The University of South Carolina was named one of America’s Best Large Employers for 2026, the third straight year the university has received this honor by Forbes.
USC surged almost 200 spots in the rankings, with Forbes ranking the university at No. 94 overall and inside the top 20 for the education category. Forbes ranks the university as the best large employer in the state and the third-highest in the SEC behind only Tennessee and Auburn.
USC is the only college or university in South Carolina to make the list.
“Being recognized as one of the nation’s top employers reflects not only the commitment of the administration to provide top-notch resources to our employees but also the people who make up our university community,” says Caroline Agardy, vice president for human resources. “Our employees are the reason for our success, and this recognition reflects the passion, expertise and values of our employees.”
This honor affirms USC’s continued commitment to providing top-notch resources and experiences for the over 10,000 faculty and staff across the USC system.
USC has always had a commitment to excellence but has taken big steps over the last few years to continue attracting and retaining top-notch faculty and staff.
The Division of Human Resources recently completed a compensation study in 2022 that ultimately led to the development of an exhaustive plan to attract and retain talent and included an investment of roughly $4.3 million to raise USC employee salaries.
The university also implemented an updated market pay structure to guide its compensation and pay decisions moving forward. This will help USC remain competitive and support long-term talent recruitment and retention.
“The last few years have seen a lot of positive change for our employees. While we’re happy with the strides we’ve made, we know there is more we can do to improve as an employer,” Agardy says. “We will continue to evolve with the ever-changing needs of our workforce and continue to make the University of South Carolina a place people gravitate to and stay at once they’re here.”
In 2023, the university also raised its minimum hourly wage across the USC system for approximately 600 full-time staff members.
The ranking is based on an independent survey of over 215,000 employers working at companies with a national workforce of at least 1,000 people. USC is consistently one of South Carolina’s largest employers with over 10,605 employees across the USC system, with 8,217 of those at the Columbia campus.