South Carolina·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1242

Best Database Administrator programs in South Carolina, ranked by enrollment

Administer, test, and implement computer databases, applying knowledge of database management systems. Coordinate changes to computer databases.

30 schools in South Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,245 people a year. The job pays a median of $93,640 in South Carolina across about 990 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledDatabase AnalystDatabase Administrator (DBA)Database Administration ManagerSystems Administrator (Systems Admin)Data MinerData EngineerDatabase TesterDatabase Manager
Graduates / yr
1,245
in South Carolina
Median pay · South Carolina
$93,640
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
990
people employed
Schools
30
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
42%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,006
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in South Carolina that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

2 programs in South Carolina that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in South Carolina (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own South Carolina page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1838
67.3%
16$57,986$24,286
2407
32.7%
20$48,185$25,250

Top 25 schools in South Carolina

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 8 of the 30 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Clemson University
Clemson, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
393Computer and Information Sciences, General$73,37487%38%
2University of South Carolina - Columbia
Columbia, SC Public · 2 feeder programs
270Computer and Information Sciences, General$68,59779%60%
3Trident Technical College
Charleston, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
113Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance30%
4Horry - Georgetown Technical College
Conway, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
60Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance38%
5College of Charleston
Charleston, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
58Computer and Information Sciences, General$67,43866%60%
6University of South Carolina - Upstate
Spartanburg, SC Public · 2 feeder programs
35Computer and Information Sciences, General$49,99943%67%
7Anderson University
Anderson, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
30Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance66%$24,81255%
8Technical College of the Lowcountry
Beaufort, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
27Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance18%
9Citadel Military College of South Carolina
Charleston, SC Public · 2 feeder programs
25Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance75%23%
10Lander University
Greenwood, SC Public · 2 feeder programs
24Computer and Information Sciences, General$59,23250%81%
11Piedmont Technical College
Greenwood, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
23Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance33%
12Greenville Technical College
Greenville, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
21Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance21%
13Denmark Technical College
Denmark, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
20Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance13%
14North Greenville University
Tigerville, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
18Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance55%$20,32767%
15Winthrop University
Rock Hill, SC Public · 2 feeder programs
18Computer and Information Sciences, General$64,30257%79%
16Midlands Technical College
West Columbia, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
17Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance18%
17Charleston Southern University
Charleston, SC Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
16Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance47%$21,84896%
18Columbia College
Columbia, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
11Computer and Information Sciences, General37%$23,98694%
19Francis Marion University
Florence, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
11Computer and Information Sciences, General43%86%
20South Carolina State University
Orangeburg, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
10Computer and Information Sciences, General$30,08237%83%
21Aiken Technical College
Graniteville, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
8Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance34%
22Voorhees University
Denmark, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
8Computer and Information Sciences, General43%$17,824
23University of South Carolina Aiken
Aiken, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
6Computer and Information Sciences, General40%79%
24Coastal Carolina University
Conway, SC Public · 1 feeder programs
5Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance48%75%
25Southern Wesleyan University
Central, SC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Computer and Information Sciences, General52%$19,568100%

All 30 schools in South Carolina

Every school in South Carolina with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in South Carolina that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Clemson UniversityClemsonPublic3931
University of South Carolina - ColumbiaColumbiaPublic2702
Trident Technical CollegeCharlestonPublic1131
Horry - Georgetown Technical CollegeConwayPublic601
College of CharlestonCharlestonPublic581
University of South Carolina - UpstateSpartanburgPublic352
Anderson UniversityAndersonPrivate not-for-profit301
Technical College of the LowcountryBeaufortPublic271
Citadel Military College of South CarolinaCharlestonPublic252
Lander UniversityGreenwoodPublic242
Piedmont Technical CollegeGreenwoodPublic231
Greenville Technical CollegeGreenvillePublic211
Denmark Technical CollegeDenmarkPublic201
North Greenville UniversityTigervillePrivate not-for-profit181
Winthrop UniversityRock HillPublic182

What database administrators earn in South Carolina

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in South Carolina
$93,640
Mean annual
$98,670
Jobs in state
990
What the range looks like
10th pct$54,040Median$93,64090th pct$149,000
Versus the national median
-10.5%

U.S. median $104,620. South Carolina pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.96×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in South Carolina

Charleston-North Charleston, SC
$98,180median
180 jobs
Spartanburg, SC
$89,990median
50 jobs
Florence, SC
$96,580median
30 jobs
Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC
$86,800median
180 jobs
Columbia, SC
$83,330median
250 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-0.7%
Little or no change
Openings per year
3,800
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-500
78,000 → 77,500
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Database Administrators page.

How to become a Database Administrator

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Critical ThinkingActive ListeningReading ComprehensionActive LearningSpeakingWriting

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in South Carolina

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 3 majors mapped to Database Administrators3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
  • 11.0802Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database Administration
  • 11.1003Computer and Information Systems Security/Auditing/Information Assurance

Common questions

Answers for people weighing database administrators programs in South Carolina.

What degree do you need to become a Database Administrator?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer and Information Sciences, General, which awarded 838 degrees in South Carolina in 2024-25, 67.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Database Administrator?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management. Together they graduate about 1,245 people a year in South Carolina.

How much do database administrators earn in South Carolina?+

The median is $93,640 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 10.5% below the U.S. median of $104,620. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for database administrators growing?+

BLS projects a -0.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 3,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in South Carolina?+

30 institutions in South Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do database administrators work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Database Analyst, Database Administrator (DBA), Database Administration Manager, Systems Administrator (Systems Admin) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1242.

Database Administrators in other statesTexasGeorgiaUtahFloridaVirginiaNew YorkMarylandCalifornia

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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