Workforce
Caregiver Pay Rates by State: How to Set a Competitive Wage
Caregivers earned a median $17.21/hour in May 2025 (BLS), from $10.83 in Louisiana to $22.95 in Washington. How to set a wage that hires and still fits your bill rate.
Caregiver pay in South Carolina by metro area
Last verified October 17, 2026 · All South Carolina resources
Home health and personal care aides in South Carolina earned a mean of $14.65 an hour and a median of $14.48 in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is $2.71 below the national mean of $17.36. About 40,750 aides worked in South Carolina.
What is the pay range for caregivers in South Carolina?
| Measure | South Carolina | United States |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $11.35 | $13.00 |
| Median | $14.48 | $17.21 |
| Mean | $14.65 | $17.36 |
| 90th percentile | $17.11 | $21.65 |
| Aides employed | 40,750 | 4,305,810 |
How much do caregivers make in South Carolina's largest metro areas?
| Metro area | Mean hourly | Aides employed |
|---|---|---|
| Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | $14.66 | 8,190 |
| Columbia, SC | $14.77 | 7,740 |
| Charleston-North Charleston, SC | $15.97 | 4,340 |
| Spartanburg, SC | $14.89 | 3,160 |
Metro areas that cross state lines report figures for the whole metro.
How should an agency in South Carolina use these numbers?
Treat the mean as the going rate you compete with for applicants, and the 90th percentile as the wage that wins them. South Carolina's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour; see South Carolina overtime and minimum wage rules. Then build the wage into your price with the bill rate calculator, which adds payroll burden, overhead and margin.
Sources
More for South Carolina
Caregiver pay by state: other states
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