Dental Assistant Salary in South Carolina: What Dental Assistants Earn in 2026
25th percentile
$43,000
Median (50th)
$47,320
75th percentile
$50,780
National median
$48,070
BLS OEWS (SOC 31-9091), May 2025
What does a dental assistant make in South Carolina?
The median dental assistant in South Carolina earns $47,320 a year ($22.75 an hour), which is $750 below the national median of $48,070, and more than in nearby Georgia ($46,840) but less than in North Carolina ($50,380). The mean is $47,310.
That ranks 31st of the 49 states plus DC where BLS publishes a dental assistant median.
Entry-level vs top earners in South Carolina
The middle half of South Carolina dental assistants earn $43,000 to $50,780. The lowest-paid tenth earn under $37,070, $60 below the national 10th percentile. The top tenth earn over $58,480, $3,770 below the national 90th percentile.
How far the pay goes in South Carolina
The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts South Carolina's 2024 price level at 93.7 (U.S. = 100): prices overall run 6.3% below the national average, and housing (index 80.5) runs 19.5% below.
Converted to national average prices, the $47,320 median is worth about $50,480 — $2,410 above the national median of $48,070.
How many dental assistants work in South Carolina
BLS counts about 5,530 dental assistant jobs in South Carolina, 1.4% of the 387,790 nationwide, or 2.398 per 1,000 jobs in the state. Dental assistants hold a 4% smaller share of local jobs than nationally (location quotient 0.96).
Dental Assistant Salary by City in South Carolina
Across the 8 South Carolina metro areas where BLS publishes a dental assistant median, pay runs from $42,220 in Florence to $49,040 in Charleston, a spread of $6,820.
All dental roles by metro: Myrtle Beach · Spartanburg
Who's hiring dental assistants in South Carolina now
DentistryHires has 70 open dental assistant listings in South Carolina from 29 employers, the most of them in Myrtle Beach (8).
27 post hourly pay, from $17 to $30 an hour; 1 posts a salary from $40,736 to $52,957 a year. These are employers' posted ranges, not survey figures.
Dental Assistant Regulatory Context in South Carolina
Dental assistant practice in South Carolina is regulated by the South Carolina Board of Dentistry.
Scope of practice — what a dental assistant may do, and under what level of supervision — is set by state law and changes over time, so verify current rules with the board before relying on them.
How South Carolina Compares
Other dental salaries in South Carolina
- Dentist salary in South Carolina: median $158,640, $111,320 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Hygienist salary in South Carolina: median $84,340, $37,020 above the dental assistant median
- Dental Lab Technician salary in South Carolina: median $37,170, $10,150 below the dental assistant median
- Orthodontist salary in South Carolina: median $311,450
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national estimates, all industries); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024. Price-adjusted pay divides the median by the price level. Listing counts and posted pay are live DentistryHires listings, refreshed hourly. A dash means BLS did not publish that figure; nothing is estimated.