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News Release Information

25-939-ATL
Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

County Employment and Wages in South Carolina — Fourth Quarter 2024

Employment rose in 6 of the 7 largest counties in South Carolina from December 2023 to December 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that Lexington County had the largest over-the-year increase in employment at 2.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)


Among the seven largest counties in South Carolina, employment was highest in Greenville (301,400) in December 2024. Together, the seven largest counties accounted for 58.7 percent of total covered employment within the state. Nationwide, the 369 largest counties comprise 73.3 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 2023.)

Large county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter 2024

All seven large South Carolina counties reported average weekly wage gains over the year. (See chart 2.) Charleston had the largest gain (+7.4 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among South Carolina’s other six large counties ranged from 6.6 percent to 4.2 percent.


Weekly wages in all seven largest counties in South Carolina were below the national average of $1,507. Average weekly wages ranged from $1,389 in Charleston to $982 in Horry.

Smaller county average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2024

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 39 small counties in South Carolina, defined as having employment below 75,000 in 2023. (See table 2.) Wage levels in all 39 smaller counties were below the national average. Berkeley reported the highest average weekly wage ($1,346). Clarendon reported the lowest average weekly wage ($807) in the state.

Among all 46 South Carolina counties, 10 reported average weekly wages of less than $975, 17 registered wages from $975 to $1,074, 8 had wages from $1,075 to $1,174, and 11 had average weekly wages of $1,175 or higher. (See map 1 and table 2.)

Map 1. Average weekly wages by county in South Carolina, fourth quarter 2024

(U.S. average = $1,507)

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.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

The County Employment and Wages release for first quarter 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

QCEW Moves to One Data Release Beginning with Fourth Quarter 2024 Publication

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) is streamlining its release process. Beginning with the fourth quarter 2024 national release on June 4, QCEW will publish the national County Employment and Wages news release on the same date as the QCEW full data update. Revised news release dates are available online.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the seven largest counties in South Carolina, fourth quarter 2024
Area Establishments,
fourth quarter
(thousands)
Employment Average weekly wage (1)
December 2024
(thousands)
Percent change,
December
2023–24 (2)
National ranking
by percent change (3)
Fourth quarter
2024 ($)
National ranking
by level (3)
Percent change,
fourth quarter
2023–24 (2)
National ranking
by percent change (3)

United States (4)

12,265.4 156,202.9 0.8 -- 1,507 -- 5.0 --

South Carolina

195.3 2,310.1 1.4 -- 1,223 42 6.2 8

Charleston

23.0 282.3 1.8 35 1,389 151 7.4 18

Greenville

20.7 301.4 0.9 120 1,265 227 4.9 121

Horry

12.8 142.4 1.2 80 982 364 5.7 64

Lexington

9.1 135.9 2.0 25 1,133 328 4.2 184

Richland

13.0 230.8 1.9 30 1,256 239 5.1 105

Spartanburg

8.6 157.6 0.7 159 1,196 288 6.6 31

York

9.3 105.7 -0.6 323 1,185 301 4.8 130

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Percent changes were computed from employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications.
(3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

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.

Table 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in South Carolina, fourth quarter 2024
Area Establishments Employment December 2024 Average weekly wage ($) (1)

United States (2)

12,265,395 156,202,874 1,507

South Carolina

195,348 2,310,061 1,223

Abbeville

449 5,641 989

Aiken

3,926 66,540 1,254

Allendale

179 2,557 1,093

Anderson

4,662 73,997 1,039

Bamberg

312 3,646 963

Barnwell

430 4,857 872

Beaufort

7,939 70,102 1,132

Berkeley

5,319 68,194 1,346

Calhoun

295 4,551 1,187

Charleston

22,993 282,285 1,389

Cherokee

1,010 18,530 980

Chester

685 10,528 1,184

Chesterfield

794 13,677 972

Clarendon

653 6,685 807

Colleton

933 10,301 984

Darlington

1,265 19,811 1,160

Dillon

535 9,495 845

Dorchester

3,669 41,992 1,052

Edgefield

470 6,303 1,061

Fairfield

440 6,002 1,294

Florence

3,782 69,849 1,072

Georgetown

2,471 25,628 1,031

Greenville

20,705 301,363 1,265

Greenwood

1,599 28,309 1,053

Hampton

422 4,945 1,059

Horry

12,803 142,394 982

Jasper

968 11,044 1,099

Kershaw

1,590 18,804 992

Lancaster

2,296 28,302 1,279

Laurens

1,072 20,060 1,045

Lee

308 3,651 989

Lexington

9,050 135,939 1,133

McCormick

308 2,059 828

Marion

470 7,082 963

Marlboro

336 5,646 1,070

Newberry

939 14,176 980

Oconee

2,062 25,316 1,172

Orangeburg

1,880 27,799 966

Pickens

3,024 40,485 1,085

Richland

13,000 230,842 1,256

Saluda

301 4,824 940

Spartanburg

8,572 157,628 1,196

Sumter

2,342 35,101 1,107

Union

488 7,314 966

Williamsburg

652 6,443 998

York

9,307 105,675 1,185

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages include workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered establishments, employment, and wages by state, fourth quarter 2024
State Establishments,
fourth quarter
(thousands)
Employment Average weekly wage (1)
December 2024
(thousands)
Percent change,
December
2023–24
Fourth quarter
2024 ($)
National ranking
by level
Percent change,
fourth quarter
2023–24
National ranking
by percent change

