by our College Data Analytics Team
If you’re seeking a diverse and multi-faceted college experience, you’ve come to the right place. We have ranked 69 colleges ranked on overall diversity in South Carolina, using our 2026 methodology.
This ranking is based on several factors of the student body: racial/ethnic makeup, geographic origin, gender balance, and age range. To arm you with the information you need, College Factual reviewed 69 colleges, drawing primarily on U.S. Department of Education data (IPEDS and College Scorecard). Learn more about our ranking methodology.
Your ideal mix depends on what matters most to you. Refine the list by location, or explore the overall, racial-ethnic, gender, economic, and age diversity rankings, or other rankings below.
Looking to pit your favorite colleges against each other? We built a tool called College Combat to weigh schools on the factors you care about most.
Explore the leading colleges below:
Columbia International University earned the #1 spot in this year's Most Diverse Colleges ranking in South Carolina. It scores 78.2 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 69.3, with a gender-diversity score of 99.3.
Limestone University earned the #2 place in South Carolina. Limestone University scores 74.4 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 70.2, with a gender-diversity score of 99.7.
Bob Jones University came in at #3 on this year's Most Diverse Colleges ranking in South Carolina. It scores 74.3 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 51.4, alongside a 99.4 gender-diversity score.
You'll find a welcoming community at Coker University, which ranked #4 this year. The school's overall diversity score is 74.1 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 67.2, alongside a 98.8 gender-diversity score.
You'll find a welcoming community at Newberry College, which ranked #5 this year. The school's overall diversity score is 72.4 out of 100. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 60.1, with a gender-diversity score of 99.5.
Southern Wesleyan University landed the #6 spot in South Carolina this year. The school's overall diversity score is 70.6 out of 100. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 46.9, with a gender-diversity score of 89.4.
University of South Carolina-Salkehatchie placed #7 among the most diverse colleges in South Carolina. It scores 70.3 out of 100 for overall diversity. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 63.2, alongside a 95.0 gender-diversity score.
Charleston Southern University landed the #8 spot in South Carolina this year. The school's overall diversity score is 70.2 out of 100. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 61.6, and gender diversity 95.9.
North Greenville University came in at #9 in this year's ranking. The school's overall diversity score is 69.3 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 54.4, and gender diversity 99.3.
Greenville Technical College landed the #10 spot in South Carolina this year. Greenville Technical College scores 69.2 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 59.1, with a gender-diversity score of 96.6.
Coastal Carolina University placed #11 among the most diverse colleges in South Carolina. It scores 69.1 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 52.7, alongside a 99.2 gender-diversity score.
Midlands Technical College landed the #12 spot in South Carolina this year. Midlands Technical College scores 68.9 out of 100 for overall diversity. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 62.6, alongside a 95.2 gender-diversity score.
Erskine College earned the #13 position in South Carolina. The school's overall diversity score is 68.9 out of 100. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 61.4, and gender diversity 87.8.
Aiken Technical College came in at #14 in this year's ranking. It scores 68.6 out of 100 for overall diversity. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 55.9, and gender diversity 93.2.
University of South Carolina Aiken placed #15 among the most diverse colleges in South Carolina. University of South Carolina Aiken scores 68.5 out of 100 for overall diversity. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 54.2, with a gender-diversity score of 93.9.
Horry-Georgetown Technical College placed #16 among the most diverse colleges in South Carolina. It scores 68.3 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 51.3, and gender diversity 93.9.
University of South Carolina-Upstate earned the #17 position in South Carolina. The school's overall diversity score is 67.8 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 61.2, with a gender-diversity score of 91.4.
Technical College of the Lowcountry placed #18 among the most diverse colleges in South Carolina. The school's overall diversity score is 67.7 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 60.0, alongside a 90.1 gender-diversity score.
Presbyterian College landed the #19 spot in South Carolina this year. Presbyterian College scores 67.7 out of 100 for overall diversity. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 57.2, alongside a 99.0 gender-diversity score.
Francis Marion University landed the #20 spot in South Carolina this year. It scores 67.6 out of 100 for overall diversity. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 58.0, alongside a 92.3 gender-diversity score.
University of South Carolina Beaufort came in at #21 in this year's ranking. It scores 67.4 out of 100 for overall diversity. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 55.5, alongside a 91.0 gender-diversity score.
Spartanburg Community College ranked #22 on our 2026 list of the most diverse colleges. Spartanburg Community College scores 67.3 out of 100 for overall diversity. Racial-ethnic diversity scores 56.7, and gender diversity 94.8.
Trident Technical College earned the #23 position in South Carolina. The school's overall diversity score is 67.1 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 57.8, and gender diversity 94.5.
York Technical College landed the #24 spot in South Carolina this year. It scores 67.0 out of 100 for overall diversity. On racial-ethnic diversity it scores 58.8, with a gender-diversity score of 96.2.
Florence-Darlington Technical College landed the #25 spot in South Carolina this year. On overall diversity, it scores 66.9 out of 100. Its racial-ethnic diversity score is 51.6, with a gender-diversity score of 91.9.
Not far behind, these colleges also rank among the most diverse this year:
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This ranking is based on several factors of the student body: racial/ethnic makeup, geographic representation, gender balance, and age range. The racial-ethnic minorities percentage is calculated by taking the total number of students, subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity is unknown, and dividing by total enrollment.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.
