How much do Buyers and Purchasing Agents make in Columbia, SC?

Percentile spread

For Buyers and Purchasing Agents, the published 10th percentile is $45,900 and the 90th percentile is $111,450. The difference is $65,550, which is 91.3% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $56,160 to the 75th at $91,640, covers $35,480.

The mean annual wage is $76,530, which sits above the median of $71,820. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Columbia, SC median is 7.6% lower than the national median of $77,710 for Buyers and Purchasing Agents. In 2024 national prices the local median is $76,680, which is 1.3% lower than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 4.9% lower than the South Carolina median of $75,550.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Columbia, SC is 93.662, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $71,820 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Buyers and Purchasing Agents at $76,680 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

31 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Buyers and Purchasing Agents. Columbia, SC ranks 18th of 32 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

• Sumter, SC is 39 miles away, with a median of $79,030 and employment of 100. That median is 10% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $89,786, against $76,680 here.
• Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC is 69 miles away, with a median of $74,080 and employment of 550. That median is 3.1% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $80,607, against $76,680 here.
• Spartanburg, SC is 70 miles away, with a median of $73,690 and employment of 400. That median is 2.6% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $80,933, against $76,680 here.

Employment share

Buyers and Purchasing Agents accounts for 0.22% of wage-and-salary employment in Columbia, SC (880 of 394,200). Nationally the occupation is 0.32% of employment (491,430 of 155,495,730). The local share is 0.71 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.