomes for non-aided students may differ.
Earnings are measured roughly ten years after enrollment, so they describe how earlier cohorts fared — historical outcomes, not guarantees of future results.
An institution's field-of-study mix affects raw earnings; scores reflect measured outcomes and are not fully major-adjusted unless explicitly noted.
Net price is an average; the actual cost a given student pays varies widely by family income.

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