Top 100 highest-paying jobs in South Carolina

Table 1 compares the top 100 highest-paying jobs in South Carolina, 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 South Carolina are those of obstetricians and gynecologists, with an average annual salary of $230,220. The second highest-paying jobs are those of neurologist, with an average salary of $224,780.

All of the shown salary and employment information for South Carolina 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 South Carolina in 2021, 2020, and 2019.

Table 1. Top 100 highest-paying jobs in South Carolina (2022 survey)

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	No. of Empl i
1	Obstetricians and Gynecologists	$230,220	$110,620	160
2	Neurologists	$224,780	$169,240	90
3	Emergency Medicine Physicians	$214,960	$153,020	110
4	Other Specialists Dentists	$209,390	$173,120	50
5	General Pediatricians	$198,310	$166,270	160
6	Chief Executives	$193,480	$93,660	2,350
7	Nurse Anesthetists	$192,080	$83,440	910
8	Physicists	$189,030	$57,940	60
9	Psychiatrists	$185,760	$88,010	200
10	Postsecondary Law Teachers	$166,150	$104,760	60
11	Physicians, Pathologists	$150,920	$133,100	460
12	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$132,960	$96,680	2,690
13	Medical Dosimetrists	$132,620	$115,370	40
14	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$131,760	$108,180	60
15	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$131,500	$81,480	4,180
16	Pharmacists	$128,690	$63,420	5,150
17	General Dentists	$127,230	$75,900	2,220
18	Sales Managers	$121,280	$58,710	6,280
19	Other Physical Scientists	$120,420	$81,750	80
20	Database Architects	$117,730	$64,370	540
21	Financial Managers	$116,990	$64,380	8,160
22	Other Psychologists	$114,730	$46,320	140
23	Purchasing Managers	$113,530	$74,870	890
24	Computer and Information Research Scientists	$113,440	$75,400	430
25	Computer Hardware Engineers	$113,390	$68,680	350
26	All Other Managers	$113,240	$61,830	1,930
27	Aerospace Engineers	$112,200	$79,890	540
28	Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers	$108,520	$79,350	80
29	Industrial Production Managers	$107,170	$69,480	4,970
30	Marketing Managers	$107,000	$62,060	3,150
31	Postsecondary Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers	$105,540	$65,580	30
32	Computer Network Architects	$105,400	$72,320	1,100
33	Information Security Analysts	$105,000	$56,620	1,350
34	Natural Sciences Managers	$104,690	$59,430	360
35	Physician Assistants	$104,260	$61,420	1,730
36	Veterinarians	$104,160	$59,100	1,410
37	Nurse Practitioners	$103,950	$84,010	3,960
38	Actuaries	$103,010	$76,580	120
39	Air Traffic Controllers	$102,440	$73,630	180
40	Postsecondary Geography Teachers	$101,910	$20,230	40
41	Electronics Engineers (Non Computer)	$101,860	$63,150	1,040
42	Postsecondary Economics Teachers	$101,370	$62,270	150
43	Nuclear Engineers	$101,200	$62,770	780
44	Human Resources Managers	$100,890	$60,630	2,010
45	Podiatrists	$100,310	$67,620	50
46	Administrative Services Managers	$100,270	$62,410	4,310
47	Postsecondary Library Science Teachers	$99,770	$60,250	80
48	Data Scientists	$99,370	$61,390	1,180
49	Nuclear Power Reactor Operators	$99,310	$81,240	390
50	Nuclear Technicians	$99,190	$60,780	620
51	Medical and Health Services Managers	$98,690	$61,670	7,320
52	Software Developers	$98,630	$65,000	11,100
53	Optometrists	$98,460	$34,880	460
54	Conservation Scientists	$97,880	$44,720	230
55	Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	$97,760	$59,930	2,700
56	Training and Development Managers	$97,650	$54,280	650
57	Advertising and Promotions Managers	$97,490	$42,040	210
58	Lawyers	$97,490	$51,140	7,940
59	Engineers, All Other	$97,300	$53,430	1,390
60	Computer Programmers	$96,730	$58,030	1,110
