--- title: 'Tech & AI jobs in South Carolina' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/location/south-carolina' type: 'location' --- # Tech & AI jobs in South Carolina > South Carolina's tech scene centers on Charleston, which built a genuine startup community (nicknamed the Silicon Harbor) alongside a growing advanced-manufacturing base statewide, with BMW and Boeing plants and a nuclear-and-aerospace cluster. Greenville and Columbia add to it. The roles span software, manufacturing engineering, and defense tech. - **Open roles:** 258 - **Hiring companies:** 59 - **Region type:** state - **Timezone:** America/New_York - **Population:** 5,370,000 - **Cost of living:** 5% below the US average, with a low cost of living statewide. - **Climate:** Humid subtropical, with hot summers and mild winters. Warm and coastal along the Atlantic, cooler in the upstate. - **Page:** https://feeny.ai/location/south-carolina ## Cities in South Carolina - [Columbia](https://feeny.ai/location/south-carolina/columbia) — 65 jobs - [Charleston](https://feeny.ai/location/south-carolina/charleston) — 59 jobs ## Top companies hiring in South Carolina - [Scout Motors](https://feeny.ai/companies/scout-motors) — 70 open roles - [AMAROK](https://feeny.ai/companies/amarok) — 11 open roles - [Maddox Industrial Transformer](https://feeny.ai/companies/maddox-industrial-transformer) — 9 open roles - [CPI Security](https://feeny.ai/companies/cpi-security) — 11 open roles - [Roofstock](https://feeny.ai/companies/roofstock) — 13 open roles - [Hawthorne Residential Partners](https://feeny.ai/companies/hawthorne-residential-partners) — 15 open roles - [The Nuclear Company](https://feeny.ai/companies/the-nuclear-company) — 9 open roles - [Construction Resources](https://feeny.ai/companies/construction-resources) — 8 open roles - [VSC Fire & Security](https://feeny.ai/companies/vsc-fire-security) — 10 open roles - [Re:Build Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/companies/re-build-manufacturing) — 13 open roles ## Top Universities **Where South Carolina's tech talent studies** Clemson anchors the engineering pipeline and feeds the state's automotive and manufacturing corridor, while the University of South Carolina's Darla Moore business school supplies the finance and business talent. Charleston's own colleges feed the Silicon Harbor startup scene. - **Clemson University** (Clemson, SC · 22,000 undergrads) — notable alumni: Robert H. Brooks, Nikki Haley, Charlie Whitehurst, Ben Boozer, James Barker - **University of South Carolina** (Columbia, SC · 27,000 undergrads) — notable alumni: Darla Moore, Hootie Johnson, Leeza Gibbons, James B. Edwards, Joe Wilson - **College of Charleston** (Charleston, SC · 10,000 undergrads) — notable alumni: Thomas Ravenel, Orlando Jones, Theodore Stern - **Furman University** (Greenville, SC · 2,400 undergrads) — notable alumni: Charles H. Townes, John D. Hollingsworth, Keith Lockhart - **The Citadel** (Charleston, SC · 2,400 undergrads) — notable alumni: Alvah Chapman Jr., Ernest F. Hollings, Pat Conroy ## FAQ **Tech jobs in South Carolina: common questions** ### How many tech jobs are open in South Carolina right now? Feeny lists roughly 258 open tech roles in South Carolina from 59 companies hiring across the state. The postings are pulled live from career pages, so the count reflects what is actually open rather than a stale snapshot. Hiring here spreads across a few cities and a strong manufacturing base rather than concentrating in one metro. ### Which South Carolina cities have the most tech jobs? Charleston does the most tech hiring, having built a genuine startup community locals nicknamed Silicon Harbor. Columbia and Greenville add to it, each tied into the state's growing manufacturing base. Across the 2 South Carolina cities we index, Charleston leads on software while the others lean more toward engineering roles at plants and defense firms. ### What companies are hiring for tech roles in South Carolina? The hiring mix here is broader than pure software: BMW and Boeing both run major plants in the state, which pulls in a steady stream of manufacturing and engineering roles. Charleston's startup scene adds the software side, and a nuclear and aerospace cluster brings defense-adjacent work. It is a state where a software job and a plant-engineering job can sit a few miles apart. ### What kinds of tech roles are common in South Carolina? Software engineering concentrates in Charleston, while manufacturing engineering shows up statewide around the BMW and Boeing operations. The nuclear and aerospace cluster adds defense tech and the systems work that comes with it. If you want pure consumer startups the pool is smaller, but for engineers who want to work close to physical products, South Carolina has more than most people expect. ### What is it like to work in tech in South Carolina? Cost of living runs about 5 percent below the national average, and Charleston pairs that affordability with a real coastal-city draw that keeps people who move there. The scene is younger and smaller than the big hubs, so the startup crowd is tight rather than sprawling. If you want warm weather, lower costs, and a mix of software and hands-on manufacturing work, the state punches above its size. --- _Source: https://feeny.ai/location/south-carolina_