United States (2)

12,265.4 156,202.9 0.8 1,507 -- 5.0 --

Alabama

162.3 2,122.2 0.9 1,255 36 4.1 32

Alaska

25.3 317.4 1.7 1,430 16 4.2 30

Arizona

225.5 3,272.3 1.2 1,406 19 6.4 6

Arkansas

106.1 1,312.6 1.1 1,153 50 5.9 10

California

1,903.9 18,230.8 0.5 1,872 5 6.5 5

Colorado

236.6 2,911.3 -0.3 1,594 8 5.1 16

Connecticut

150.7 1,700.7 0.5 1,716 6 5.2 15

Delaware

45.2 480.6 1.5 1,437 15 4.5 24

District of Columbia

52.4 757.2 -0.5 2,495 1 4.7 21

Florida

914.8 9,978.9 0.9 1,405 20 5.7 13

Georgia

396.6 4,916.6 0.8 1,391 21 4.7 21

Hawaii

61.4 651.3 1.1 1,345 27 4.3 26

Idaho

103.9 859.1 0.5 1,232 39 8.3 3

Illinois

411.2 6,089.1 0.5 1,538 12 4.1 32

Indiana

194.6 3,201.9 0.4 1,222 44 4.4 25

Iowa

112.5 1,559.3 -0.6 1,237 38 3.2 50

Kansas

103.5 1,445.6 0.9 1,218 45 4.3 26

Kentucky

159.0 2,008.4 0.2 1,189 46 3.8 39

Louisiana

156.8 1,936.3 1.1 1,228 40 2.8 51

Maine

66.2 643.9 0.9 1,278 33 5.9 10

Maryland

197.0 2,779.9 1.6 1,570 10 4.2 30

Massachusetts

288.5 3,646.1 -0.4 1,890 3 4.7 21

Michigan

303.4 4,406.8 -0.1 1,370 23 4.1 32

Minnesota

215.1 2,945.4 1.1 1,452 14 3.7 42

Mississippi

90.9 1,174.3 0.2 1,023 51 4.1 32

Missouri

251.5 2,922.2 0.5 1,268 35 3.8 39

Montana

65.8 512.8 0.5 1,254 37 6.4 6

Nebraska

78.0 1,024.8 0.5 1,227 41 3.5 45

Nevada

108.1 1,561.5 0.4 1,350 25 6.1 9

New Hampshire

68.7 692.4 0.4 1,577 9 3.3 49

New Jersey

339.1 4,332.2 0.9 1,629 7 3.4 47

New Mexico

68.9 873.8 0.3 1,223 42 5.0 17

New York

711.5 9,777.3 1.5 1,881 4 5.4 14

North Carolina

384.0 4,941.9 0.5 1,358 24 5.8 12

North Dakota

36.9 431.1 0.9 1,315 30 3.8 39

Ohio

346.3 5,551.7 0.6 1,305 32 4.8 20

Oklahoma

129.7 1,713.2 0.8 1,168 48 4.1 32

Oregon

190.9 1,989.6 0.0 1,424 17 6.6 4

Pennsylvania

395.1 6,076.5 0.8 1,414 18 4.0 37

Rhode Island

48.9 500.8 1.6 1,348 26 3.5 45

South Carolina

195.3 2,310.1 1.4 1,223 42 6.2 8

South Dakota

40.6 459.7 0.9 1,181 47 3.9 38

Tennessee

232.2 3,320.3 0.9 1,372 22 5.0 17

Texas

846.0 14,129.7 1.5 1,488 13 4.3 26

Utah

142.6 1,735.8 1.3 1,333 29 3.7 42

Vermont

33.7 311.2 0.0 1,311 31 4.9 19

Virginia

320.9 4,142.6 1.2 1,546 11 4.3 26

Washington

241.5 3,612.0 0.8 1,897 2 8.7 2

West Virginia

62.7 701.4 0.2 1,159 49 3.4 47

Wisconsin

212.2 2,950.8 0.4 1,278 33 3.6 44

Wyoming

31.1 279.4 0.5 1,340 28 12.4 1

Puerto Rico

51.6 975.4 -0.2 718 (3) 4.5 (3)

Virgin Islands

3.0 33.1 -8.6 1,046 (3) 1.8 (3)

Footnotes:
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(3) Data not included in the national ranking.

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.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2025