61	Nurse Midwives	$96,730	$29,260	80
62	Construction Managers	$96,410	$60,460	4,250
63	Elementary and Secondary School Education Administrators	$96,080	$63,960	4,510
64	Sales Engineers	$95,340	$60,490	540
65	Computer Occupations, All Other	$95,220	$50,920	2,900
66	Chemical Engineers	$93,660	$50,830	330
67	Facilities Managers	$92,860	$54,350	980
68	Database Administrators	$90,960	$53,750	750
69	Atmospheric and Space Scientists	$89,940	$49,000	90
70	Other Education Administrators	$87,820	$47,000	290
71	Environmental Engineers	$87,780	$42,040	640
72	Genetic Counselors	$86,870	$86,870	50
73	Biomedical Engineers	$86,740	$54,690	170
74	Physical Therapists	$86,620	$61,210	3,110
75	Computer Systems Analysts	$85,210	$51,220	8,340
76	Orthotists and Prosthetists	$84,820	$41,950	130
77	Ship Engineers	$84,690	$62,720	90
78	Industrial Engineers	$84,560	$61,090	6,670
79	Clinical and Counseling Psychologists	$84,460	$26,050	530
80	Occupational Therapists	$84,390	$59,930	1,710
81	Network and Computer Systems Administrators	$84,110	$54,670	3,410
82	General and Operations Managers	$83,970	$46,650	46,680
83	Electrical Engineers	$83,860	$56,660	2,340
84	Postmasters and Mail Superintendents	$83,250	$75,360	200
85	Postsecondary Agricultural Sciences Teachers	$83,220	$62,470	130
86	Technical Writers	$82,810	$56,920	420
87	Marine Engineers and Naval Architects	$82,610	$77,970	40
88	Mechanical Engineers	$82,590	$53,040	4,680
89	Commercial Pilots	$81,990	$48,710	380
90	Postsecondary Political Science Teachers	$81,830	$60,880	120
91	Public Relations Managers	$81,730	$52,280	820
92	Postsecondary Education Administrators	$81,460	$51,210	2,970
93	Materials Engineers	$81,190	$58,370	590
94	Postsecondary Engineering Teachers	$81,170	$48,070	890
95	Radiation Therapists	$80,750	$64,420	240
96	Postsecondary Architecture Teachers	$80,690	$52,030	70
97	Project Management Specialists	$80,640	$52,000	7,950
98	Commercial and Industrial Designers	$80,500	$43,930	320
99	Civil Engineers	$80,440	$50,480	5,350
100	Operations Research Analysts	$80,200	$47,210	870

Table 2. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in South Carolina – 2021 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Physicians, Pathologists	$206,670
2	Other Specialists Dentists	$206,070
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$205,820
4	Chief Executives	$164,970
5	Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$131,760
6	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$127,960
7	Pharmacists	$126,950
8	Medical Dosimetrists	$126,680
9	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$126,500
10	Marketing Managers	$124,400

Table 3. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in South Carolina – 2020 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	Other Specialists Dentists	$198,070
2	General Pediatricians	$191,920
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$175,710
4	Chief Executives	$169,500
5	Psychiatrists	$168,570
6	Podiatrists	$158,120
7	General Dentists	$132,430
8	Other Physical Scientists	$131,150
9	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$130,940
10	Physicists	$126,170

Table 4. Top 10 highest-paying jobs in South Carolina – 2019 survey

Rank	Job Description	Average Salary i
1	All Other Physicians; and Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric	$202,010
2	Chief Executives	$170,210
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$168,320
4	General Dentists	$167,280
5	Psychiatrists	$163,900
6	General Pediatricians	$161,650
7	Podiatrists	$157,650
8	Other Specialists Dentists	$131,880
9	Other Physical Scientists	$128,770
10	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$128,740

Also see The most popular jobs in South Carolina.