Average Salaries in Charleston-North Charleston, SC
Explore salaries across 521 occupations in Charleston-North Charleston, SC. The average median wage across all tracked occupations is $67.7K, +2.9% vs the national average. See the highest-paying roles, where the jobs are, and how local wages compare to the rest of the country.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates. Coverage: 521 occupations and 382,790 total jobs in Charleston-North Charleston, SC.
How the metro compares
Wages in Charleston-North Charleston, SC track close to the national average. Pay for most occupations here is similar to what workers earn nationally.
Charleston-North Charleston, SC is a mid-sized metro labor market.
The highest-paid occupation tracked here is Anesthesiologists. Drill into any occupation below to see its local pay distribution, employment, and how it compares to the national market.
Top-paying and largest occupations in Charleston-North Charleston, SC
Two different lenses on the local labor market: which occupations pay the most, and which employ the most workers. The highest-paid list tends to favor specialized professional and technical roles. The largest list reflects where the everyday jobs actually are.
Highest-paid occupations in Charleston-North Charleston, SC
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Anesthesiologists | $308.9K | N/A |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | $303.7K | 80 |
| Family Medicine Physicians | $255.7K | 230 |
| Nurse Anesthetists | $228.7K | N/A |
| Dermatologists | $207K | N/A |
| Chief Executives | $197.2K | 290 |
| Architectural And Engineering Managers | $174K | 730 |
| Advertising And Promotions Managers | $170K | 40 |
| Computer And Information Systems Managers | $167K | 940 |
| Physicians, All Other | $163.9K | 1,370 |
Largest occupations in Charleston-North Charleston, SC
| Occupation | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Retail Salespersons | 11,930 | $34.1K |
| Fast Food And Counter Workers | 10,850 | $28.5K |
| Registered Nurses | 9,760 | $92.8K |
| Waiters And Waitresses | 9,580 | $19.3K |
| Laborers And Freight, Stock, And Material Movers, Hand | 8,100 | $38.1K |
| Cashiers | 7,960 | $30.1K |
| Customer Service Representatives | 7,940 | $44K |
| Office Clerks, General | 6,890 | $39.3K |
| Cooks, Restaurant | 6,040 | $36.7K |
| Heavy And Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 6,020 | $55.2K |
What Charleston-North Charleston, SC specializes in
The location quotient measures how concentrated an occupation is here compared to the national average. A value above 1.00 means the occupation is more common in Charleston-North Charleston, SC than in the country as a whole, which signals what this metro is known for.
Most concentrated occupations in Charleston-North Charleston, SC
| Occupation | Location quotient | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Telephone Operators | 9.79 | N/A |
| Textile, Apparel, And Furnishings Workers, All Other | 4.93 | $47.7K |
| Fiberglass Laminators And Fabricators | 4.43 | $49.3K |
| Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Metal And Plastic | 4.34 | $38.8K |
| Computer And Information Research Scientists | 4.22 | $126.9K |
| Motorboat Mechanics And Service Technicians | 4.12 | $49.6K |
| Riggers | 3.73 | $51K |
| Metal-Refining Furnace Operators And Tenders | 3.57 | $39.2K |
| Materials Engineers | 3.49 | $131.1K |
| Landscape Architects | 3.39 | $99.3K |
Comparable metros
| Metro | Average median | Highest-paid occupation |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $98.7K | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $95.7K | Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $92.6K | Cardiologists |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $87.1K | Cardiologists |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $83.8K | Radiologists |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $82.7K | Radiologists |
| Boulder, CO | $82.3K | Surgeons, All Other |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $82.3K | Radiologists |
Common salary questions for Charleston-North Charleston, SC
What does "average median" mean? +
It is the average of all occupation-level medians in this area. It gives a rough sense of the overall wage level here compared to other states or metros, but it is not the same as a household income figure or a single blended salary.
What is a location quotient? +
A location quotient (LQ) compares how concentrated an occupation is in this area versus the national average. An LQ of 2.0 means the occupation is twice as concentrated here as it is nationally. High-LQ occupations are what this area specializes in.
How are comparable areas selected? +
Peer areas are other metros with a similar overall wage level and employment size. They give you a quick sense of how this area ranks among places with a comparable labor market.