Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC, ranked by annual average salary. For each job, the table displays the number of employees with that job, as well as the job's entry-level salary. (The entry-level salary is calculated based on the 10% of paid workers with the lowest salaries.)

Based on the table, we see that the highest-paying jobs in Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC are those of chief executive, with an average annual salary of $225,720. The second highest-paying jobs are those of family medicine physician, with an average salary of $196,020.

All of the shown salary and employment information for Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC has been computed using data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in April 2023. Notably, the highest-paying occupations change from year to year. Tables 2, 3, and 4 show the top 10 highest-paying occupations in Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Chief Executives	$225,720	$105,420	430
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$196,020	$110,070	120
3	General Pediatricians	$178,160	$141,780	0
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$174,390	$83,440	330
5	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$133,520	$97,410	650
6	Pharmacists	$133,240	$51,860	1,060
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$132,440	$85,600	730
8	General Dentists	$129,940	$78,470	500
9	Other Psychologists	$122,140	$46,220	70
10	Financial Managers	$121,640	$67,450	1,370
11	Purchasing Managers	$121,610	$78,450	150
12	All Other Managers	$118,930	$63,480	370
13	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$118,310	$75,400	550
14	Industrial Production Managers	$118,080	$73,340	560
15	Database Architects	$117,890	$77,590	80
16	Computer Hardware Engineers	$117,750	$71,140	200
17	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$114,030	$75,210	390
18	Computer Occupations, All Other	$112,130	$77,880	1,090
19	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$110,860	$43,160	50
20	Software Developers	$109,110	$69,880	2,360
21	Information Security Analysts	$108,860	$71,230	490
22	Sales Managers	$108,580	$56,820	1,030
23	Commercial Pilots	$107,050	$58,010	90
24	Computer Network Architects	$106,020	$69,610	290
25	Veterinarians	$105,950	$59,200	310
26	Web and Digital Interface Designers	$105,440	$49,640	100
27	Public Relations Managers	$105,330	$61,680	190
28	Physician Assistants	$104,890	$40,250	430
29	Nurse Practitioners	$104,420	$93,120	550
30	Natural Sciences Managers	$103,790	$59,430	80
31	Training and Development Managers	$103,560	$62,260	110
32	Human Resources Managers	$102,150	$65,250	330
33	Optometrists	$101,030	$40,620	80
34	Medical and Health Services Managers	$100,950	$61,500	1,430
35	Sales Engineers	$100,880	$66,110	50
36	Marketing Managers	$100,870	$62,060	300
37	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$100,710	$61,040	450
38	Database Administrators	$100,470	$62,040	110
39	Engineers, All Other	$100,300	$51,960	420
40	Materials Engineers	$99,980	$61,210	170
41	Computer Systems Analysts	$99,640	$60,720	1,920
42	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$99,270	$38,500	90
43	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$98,990	$63,150	570
44	Environmental Engineers	$98,890	$46,260	140
45	Operations Research Analysts	$98,640	$64,000	210
46	Administrative Services Managers	$97,830	$63,020	890
47	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$97,520	$63,030	670
48	Construction Managers	$95,930	$61,600	790
49	Facilities Managers	$95,640	$29,080	190
50	Orthotists and Prosthetists	$94,110	$47,940	30
51	Electrical Engineers	$93,000	$52,200	440
52	Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	$92,290	$37,070	60
53	General and Operations Managers	$90,610	$48,830	8,420
54	Industrial Engineers	$90,390	$63,440	860
55	Other Biological Scientists	$89,940	$54,720	90
56	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers	$89,820	$61,420	170
57	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$89,690	$38,660	60
58	Mechanical Engineers	$88,730	$59,780	630
59	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$88,260	$57,430	690
60	Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling	$85,350	$60,260	110
61	Ship Engineers	$84,690	$64,450	90
62	Other Financial Specialists	$84,640	$50,000	230
63	Other Social Workers	$84,640	$68,410	100
64	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	$83,920	$65,860	160
65	Technical Writers	$83,720	$68,640	110
66	Lawyers	$83,640	$51,160	1,830
67	Data Scientists	$83,560	$60,520	160
68	Management Analysts	$83,410	$48,590	1,840
69	Physical Therapists	$83,320	$65,470	580
70	Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$82,760	$47,730	150
71	Occupational Therapists	$82,700	$59,510	320
72	Financial Analysts	$82,530	$55,000	640
73	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$82,460	$19,550	300
74	Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers	$81,970	$58,280	50
75	Other Engineering Technicians	$81,910	$64,900	280
76	Civil Engineers	$81,690	$48,990	1,080
77	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$80,990	$47,840	260
78	Project Management Specialists	$80,930	$52,760	1,610
79	Speech-Language Pathologists	$80,630	$44,390	520
80	Crane and Tower Operators	$80,440	$43,680	280
81	Compliance Officers	$79,440	$41,340	880
82	Postsecondary Nursing Instructors and Teachers	$78,890	$61,430	230
83	Electrical and Electronics Engineering Technicians	$78,810	$48,470	450
84	Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	$78,000	$58,330	90
85	Insurance Underwriters	$77,890	$50,140	80
86	School Psychologists	$77,740	$20,180	140
87	Postsecondary Computer Science Teachers	$77,560	$29,090	120
88	Dental Hygienists	$77,550	$62,050	570
89	Registered Nurses	$77,270	$61,250	9,350
90	Other Business Operations Specialists	$77,230	$47,640	1,250
91	Social Scientists and Related Workers	$77,230	$66,210	50
92	Logisticians	$77,180	$38,930	1,110
93	Postsecondary Education Teachers	$77,020	$48,430	350
94	Emergency Management Directors	$76,840	$65,500	50
95	Lodging Managers	$76,660	$45,750	140
96	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$76,540	$46,750	420
97	Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators	$75,670	$38,700	150
98	Electrical and Electronics Drafters	$74,980	$47,850	60
99	Tutors	$74,870	$23,250	320
100	Architects (Except Landscape and Naval)	$74,760	$47,110	270

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$196,020
2	Psychiatrists	$179,990
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$171,400
4	Chief Executives	$168,930
5	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$130,580
6	Pharmacists	$129,770
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$128,140
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$127,140
9	Financial Managers	$126,630
10	Industrial Production Managers	$126,040

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Nurse Anesthetists	$160,950
2	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$138,580
3	General Dentists	$132,620
4	Pharmacists	$129,030
5	Financial Managers	$128,860
6	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$127,700
7	Industrial Production Managers	$121,490
8	Commercial Pilots	$121,390
9	Optometrists	$119,310
10	Computer Hardware Engineers	$118,600

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$198,550
2	Nurse Anesthetists	$159,380
3	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$139,600
4	Pharmacists	$129,060
5	All Other Physicians; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$127,300
6	General Dentists	$124,910
7	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$123,530
8	Commercial Pilots	$121,170
9	Industrial Production Managers	$120,710
10	Optometrists	$119,910

Also see The most popular jobs in Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC.

Also see The most popular jobs in South Carolina, The top paying jobs in South Carolina.