Dentist salary in South Carolina

Official occupation: 29-1021 Dentists, General · Reference period May 2025 · Data updated · Confidence 85/100

In South Carolina, the median dentist earns $158,640 a year, 7% below the United States median of $170,950.

It ranks 39th of 47 states with a published figure.

Pay is widely spread: the top 10% earn at least $310,840, 3.2 times the $96,920 that marks the bottom 10%.

About 2,140 people work in this occupation here, roughly in line with its national share (location quotient 1.16).

For context, the median across all occupations in South Carolina is $46,490, so this role pays 3.4 times the local typical wage.

Published figures

Published and derived pay figures
MeasureSouth CarolinaNational
Median annual pay Observed$158,640United States: $170,950
Mean annual pay Observed$181,570United States: $191,350
10th percentile Observed$96,920United States: $86,250
25th percentile Observed$121,090United States: $125,710
75th percentile Observed$228,820United States: $224,040
90th percentile Observed$310,840United States: $319,630
Median hourly pay Observed$76.27United States: $82.19
Employment (jobs) Observed2,140
Jobs per 1,000 employees Observed0.93
Location quotient Observed1.16
Difference from United States median ($170,950) Derived−7%
Rank among 47 states Derived39
Ratio to South Carolina all-occupation median ($46,490) Derived3.41×
90th / 10th percentile ratio Derived3.21

Nearby in the ranking

  1. 37. Rhode Island$161,560
  2. 38. Connecticut$160,440
  3. 39. South Carolina$158,640
  4. 40. South Dakota$158,140
  5. 41. Illinois$156,110

Largest cities in South Carolina: Columbia, Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Rock Hill (GeoNames). Figures are for the whole state, not individual cities.

More pay data

Source, method and data quality

  • Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (Public domain (U.S. Government work)). Reference period: May 2025. Updates: Yearly (spring release).
  • Observed figures are copied from the published table without adjustment. Derived figures (rankings, ratios and differences) are calculated by us from those observed figures. No figure on this page is modeled or estimated.
  • Relative standard error (PRSE) published per estimate.
  • Confidence score: 85/100. Based on the published sampling error and job count. We only publish region pages scoring 60 or more that have at least 6 observed figures.
  • Place hierarchy from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Data last updated: .
  • Full method: methodology.