Human resources is a high-paying and high-prestige career path in a state that has been on a tear economically recently. The demand for qualified professionals needed by all business in an expanding market to help staff up is a sure-fire way to drive both openings and salaries.
That’s very much the case in South Carolina today. According to the Department of Employment and Workforce, state GDP places it 26th in the nation as of 2017. Personal income growth beat the national level, and population continues to expand, with more and more qualified candidates entering the region all the time. The state is projected to have a level of occupational employment over 2.462 million by 2026, with 284,000 average job openings per year.
Those are openings that HR professionals are going to have to define, describe, interview for, and fill. Every employee is going to require administrative efforts, training, and the sort of support that only highly-trained, well-qualified HR managers and staff can offer… and that means employers like Charleston’s MedTrust (expanded by 600 percent in 2019), Boeing, and Columbia’s Resource Financial (grew by over 900 percent in 2019) are going to pay a premium for someone like you.
HR Pay Range Averages in South Carolina
Although South Carolina today doesn’t quite come up to the level of more developed northern states, it does offer very respectable salaries to HR professionals in nearly every speciality area. Managers all come close to making $100,000 at the median, while most staff positions beat the state’s median household income of $47,238 by $10,000 or more.
The picture gets even brighter as you move into the top 25 and top 10 percent of each role, and upward pressure on salaries is likely to continue with further job growth in sectors such as leisure and hospitality and professional and business services.
Human Resources Manager Salaries in South Carolina
Earning a master’s degree is a time-consuming, difficult step to take, but it’s one that pays big dividends in human resources careers by qualifying you to take on upper management positions. South Carolina’s HR managers are the best-paid HR professionals in the state, with compensation and benefits managers making $99,900 at the median level.
Columbia
Compensation and benefits managers in Columbia do even better than the role does state-wide, not to mention coming out ahead of general HR and training and development managers.
Greenville
Greenville HR managers manage to crack $100,000 at the median level, while also constituting the most numerous management role in the area.
Human Resources Specialist and Assistant Salaries in South Carolina
HR specialists and assistants are looking at above average job growth throughout South Carolina in coming years, and almost universally make more than the state median wage. With a relatively low cost-of-living, these are solid, comfortable positions overall… but if you pick the right path to follow, they can put you into salary levels that are typically reserved for only managers. In the top ten percent of labor relations specialists in the state, for example, salaries over $100,000 are possible.
Columbia
Columbia’s labor relations specialists are by far the best paid of the staff-level HR positions available in the city.
Greenville
Greenville HR specialists not only make a higher median wage than those in Columbia, but there are also more of them, which translates into better odds for job openings.
Salary and employment data compiled by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in May of 2018 for human resources managers, specialists, and assistants – https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_sc.htm#11-9111. The BLS salary data shown here represents median – 90th percentile salary ranges for the state and its MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) and includes workers at all levels of education and experience. This data does not represent starting salaries.
Job growth projections sourced from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and published in the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Long Term Occupational Projections (2016-2026) database – https://projectionscentral.com/Projections/LongTerm. Employment conditions in your area may vary.
All salary and job growth data accessed in October 2019.