Updated
PERM jobs in Columbia, SC
- Decisions
- 975
- Approved
- 93.9%
- Median certified wage
- $53,009
- Years
- FY2016 to FY2026
Year by year
- certified
- denied
- withdrawn
Fiscal years run October to September. More
Fiscal years run October to September. FY2016 to FY2023 come from DOL's closed-year files, and FY2024 on from its current ones. The newest year is partial until DOL publishes its fourth quarter.
Every year as a table
| Fiscal year | Certified | Denied | Withdrawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 58 | 10 | 1 |
| FY2017 | 52 | 1 | 6 |
| FY2018 | 63 | 3 | 1 |
| FY2019 | 36 | 19 | 4 |
| FY2020 | 39 | 1 | 1 |
| FY2021 | 106 | 0 | 11 |
| FY2022 | 122 | 3 | 6 |
| FY2023 | 94 | 2 | 2 |
| FY2024 | 51 | 9 | 4 |
| FY2025 | 114 | 5 | 3 |
| FY2026 | 141 | 4 | 3 |
Top sponsors
- Lizard's Thicket, Inc. 155
- Arch Enterprises, LLC 102
- University of South Carolina 98
- J-Ray, Inc. 81
- RICHLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT ONE 54
- Keen Info Tek Inc 41
- Palmetto GBA, LLC 25
- International technology Solutions,Inc 25
- PruittHealth 21
- 316 Restaurant Group, LLC 20
Top occupations
- Software Developers, Applications 179
- Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food 108
- Fast Food and Counter Workers 95
- Dishwashers 86
- Food Preparation Workers 71
- Nursing Assistants 32
- Business Teachers, Postsecondary 28
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners 28
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education 20
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 19
Industries
- Limited-Service Restaurants 205
- Full-Service Restaurants 166
- Custom Computer Programming Services 147
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 97
- Elementary and Secondary Schools 75
- Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) 32
- Janitorial Services 28
- Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers 19
- Commercial Banking 18
- Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Carriers 15
Countries of citizenship
- India 267
- Nepal 62
- Brazil 59
- China 34
- Bangladesh 26
- Vietnam 22
- South Korea 21
- Colombia 16
- Pakistan 14
- Romania 13
Worker's education
- None 228
- Master's 194
- Bachelor's 148
- Doctorate 88
- Other 27
- Associate's 10
- High School 3
Visa held when filed
- H-1B 361
- F-1 167
- NOT IN USA 60
- L-1 14
- F-2 12
- B-2 9
- H-4 6
- E-2 5
- J-1 4
- R-1 4
H-1B in Columbia, SC
3,438 labor condition applications name a worksite here, FY2020 to FY2026, and DOL certified 3,238 (94%). An LCA is the employer's wage attestation before an H-1B petition, so it counts positions offered. It doesn't count people hired.
Employers, certified LCAs since FY2024
- RICHLAND COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT ONE 162
- University of South Carolina 110
- CAPGEMINI AMERICA INC 90
- AgFirst Farm Credit Bank 29
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina 28
- Prisma Health Medical Group - Midlands 27
- SANCTITYINTERNATIONAL LLC 26
- CGI Technologies and Solutions Inc. 25
- Duck Creek Technologies LLC 20
- Integrated Health Group 20
Jobs, certified LCAs since FY2024
- Software Developers 313
- Computer Systems Engineers/Architects 62
- Computer Systems Analysts 58
- Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education 45
- Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers 41
- Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 41
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 35
- Computer Programmers 34
- Data Scientists 34
- Hospitalists 28
Where Columbia, SC sits
- Counties
- Lexington and Richland counties
- Census places Columbia city in both
- Metro area
- Columbia, SC
- Metropolitan statistical area
- DOL wage area
- Columbia, SC
- The area DOL sets prevailing wages for, wage year 2026-27
93.7 is BEA's price level for the Columbia, SC metro area in 2024, against 100 for the country as a whole; for housing rents it's 79.5. A salary here buys about 107% of what the same salary buys at the national price level.
- Fast Food and Counter Workers95 PERM decisions
- Dishwashers86 PERM decisions
- Food Preparation Workers71 PERM decisions
- Nursing Assistants32 PERM decisions
- Business Teachers, Postsecondary28 PERM decisions
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners28 PERM decisions
Each row has its own scale, marked at its ends: these jobs pay too differently to share one. The table compares them.
- middle half of pay (BLS)
- median
- 10th to 90th percentile
- DOL's Levels I to IV, left to right
| Job | BLS median | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $27,170 | $22,381 | $24,710 | $27,061 | $29,390 |
| Dishwashers | $28,180 | $25,002 | $26,874 | $28,766 | $30,638 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $30,260 | $24,357 | $27,893 | $31,408 | $34,944 |
| Nursing Assistants | $37,400 | $30,493 | $33,779 | $37,066 | $40,352 |
| Business Teachers, Postsecondary | $129,380 | $57,630 | $97,100 | $136,570 | $176,040 |
| Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | $32,170 | $25,147 | $29,224 | $33,280 | $37,357 |
Any job in any area, and every wage year since 2021-22, in the wage-level tool.
The worksite city on each application, from DOL's decided cases since FY2016. Spellings of one city are pooled, and a city counts as one place per state.
Case data through Jun 30, 2026 · LCA disclosures through Jun 30, 2026 · Census places and metros through Jan 1, 2026 · BLS market pay through May 31, 2025 · DOL wage tables through Jul 1, 2026. How these figures are counted. Spotted an error? Tell us; every fix is dated in the corrections log.
The sources in full
Case data: DOL quarterly disclosure files (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jun 30, 2026 · quarterly
LCA disclosures: DOL quarterly LCA disclosure files (www.dol.gov) · data through Jun 30, 2026 · quarterly
Census places and metros: Census Bureau Gazetteer and metro delineation files (census.gov) · data through Jan 1, 2026 · yearly
BLS market pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (bls.gov) · data through May 31, 2025 · yearly, each spring
DOL wage tables: DOL OFLC wage data downloads (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jul 1, 2026 · yearly, each july
What each source includes
Case data: Decided PERM cases only. A case still waiting isn't in here, so counts and durations describe finished cases.
LCA disclosures: Certified and denied H-1B labor condition applications only, with the wage offered.
Census places and metros: Where each worksite city sits: its county, metro area and DOL wage area, matched to Census's place and county files. A city Census lists in no single place is left unmatched. This site doesn't guess it.
BLS market pay: Pay employers report for everyone in each job, from BLS's yearly survey (May of the year named). It's shown nationally, by state and by metro. It covers citizens and immigrants alike, and it isn't drawn from PERM offers.
DOL wage tables: The four prevailing wage levels DOL publishes for every job in every area, each wage year from 2021-22, as DOL's own tables print them. They're the floors an offer is held to. They don't show what anyone was paid.
Cite this page
Waiting on a PERM case?
- When it'll likely be decided
- An email when DOL moves it
Don't have the number?