What jobs pay in South Carolina

What the all-jobs median says about South Carolina

The May 2025 BLS OEWS estimate puts the all-occupations median in South Carolina at $46,490 per year. This is the middle wage across covered wage and salary jobs in the area. It is not the median for each job title. It is not one worker's pay. Use an occupation page when you need a role-level answer.

BLS lists 2,305,080 covered jobs in South Carolina. The all-occupations mean is $59,280 per year. Mean means add the wage values and split the total by the number of jobs behind the estimate. The median and mean can differ because the local wage mix is not even.

South Carolina's $46,490 all-occupations median is 8.8% below the U.S. all-occupations median of $50,980 on the same published median. This is a wage check on the same source period. It does not add local price levels, taxes, hours, benefits, or household needs.

Where South Carolina sits among states and territories

South Carolina ranks 45 of 54 among states and territories with a published annual all-occupations median. WageScope keeps the map type the same. It does not place a state, metro, and nonmetro row in one rank. The rank uses the May 2025 BLS median only.

A rank is a place in a sorted list. It is not a score. It does not say a place is good or bad. It does not show the size of the job base. South Carolina has 2,305,080 covered jobs, while another row near it can have a very different count.

The nearby rank rows give context without turning the list into a league table. Small gaps can move a place by several spots. A later BLS release can also change the order. Read the wage gap and the source date beside the rank. Do not use rank alone to make a move.

• 42. New Mexico has an all-occupations median of $47,210 per year and 870,970 covered jobs. Its wage gap from South Carolina is $720.
• 43. South Dakota has an all-occupations median of $47,080 per year and 457,380 covered jobs. Its wage gap from South Carolina is $590.
• 44. Kentucky has an all-occupations median of $46,920 per year and 2,000,360 covered jobs. Its wage gap from South Carolina is $430.
• 46. Alabama has an all-occupations median of $45,670 per year and 2,113,660 covered jobs. Its wage gap from South Carolina is $820.
• 47. Oklahoma has an all-occupations median of $45,600 per year and 1,707,680 covered jobs. Its wage gap from South Carolina is $890.
• 48. Louisiana has an all-occupations median of $45,520 per year and 1,934,900 covered jobs. Its wage gap from South Carolina is $970.

The largest detailed occupations shown for South Carolina

The role list is sorted by the BLS employment estimate. It shows detailed occupations from the bounded source table for South Carolina. The first row, Retail Salespersons, has 67,310 estimated jobs. Its median is $30,690 per year.

Large roles shape the all-occupations wage mix, but they do not set it by themselves. A role with many jobs and a lower wage can pull the middle one way. A smaller role with a higher wage can move the mean. The all-occupations row is based on the whole covered job mix, not just the occupations shown in this bounded list.

Employment here means wage and salary jobs in the BLS survey scope. It does not mean people looking for work. It does not mean openings. It does not show how fast a role is changing. Use the current job cards only to inspect dated employer-title matches. Keep that view apart from this May 2025 job count.

• 1. Retail Salespersons has 67,310 estimated jobs in South Carolina. Its published median is $30,690 per year. Its location quotient is 1.16.
• 2. Fast Food and Counter Workers has 65,070 estimated jobs in South Carolina. Its published median is $27,520 per year. Its location quotient is 1.14.
• 3. Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand has 56,700 estimated jobs in South Carolina. Its published median is $37,530 per year. Its location quotient is 1.3.
• 4. Cashiers has 56,550 estimated jobs in South Carolina. Its published median is $28,530 per year. Its location quotient is 1.23.
• 5. Customer Service Representatives has 51,000 estimated jobs in South Carolina. Its published median is $38,860 per year. Its location quotient is 1.33.
• 6. Registered Nurses has 49,750 estimated jobs in South Carolina. Its published median is $82,360 per year. Its location quotient is 0.99.
• 7. Waiters and Waitresses has 47,200 estimated jobs in South Carolina. Its published median is $18,370 per year. Its location quotient is 1.4.
• 8. Office Clerks, General has 42,250 estimated jobs in South Carolina. Its published median is $36,840 per year. Its location quotient is 1.16.

How published medians differ inside South Carolina

The detailed roles shown for South Carolina do not share one pay level. General and Operations Managers has the highest published median in this bounded role set, at $106,080 per year. That does not make it the highest-paid role in every job or in every part of the area.

The list keeps each official SOC title tied to its own wage row. It does not blend fields, levels, or job posts. A role median can be above the $46,490 all-occupations median even when the role has few jobs. A large role can sit below that mark. Pay and job count answer different questions.

Use a role's own WageScope page before you compare places. That page shows the national spread, the same SOC code across areas, and the source limits. The area list is a starting map. It is not enough to set a pay target for one person or one listing.

• 1. General and Operations Managers has a published median of $106,080 per year in South Carolina. BLS lists 32,230 jobs. Its local share is 0.62 times the national share.
• 2. Project Management Specialists has a published median of $95,040 per year in South Carolina. BLS lists 17,040 jobs. Its local share is 1.08 times the national share.
• 3. Registered Nurses has a published median of $82,360 per year in South Carolina. BLS lists 49,750 jobs. Its local share is 0.99 times the national share.
• 4. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products has a published median of $64,250 per year in South Carolina. BLS lists 22,010 jobs. Its local share is 1.2 times the national share.
• 5. First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers has a published median of $62,920 per year in South Carolina. BLS lists 26,710 jobs. Its local share is 1.25 times the national share.
• 6. Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education has a published median of $62,580 per year in South Carolina. BLS lists 16,080 jobs. Its local share is 1.02 times the national share.
• 7. Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education has a published median of $60,820 per year in South Carolina. BLS lists 25,030 jobs. Its local share is 1.22 times the national share.
• 8. Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel has a published median of $58,510 per year in South Carolina. BLS lists 21,070 jobs. Its local share is 1.13 times the national share.

