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Best Industrial Design Schools Near Columbia, SC (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Columbia, South Carolina is home to about 138,019 residents. Median household income is $55,653 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 46.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Columbia, SC metro area, the top-earning industrial design-related role is Architectural and Engineering Managers at a median $162,260 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Industrial Design Schools to Columbia
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer industrial design programs near Columbia, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Columbia city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Columbia.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Columbia is part of the Columbia, SC metro area (BLS area code 17900). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to South Carolina statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Commercial and Industrial Designers
$74,960
Columbia, SC
$80,000
Industrial Engineers
$98,780
Columbia, SC
$105,422
Graphic Designers
$55,690
Columbia, SC
$59,434
Mechanical Drafters
$61,300
Columbia, SC
$65,422
Interior Designers
$62,720
Columbia, SC
$66,937
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$162,260
Columbia, SC
$173,170
Set and Exhibit Designers
N/A
SC statewide
–
Mechanical Engineers
$102,280
Columbia, SC
$109,157
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Columbia at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
138,019
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$55,653
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
46.1%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
93.7 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Columbia-Area Cities With Industrial Design Programs
What are the highest-paying industrial design roles near Columbia?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying industrial design-related roles near Columbia are: Architectural and Engineering Managers ($162,260), Mechanical Engineers ($102,280), Industrial Engineers ($98,780). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with South Carolina statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Lexington instead of Columbia?
Lexington, SC is 18.4 miles from Columbia and has its own set of local industrial design programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Columbia an affordable place to study industrial design?
Columbia’s median household income of $55,653 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Columbia while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and South Carolina public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
