Best colleges for business in South Carolina
Citadel Military College of South Carolina ranks first in South Carolina for business value (#174 nationally, value score 67.3): graduates earn $73,116 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $22,019 a year.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard field of study, reporting year 2025 · 27 South Carolina colleges ranked · Updated November 4, 2026
Best business colleges in South Carolina
Citadel Military College of South Carolina ranks first in South Carolina for business value (#174 nationally, value score 67.3): graduates earn $73,116 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $22,019 a year. 27 South Carolina colleges qualify. At the median one, business graduates earn $56,852 and the average net price is $20,154 a year.
Source: U.S. College Scorecard field of study, 2025
What the data shows
Key findings
- 27 South Carolina colleges qualify. At the median one, business graduates earn $56,852 and the average net price is $20,154 a year.
- The lowest average net price among them is at Francis Marion University: $10,890 a year.
- Median earnings
- $56,852
- National: $64,860
- Median net price
- $20,154
- National: $19,132
- Median federal debt
- $22,750
- business graduates
- Public colleges
- 12 of 27
- in this list
27 colleges
The South Carolina ranking
Ordered by the national value score; the national rank is shown with each college. Earnings are medians 4 years after the bachelor's degree.
- Rank in South Carolina 1
Citadel Military College of South Carolina
Charleston, SC · Public · #174 nationally
67.3Value- Earnings
- $73,116
- Net price
- $22,019
- Federal debt
- $20,000
- Graduation rate
- 79%
- Earnings
- $70,059
- Net price
- $22,032
- Federal debt
- $18,750
- Graduation rate
- 88%
- Earnings
- $71,360
- Net price
- $18,177
- Federal debt
- $21,125
- Graduation rate
- 65%
- Rank in South Carolina 4
University of South Carolina-Columbia
Columbia, SC · Public · #236 nationally
64.2Value- Earnings
- $70,527
- Net price
- $22,197
- Federal debt
- $19,500
- Graduation rate
- 79%
- Rank in South Carolina 5
Greenville, SC · Private nonprofit · #372 nationally
56.2Value- Earnings
- $73,099
- Net price
- $31,764
- Federal debt
- $22,750
- Graduation rate
- 74%
- Rank in South Carolina 6
Charleston Southern University
Charleston, SC · Private nonprofit · #423 nationally
53.4Value- Earnings
- $69,117
- Net price
- $20,661
- Federal debt
- $21,500
- Graduation rate
- 50%
- Rank in South Carolina 7
Greenville, SC · Private nonprofit · #469 nationally
50.9Value- Earnings
- $54,989
- Net price
- $14,632
- Federal debt
- $14,972
- Graduation rate
- 71%
- Rank in South Carolina 8
University of South Carolina-Upstate
Spartanburg, SC · Public · #560 nationally
46.2Value- Earnings
- $61,967
- Net price
- $15,680
- Federal debt
- $19,250
- Graduation rate
- 43%
- Rank in South Carolina 9
Clinton, SC · Private nonprofit · #564 nationally
46.0Value- Earnings
- $67,278
- Net price
- $20,154
- Federal debt
- $27,000
- Graduation rate
- 52%
- Rank in South Carolina 10
Anderson University-South Carolina
Anderson, SC · Private nonprofit · #614 nationally
43.3Value- Earnings
- $63,035
- Net price
- $24,068
- Federal debt
- $22,354
- Graduation rate
- 72%
- Earnings
- $61,987
- Net price
- $16,375
- Federal debt
- $23,676
- Graduation rate
- 52%
- Earnings
- $59,946
- Net price
- $15,287
- Federal debt
- $23,250
- Graduation rate
- 54%
- Rank in South Carolina 13
Central, SC · Private nonprofit · #641 nationally
41.5Value- Earnings
- $62,278
- Net price
- $16,041
- Federal debt
- $25,500
- Graduation rate
- 52%
- Rank in South Carolina 14
University of South Carolina Aiken
