The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce expects an annual increase of 2.3% in the number of dental assistant jobs in the state between 2012 and 2022. This rate of increase is twice that of the overall occupational growth rate in the state.
The 2013 median dental assistant salary in South Carolina was very close to the national average – $34,500 in South Carolina versus $34,900 nationally.
Experienced dental assistants in South Carolina earned an average of $38,160, while those entering the workforce earned $27,110 on average that year.
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Dental Assistant Salaries in South Carolina’s Workforce Regions
Dental assistants’ salaries varied a great deal between the different workforce regions in the state. For instance, the average South Carolina dental assistant salary for experienced professionals differed by $7,365 from the highest paying region of Trident to the lowest paying region of Worklink:
South Carolina Area
Entry-level
Median
Experienced
Catawba
$29869
$35408
$38439
Greenville
$31023
$37326
$41381
Low Country
$32538
$35076
$36831
Lower Savannah
$23620
$36147
$39922
Midlands
$30805
$35815
$38175
Pee Dee
$23194
$31960
$35108
Santee-Lynches
$28239
$34131
$36111
Trident
$29794
$36153
$41529
Upper Savannah
$23686
$33232
$36094
Upstate
$23562
$31960
$35557
Waccamaw
$24019
$32200
$35311
Worklink
$25570
$32141
$34164
South Carolina Dental Assistant Job Growth and Projected Openings
The number of annual dental assistant jobs projected to become available during the ten-year period leading up to 2022 is projected to be 153 on average. Slightly more than half of these jobs will come from the need to replace people leaving the workforce, while the remaining will be due to growth.
Ninety-one dental assistant jobs were advertised online in South Carolina as of October 2014. Nearly all of them were offered in Charleston and Richland counties. Thirty-six of the advertised jobs were in Charleston County, while 26 were in Richland County.
The US Department of Labor provides a detailed breakdown of 2013 South Carolina dental assisting salary percentiles in selected regions of the state:
Area name
Employment
Hourly mean wage
Annual mean wage
Hourly median wage
Hourly 75th percentile wage
Hourly 90th percentile wage
Annual median wage
Annual 75th percentile wage
Annual 90th percentile wage
Anderson SC
140
15.70
32650
16.33
17.62
18.45
33970
36650
38380
Augusta-Richmond County GA-SC
620
15.77
32810
15.16
18.46
21.32
31530
38400
44340
Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville SC
380
18.08
37600
17.38
20.13
24.60
36150
41880
51180
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill NC-SC
1650
18.22
37900
17.82
21.19
23.59
37060
44080
49060
Columbia SC
680
17.17
35720
17.22
19.02
21.30
35810
39550
44310
Florence SC
200
15.04
31280
15.59
17.80
20.01
32420
37030
41620
Greenville-Mauldin-Easley SC
550
17.63
36660
17.28
20.07
22.59
35950
41740
46990
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach SC
190
16.18
33660
16.08
17.82
20.38
33460
37070
42400
Spartanburg SC
250
16.59
34500
16.53
18.46
21.24
34380
38400
44190
Sumter SC
80
16.08
33450
16.39
17.78
19.01
34080
36980
39550
Low Country South Carolina nonmetropolitan area
340
15.37
31960
15.94
17.57
19.16
33150
36540
39840
Upper Savannah South Carolina nonmetropolitan area
220
12.99
27030
13.07
14.54
16.74
27190
30240
34810
Pee Dee South Carolina nonmetropolitan area
60
14.73
30650
14.38
16.82
18.14
29920
34990
37730
Lower Savannah South Carolina nonmetropolitan area
90
16.59
34500
17.38
20.99
22.48
36150
43660
46750
