Top 100 highest-paying jobs in Columbia, SC

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in Columbia, 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 Columbia, SC are those of family medicine physician, with an average annual salary of $227,430. The second highest-paying jobs are those of psychiatrist, with an average salary of $222,410.

All of the shown salary and employment information for Columbia, 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 Columbia, SC in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

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

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Family Medicine Physicians	$227,430	$144,430	320
2	Psychiatrists	$222,410	$100,080	90
3	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$217,290	$61,960	80
4	Nurse Anesthetists	$211,730	$74,270	160
5	Chief Executives	$173,820	$85,520	450
6	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$133,300	$46,540	240
7	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$130,370	$83,210	290
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$127,150	$78,020	900
9	Pharmacists	$126,100	$60,250	980
10	Sales Managers	$124,460	$63,120	1,120
11	General Dentists	$123,160	$82,330	430
12	Marketing Managers	$122,000	$60,470	480
13	Database Architects	$119,160	$71,050	120
14	Real Estate Brokers	$115,210	$43,490	110
15	Geoscientists (Except Hydrologists and Geographers)	$112,110	$45,780	80
16	Natural Sciences Managers	$111,510	$83,930	70
17	Actuaries	$111,460	$79,140	60
18	All Other Managers	$109,990	$63,380	410
19	Software Developers	$109,180	$67,610	1,380
20	Computer Network Architects	$108,310	$75,220	170
21	Industrial Production Managers	$107,090	$69,990	680
22	Administrative Services Managers	$104,740	$74,860	1,050
23	Physician Assistants	$104,380	$44,560	380
24	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$104,060	$49,290	240
25	Transportation Inspectors	$103,800	$29,250	30
26	Postsecondary Nursing Instructors and Teachers	$103,420	$59,120	130
27	Financial Managers	$103,290	$63,370	1,630
28	Nurse Practitioners	$102,940	$81,940	760
29	Postsecondary Psychology Teachers	$102,750	$52,350	60
30	Postsecondary Health Specialties Teachers	$102,390	$47,680	320
31	Purchasing Managers	$102,180	$71,170	130
32	Veterinarians	$101,260	$64,920	210
33	Facilities Managers	$98,150	$58,480	150
34	Optometrists	$97,920	$34,960	80
35	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$97,910	$73,380	810
36	Medical and Health Services Managers	$97,280	$62,530	1,490
37	Other Education Administrators	$96,660	$66,750	90
38	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$95,560	$58,030	380
39	Construction Managers	$95,240	$59,990	590
40	Chemical Engineers	$94,870	$60,880	60
41	Computer Programmers	$94,600	$59,990	190
42	Other Psychologists	$94,370	$27,120	30
43	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$94,370	$79,350	40
44	Human Resources Managers	$93,540	$59,220	400
45	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$93,380	$61,250	460
46	Information Security Analysts	$93,230	$50,530	280
47	Sales Engineers	$93,010	$58,920	70
48	Engineers, All Other	$92,930	$49,990	130
49	Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates	$92,260	$39,300	140
50	Power Plant Operators	$88,110	$69,850	160
51	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$86,220	$58,540	80
52	Physical Therapists	$85,690	$62,320	520
53	Conservation Scientists	$84,280	$47,110	40
54	Lawyers	$84,070	$52,960	2,090
55	Occupational Therapists	$84,010	$62,390	290
56	Training and Development Managers	$83,550	$58,670	140
57	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$83,530	$61,360	710
58	Industrial Engineers	$82,780	$60,710	720
59	Web and Digital Interface Designers	$82,360	$56,250	50
60	General and Operations Managers	$81,990	$47,090	7,380
61	Mechanical Engineers	$81,850	$51,910	410
62	Speech-Language Pathologists	$80,850	$56,050	300
63	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$80,580	$26,050	180
64	Data Scientists	$80,350	$57,230	220
65	Database Administrators	$80,190	$51,980	220
66	Economists	$80,000	$36,900	50
67	Electrical Engineers	$79,990	$57,520	210
68	Commercial Pilots	$79,910	$53,290	70
69	Other Social Workers	$79,440	$66,210	150
70	Atmospheric and Space Scientists	$79,350	$47,990	30
71	Financial Examiners	$78,480	$60,560	50
72	Elevator Installers and Repairers	$78,310	$46,690	40
73	Architects (Except Landscape and Naval)	$78,250	$45,500	100
74	Computer Systems Analysts	$78,170	$46,510	1,730
75	Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	$78,150	$62,870	220
76	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$77,890	$44,430	600
77	Other Engineering Technicians	$77,770	$54,720	70
78	Project Management Specialists	$77,690	$50,960	1,410
79	Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	$77,110	$37,040	90
80	Technical Writers	$77,020	$48,960	50
81	Civil Engineers	$76,750	$51,160	1,020
82	Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products Sales Representatives	$76,060	$34,780	540
83	Dental Hygienists	$76,000	$52,560	600
84	Funeral Home Managers	$75,890	$42,180	30
85	Registered Nurses	$75,620	$58,220	7,680
86	Computer Occupations, All Other	$75,500	$31,310	610
87	Financial Risk Specialists	$74,980	$52,000	40
88	Postsecondary English Language and Literature Teachers	$74,280	$47,540	130
89	Audiologists	$74,100	$61,250	40
90	Management Analysts	$73,290	$40,320	1,770
91	Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling	$73,230	$36,550	50
92	Personal Financial Advisors	$72,990	$45,690	410
93	Environmental Engineers	$71,550	$33,330	140
94	Other Business Operations Specialists	$71,140	$43,330	1,200
95	Public Relations Managers	$70,990	$46,620	240
96	All Other Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners	$70,620	$66,210	60
97	Financial Analysts	$70,320	$39,910	440
98	First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers	$68,470	$46,430	630
99	Statisticians	$68,240	$51,640	130
100	Fundraising Managers	$67,910	$51,370	50

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Columbia, SC – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	$200,080
2	Nurse Anesthetists	$194,990
3	Chief Executives	$173,810
4	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$129,660
5	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$129,660
6	Marketing Managers	$126,500
7	Pharmacists	$125,130
8	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$125,060
9	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$120,230
10	Industrial Production Managers	$119,400

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Columbia, SC – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Psychiatrists	$199,530
2	Chief Executives	$176,470
3	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$128,680
4	General Dentists	$125,240
5	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$121,230
6	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$119,540
7	All Other Personal Service Managers, Entertainment Managers, Except Gambling; and Managers	$118,020
8	Pharmacists	$117,590
9	Sales Managers	$115,570
10	Nuclear Engineers	$111,160

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in Columbia, SC – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Chief Executives	$202,550
2	Psychiatrists	$194,350
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$179,550
4	General Dentists	$178,930
5	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$121,380
6	Pharmacists	$118,730
7	Postsecondary Business Teachers	$117,300
8	Industrial Production Managers	$115,480
9	Compensation and Benefits Managers	$114,750
10	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$114,620

Also see The most popular jobs in Columbia, SC.

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