Aiken, SC · Public · #779 nationally
34.0Value- Earnings
- $58,908
- Net price
- $14,565
- Federal debt
- $26,000
- Graduation rate
- 44%
- Earnings
- $52,512
- Net price
- $16,659
- Federal debt
- $21,500
- Graduation rate
- 50%
- Earnings
- $51,522
- Net price
- $10,890
- Federal debt
- $24,625
- Graduation rate
- 38%
- Rank in South Carolina 17
University of South Carolina Beaufort
Bluffton, SC · Public · #906 nationally
24.9Value- Earnings
- $56,852
- Net price
- $20,646
- Federal debt
- $23,251
- Graduation rate
- 39%
- Rank in South Carolina 18
Spartanburg, SC · Private nonprofit · #907 nationally
24.8Value- Earnings
- $55,503
- Net price
- $23,526
- Federal debt
- $20,191
- Graduation rate
- 44%
- Rank in South Carolina 19
Tigerville, SC · Private nonprofit · #925 nationally
22.6Value- Earnings
- $52,707
- Net price
- $22,235
- Federal debt
- $23,718
- Graduation rate
- 54%
- Rank in South Carolina 20
Newberry, SC · Private nonprofit · #928 nationally
22.5Value- Earnings
- $54,747
- Net price
- $22,104
- Federal debt
- Not reported
- Graduation rate
- 42%
- Rank in South Carolina 21
Columbia College-South Carolina
Columbia, SC · Private nonprofit · #941 nationally
21.0Value- Earnings
- $53,979
- Net price
- $21,611
- Federal debt
- $22,750
- Graduation rate
- 41%
- Earnings
- $54,921
- Net price
- $19,826
- Federal debt
- $25,000
- Graduation rate
- 34%
- Rank in South Carolina 23
Columbia International University
Columbia, SC · Private nonprofit · #947 nationally
19.6Value- Earnings
- $40,432
- Net price
- $18,951
- Federal debt
- $19,500
- Graduation rate
- 50%
- Rank in South Carolina 24
Columbia, SC · Private nonprofit · #956 nationally
17.9Value- Earnings
- $41,811
- Net price
- $17,734
- Federal debt
- $25,175
- Graduation rate
- 43%
- Earnings
- $46,257
- Net price
- $22,920
- Federal debt
- $16,263
- Graduation rate
- 22%
- Rank in South Carolina 26
South Carolina State University
Orangeburg, SC · Public · #964 nationally
16.7Value- Earnings
- $48,108
- Net price
- $18,030
- Federal debt
- $28,500
- Graduation rate
- 32%
- Rank in South Carolina 27
Hartsville, SC · Private nonprofit · #980 nationally
10.1Value- Earnings
- $47,785
- Net price
- $24,908
- Federal debt
- $25,000
- Graduation rate
- 37%
Method: the same value score as the national business ranking (earnings, debt relative to earnings, average net price and graduation rate, each a national percentile). Data: College Scorecard, reporting year 2025; 2026–27 edition, verified Nov 2026.
Questions about business colleges in South Carolina
What are the best colleges for business in South Carolina?
By CollegesRef value score, the top 3 South Carolina colleges for business are Citadel Military College of South Carolina (value score 67.3), Clemson University (value score 65.7) and College of Charleston (value score 65.3). The score weighs graduate earnings, debt relative to earnings, average net price and graduation rate.
Which South Carolina college has the highest earnings for business graduates?
Citadel Military College of South Carolina: its business graduates have median earnings of $73,116 4 years after the bachelor's degree.
What is the most affordable business college in South Carolina on this list?
Francis Marion University has the lowest average net price of the ranked South Carolina colleges, $10,890 a year after grants. A family's own price depends on income and aid.
How many South Carolina colleges are ranked for business?
27 South Carolina colleges have a business bachelor's program with enough graduates and reported earnings, plus a published net price and graduation rate. Ranks shown are national; the state rank is their order within South Carolina.