BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

06/09/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/09/2026 09:11

County Employment and Wages in South Carolina — Fourth Quarter 2025

News Release Information

26-822-ATL
Tuesday, June 09, 2026

Employment rose in all seven of the largest counties in South Carolina from December 2024 to December 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that Charleston County (+2.4 percent) had the largest over-the-year increase in employment. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

View Chart Data

Greenville County (306,300) had the highest employment level in South Carolina in December 2025. Together, the seven largest counties accounted for 58.6 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 372 largest counties comprise 73.4 percent of total covered employment in the United States. (Large counties and county equivalents are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2024.)

Large county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter 2025

All seven large South Carolina counties reported average weekly wage gains over the year. (See chart 2.) Spartanburg had the largest gain (+4.8 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among the other six large South Carolina counties ranged from 4.5 percent to 3.6 percent.

View Chart Data

Weekly wages in all seven large counties in South Carolina were below the national average of $1,569. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,458 in Charleston to $1,019 in Horry.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2025

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 39 smaller counties in South Carolina, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2024. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all smaller counties were below the national average. Berkeley reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,406). Clarendon reported the lowest average weekly wage ($852) in the state.

Among all 46 South Carolina counties, 11 reported average weekly wages less than $1,000, 9 had wages from $1,000 to $1,074, 10 had wages from $1,075 to $1,149, 6 had wages from $1,150 to $1,224, and 10 had average weekly wages of $1,225 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in South Carolina, fourth quarter 2025

(U.S. average = $1,569)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3.

Nationwide coverage of the largest counties is published in the County Employment and Wages news release. Additional information about quarterly employment and wages data is available in the news release Technical Note and from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages website.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The County Employment and Wages release for the first quarter 2026 is scheduled to be released on Friday, August 28, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

Area Establishments,
fourth quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage
December 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
December
2024-25 		National ranking
by percent change 		Fourth quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level 		Percent change,
fourth quarter
2024-25 		National ranking
by percent change

United States

12,428.4 156,700.2 0.2 -- 1,569 -- 4.2 --

South Carolina

192.4 2,344.7 1.5 -- 1,276 40 4.3 20

Charleston

22.6 287.7 2.4 12 1,458 143 4.4 138

Greenville

20.6 306.3 1.6 33 1,319 223 4.3 151

Horry

12.8 144.1 1.1 55 1,019 367 3.8 223

Lexington

8.9 136.5 0.1 152 1,181 327 4.5 128

Richland

12.6 231.2 0.5 101 1,303 242 3.6 239

Spartanburg

8.6 160.5 2.1 18 1,248 287 4.8 108

York

9.1 107.6 1.7 30 1,227 302 3.7 232

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Area Establishments Employment December 2025 Average weekly wage ($)

United States

12,428,415 156,700,218 1,569

South Carolina

192,426 2,344,709 1,276

Abbeville

437 5,530 1,047

Aiken

3,947 67,565 1,316

Allendale

176 2,508 1,192

Anderson

4,599 73,320 1,094

Bamberg

310 3,571 1,025

Barnwell

414 4,772 924

Beaufort

7,736 72,634 1,167

Berkeley

5,310 71,876 1,406

Calhoun

279 4,573 1,266

Charleston

22,588 287,657 1,458

Cherokee

1,020 17,969 997

Chester

662 10,653 1,240

Chesterfield

781 13,727 1,022

Clarendon

621 6,849 852

Colleton

918 10,086 997

Darlington

1,250 20,190 1,180

Dillon

522 9,373 861

Dorchester

3,723 41,712 1,107

Edgefield

477 6,095 1,071

Fairfield

436 6,410 1,168

Florence

3,673 69,994 1,132

Georgetown

2,393 24,220 1,100

Greenville

20,585 306,268 1,319

Greenwood

1,616 28,705 1,076

Hampton

404 4,671 1,089

Horry

12,758 144,101 1,019

Jasper

977 11,223 1,118

Kershaw

1,572 18,819 1,029

Lancaster

2,332 29,421 1,316

Laurens

1,101 20,198 1,107

Lee

292 3,610 977

Lexington

8,933 136,455 1,181

McCormick

304 2,053 855

Marion

462 7,042 980

Marlboro

329 5,629 1,055

Newberry

932 14,184 996

Oconee

2,044 25,841 1,207

Orangeburg

1,830 27,410 982

Pickens

2,962 41,151 1,119

Richland

12,611 231,156 1,303

Saluda

308 4,675 996

Spartanburg

8,592 160,483 1,248

Sumter

2,281 35,818 1,095

Union

482 7,253 1,043

Williamsburg

633 6,270 1,010

York

9,081 107,552 1,227

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

State Establishments,
fourth quarter
(thousands) 		Employment Average weekly wage
December 2025
(thousands) 		Percent change,
December
2024-25 		Fourth quarter
2025 ($) 		National ranking
by level 		Percent change,
fourth quarter
2024-25 		National ranking
by percent change

