What Does The Average South Carolinian Earn Per Year

Wondering how your salary compares to what everyone else is making in the country? A new study from USA Today Blueprint crunched the official numbers to come up with a breakdown of average salaries in the U.S. in 2024.

SC is the 8th lowest state with a median salary of $56,108. Wages are up over the past few years but so is inflation of prices.

In SC wages went up in 2021 5.2% but prices went up 5.6%.

In 2022 SC wages were up 6.6% but prices were up 8.8%.

In 2023 SC wages were up 3.7% but prices were up 4.5%.

Since 2021 SC wages are lagging inflation by over 3%.

Our neighbors are doing much better with NC at $62,296 and GA even better at $64,844

Key findings from the research include:

• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average annual salary in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $59,384. That’s up 5.4% from the same time frame in 2022.
• Thanks to the gender pay gap, the average male earns $63,960, slightly less than $10-thousand more than the $53,404 that the average woman makes.
• The age group that earns the least on average is 16- to 24-year-olds, at $734 per week, or $38,168 a year. That’s 35.9% less than the national average.
• Salaries peak in the 35 to 44 age group, the highest average earners, who make an average of $1,303 a week, or $67,756 a year. That’s 13.8% or $8-thousand above the national average.
• Average earnings start to fall after age 45 and those in the 45 to 54 age group earn an average of $66,300, while those aged 55 to 64 make $64,688, on average.
• On average, Mississippi is the lowest-earning state, with an average income of $48,048, more than $11-thousand less than the U.S. average.
• Massachusetts is the highest-earning state with an average income of $86,840, over $27-thousand above the national average.
• The occupation that earns the most is cardiologists, at an average of $421,330, while the lowest earning occupation is shampooers at $27,870.
• The average family income is $74,755.
• Looking at education, full-time workers over age 25 without a high school diploma have an average salary of $47,580 a year. High school grads have an average income of $66,768, those with bachelor’s degrees earn an average of $125,320 and advanced degree holders earn $144,300