Roles with a larger local share in South Carolina

Location quotient compares a role's share of jobs in South Carolina with that role's share across the nation. A value of 1 means the shares match. A value above 1 means the role takes a larger share of local jobs. A value below 1 means the share is smaller. The value does not show growth or open jobs.

Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators has the highest published location quotient in this bounded set, at 2.02. The same row has 42,150 jobs and a median of $45,500 per year. Read all three fields together.

A high share can appear in a small job base. A large job count can appear with a share near 1. A high median can appear in either case. The three measures are not a single score. They help you ask three clear questions: how many jobs, how common the role is in the local mix, and what wage BLS published.

• 1. Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators has a location quotient of 2.02 in South Carolina. BLS lists 42,150 jobs and a median of $45,500 per year.
• 2. Waiters and Waitresses has a location quotient of 1.4 in South Carolina. BLS lists 47,200 jobs and a median of $18,370 per year.
• 3. Customer Service Representatives has a location quotient of 1.33 in South Carolina. BLS lists 51,000 jobs and a median of $38,860 per year.
• 4. Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand has a location quotient of 1.3 in South Carolina. BLS lists 56,700 jobs and a median of $37,530 per year.
• 5. First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers has a location quotient of 1.25 in South Carolina. BLS lists 26,710 jobs and a median of $62,920 per year.
• 6. Cooks, Restaurant has a location quotient of 1.24 in South Carolina. BLS lists 25,890 jobs and a median of $35,740 per year.
• 7. Maintenance and Repair Workers, General has a location quotient of 1.24 in South Carolina. BLS lists 28,020 jobs and a median of $47,880 per year.
• 8. Cashiers has a location quotient of 1.23 in South Carolina. BLS lists 56,550 jobs and a median of $28,530 per year.

What the BEA price level adds for South Carolina

BEA's 2024 all-items price index for South Carolina is 93.7. The U.S. level is 100. The local all-items level is 6.3% below that mark. This is a broad price comparison. It is not a personal budget.

The housing index is 80.5. The goods index is 96.3. Utilities are 88.3. Other services are 98.3. These parts can move in different ways. The all-items number joins them with BEA's method; WageScope does not pick its own weights.

The BLS wage period is May 2025. The BEA price period is 2024. WageScope shows both source dates. To adjust pay, first divide the all-items price index by 100. Then divide pay by that result. This gives a national-price-dollar proxy. It does not call that result take-home pay, spending power for one home, or a place score.

How to read survey limits for South Carolina

The all-occupations employment RSE for South Carolina is 0%. The mean-wage RSE is 0.3%. RSE means relative standard error. It is a survey precision flag. A smaller value often means less sampling uncertainty. It is not an error bar for one person's wage.

The employment RSE belongs to the 2,305,080 job estimate. The mean-wage RSE belongs to the all-occupations mean. WageScope does not attach either field to a detailed role, the median, or a percentile. Each role has its own survey error fields when BLS shares them.

Some BLS values are blank or top coded. Blank does not mean zero. A top code means the value is at least the shown bound. WageScope keeps those states in the role pages and tables. It does not fill a missing value from a peer role, past year, or nearby place.

Use South Carolina as a map, then choose one occupation

Start with the role that matches the work you mean. Official titles can sound broad. Open the role page and check its SOC code. Then compare the South Carolina row with the U.S. row on the same annual or hourly metric. Read the job count and location quotient beside the wage. Add the BEA price level only when the exact row is present.

Next, look at the wage spread. The median shows the middle. The 10th, 25th, 75th, and 90th percentiles show more of the range. A posted job range can be compared with those marks as context, but it stays employer evidence. It never becomes part of the BLS estimate.

If the role-place row is missing, use the national role page or choose another official area. Do not guess. A clean missing state is more useful than a made-up number. It tells you what the source can and cannot answer.

Move from South Carolina wage data to one checked job

The area page does not treat every local job as the same. Choose an occupation first. WageScope can then use a strict employer-title match for that role. A place filter is used only when the BLS area has an exact approved match in the public place list. If that match is not safe, the page says so.

Each shown job keeps the employer, place, source, and seen date. The cards can change as the public catalog changes. They do not count toward this page's stable content gate. They do not change South Carolina's $46,490 all-occupations median. They do not prove that the employer uses the BLS title.

Open a listing before you tailor. Use facts from your own work that you can support. A wage value is not a skill, result, or duty. MeritLog can help shape confirmed work for the listing you chose. The public area page does not save the role, listing, place, or résumé on load.

What this South Carolina page does not say

The page does not say what one person in South Carolina earns. It does not promise a wage, job, move, or result. It does not call the all-occupations median a role wage. It does not turn rank 45 of 54 into a place score. It does not say why wages differ.

The BLS job count leaves out people who work for themselves and other work outside the survey scope. The current job cards are a separate set of public listings. Neither source shows all work. Neither source tells you the chance of getting hired. A missing value stays missing.

Use the page for a narrow task. See the May 2025 local wage picture. Choose one official occupation. Compare the same field across like places. Add the separate 2024 price level when it exists. Read a current employer-title match. Then make a résumé choice from work facts you have confirmed.