United States

12,428.4 156,700.2 0.2 1,569 -- 4.2 --

Alabama

167.4 2,135.3 0.5 1,301 36 3.7 37

Alaska

25.3 317.3 -0.3 1,497 16 4.7 14

Arizona

227.4 3,278.3 0.0 1,446 20 3.0 47

Arkansas

113.0 1,318.2 0.4 1,213 49 5.0 8

California

2,013.7 18,351.7 0.6 1,954 4 4.6 16

Colorado

258.5 2,896.4 -0.6 1,683 8 5.6 3

Connecticut

149.8 1,706.5 0.1 1,801 6 5.0 8

Delaware

47.3 481.0 0.1 1,502 15 4.7 14

District of Columbia

51.0 726.1 -4.5 2,587 1 4.1 24

Florida

886.2 10,013.2 0.3 1,471 17 4.8 12

Georgia

398.7 4,925.4 0.1 1,440 21 3.5 40

Hawaii

63.0 650.0 -0.2 1,411 25 5.0 8

Idaho

104.3 875.7 1.8 1,303 35 5.8 2

Illinois

387.7 6,089.5 -0.1 1,588 11 3.3 42

Indiana

195.6 3,211.2 0.1 1,276 40 4.5 17

Iowa

110.6 1,560.0 -0.2 1,282 39 3.7 37

Kansas

101.8 1,443.2 -0.1 1,268 44 4.1 24

Kentucky

161.3 2,008.7 -0.1 1,235 46 3.8 34

Louisiana

159.2 1,927.3 -0.5 1,267 45 3.2 44

Maine

67.6 644.7 -0.1 1,332 33 4.2 21

Maryland

199.5 2,754.6 -1.1 1,616 10 3.0 47

Massachusetts

298.5 3,625.5 -0.9 1,980 2 4.9 11

Michigan

316.9 4,412.7 0.0 1,427 23 4.2 21

Minnesota

215.2 2,948.0 0.0 1,505 14 3.7 37

Mississippi

92.2 1,180.9 0.3 1,075 51 5.1 7

Missouri

259.9 2,920.8 -0.1 1,324 34 4.4 18

Montana

62.3 512.3 -0.1 1,296 38 3.3 42

Nebraska

78.5 1,024.0 -0.2 1,275 42 4.0 31

Nevada

111.0 1,592.1 1.7 1,395 27 3.2 44

New Hampshire

67.9 688.8 -0.6 1,652 9 4.8 12

New Jersey

343.1 4,343.1 0.2 1,691 7 3.9 33

New Mexico

69.7 875.3 -0.3 1,275 42 4.1 24

New York

719.1 9,907.5 0.4 1,975 3 5.4 4

North Carolina

392.1 4,991.1 0.9 1,409 26 3.8 34

North Dakota

37.0 430.4 -0.2 1,350 31 2.7 49

Ohio

348.5 5,554.4 0.0 1,358 30 4.1 24

Oklahoma

129.3 1,717.1 0.1 1,217 48 4.1 24

Oregon

177.9 1,975.8 -1.0 1,468 19 3.2 44

Pennsylvania

398.1 6,094.8 0.2 1,470 18 4.0 31

Rhode Island

49.1 500.3 -0.1 1,429 22 6.0 1

South Carolina

192.4 2,344.7 1.5 1,276 40 4.3 20

South Dakota

41.2 458.9 -0.2 1,230 47 4.1 24

Tennessee

225.2 3,281.6 -0.3 1,424 24 3.8 34

Texas

860.8 14,255.2 0.8 1,549 13 4.2 21

Utah

144.6 1,761.6 1.4 1,389 28 4.1 24

Vermont

34.5 309.3 -0.9 1,378 29 5.3 5

Virginia

324.0 4,166.9 0.5 1,585 12 2.6 50

Washington

242.1 3,590.3 -0.3 1,948 5 2.4 51

West Virginia

62.8 698.3 -0.6 1,203 50 3.5 40

Wisconsin

213.9 2,946.2 -0.1 1,346 32 5.3 5

Wyoming

31.7 278.4 -0.8 1,297 37 4.4 18

Puerto Rico

53.5 974.7 -0.2 735 2.8

Virgin Islands

3.0 34.7 0.3 1,068 2.7

Note: Data are preliminary. Dashes indicate data not applicable or available. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

BLS - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published this content on June 09, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 09, 2026 at 15:11 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]