The highest paying job in South Carolina is Family Medicine Physicians, with a median salary of $236,950 per year. Below is the complete ranking of the top 25 careers in SC based on 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024
Ranked by median annual salary. Click any job to see the full salary breakdown including percentile data and state-by-state comparisons.
| Rank | Occupation | Median Salary | Mean Salary | Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Family Medicine Physicians | $236,950 | $253,640 | 1,060 |
| 2 | Anesthesiologists | $229,870 | $306,440 | 870 |
| 3 | Physicians, Pathologists | $228,850 | $262,190 | 150 |
| 4 | Nurse Anesthetists | $225,800 | $267,410 | 950 |
| 5 | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $206,450 | $249,130 | 130 |
| 6 | Pediatricians, General | $201,990 | $226,540 | 320 |
| 7 | Chief Executives | $181,830 | $221,870 | 2,950 |
| 8 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $163,790 | $164,650 | 2,840 |
| 9 | Podiatrists | $161,250 | $164,500 | 80 |
| 10 | Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $160,370 | $151,670 | 100 |
| 11 | Dentists, General | $158,460 | $190,670 | 2,320 |
| 12 | Airline Pilot | $158,290 | $163,870 | 160 |
| 13 | Orthodontists | $148,410 | $192,480 | 280 |
| 14 | Medical Dosimetrists | $145,380 | $141,890 | 60 |
| 15 | Natural Sciences Managers | $143,150 | $147,240 | 680 |
| 16 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $142,490 | $155,920 | 4,360 |
| 17 | Optometrists | $137,450 | $123,900 | 480 |
| 18 | Psychologists, All Other | $135,950 | $127,190 | 140 |
| 19 | Pharmacist | $135,900 | $135,720 | 5,920 |
| 20 | Psychiatrists | $135,530 | $200,320 | 120 |
| 21 | Physical Scientists, All Other | $134,430 | $132,010 | 100 |
| 22 | Aerospace Engineers | $131,820 | $137,870 | 450 |
| 23 | Physicists | $131,100 | $153,260 | 370 |
| 24 | Database Architects | $128,440 | $128,340 | 730 |
| 25 | Financial Manager | $127,610 | $145,180 | 9,380 |
Average Salary in South Carolina · All South Carolina Jobs · Build Your Resume →
The top-paying careers in South Carolina are concentrated in Healthcare Practitioners fields. The #1 job, Family Medicine Physicians, pays $172,114 more than the state average of $64,835 per year.
Among the top 25, the minimum median salary is $127,610, meaning all jobs on this list pay significantly above the national average.
See how South Carolina's top salaries compare to other states.
Rankings are based on median annual salary from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2024 estimates. We use median rather than mean salary because it better represents typical earnings and is less affected by outliers.
Only occupations with state-level data published by BLS are included. Some specialized or rare occupations may not have data for every state. For full methodology details, see our Methodology page.