South Carolina Statewide Statistics

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, as of May 2010, legal assistants in South Carolina earned a median wage of $38,830 annually. The BLS also reported that an estimated 3,750 legal assistants worked within the state.
  
  

South Carolina Earnings by Area

• Wages for legal assistants vary by geographical location, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' May 2010 data. In the Columbia metropolitan area, the annual median wages were $45,590. Legal assistants in the greater Charlotte area earned $42,530, and those in the Charleston area earned $41,440. Legal assistants in the area of South Carolina included with the Augusta, Georgia, region earned an annual median salary of $40,700. In the Greenville metropolitan area, the median wage was $37,180 annually, while earnings in the low country nonmetropolitan area were $37,020. Legal assistants in the lower Savannah nonmetropolitan area of South Carolina earned an annual median wage of $36,910, but those in the upper Savannah nonmetropolitan area earned $32,480. In the Anderson area, the median wage was $35,970 annually, and in the Florence metropolitan area, the annual median wage was $34,670. Legal assistants in the Myrtle Beach area earned $33,860. The lowest median wages reported were in the Spartanburg and Sumter metropolitan areas, where annual salaries for legal assistants were $31,830 and $30,590, respectively.
  
  

South Carolina Percentile Wages

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, as of May 2010, 10 percent of the legal assistants in South Carolina earned $27,710 or less per year. The top 10 percent earned an annual wage of $61,760 or more. At the 25th percentile mark, earnings were $32,590, and annual earnings were $48,500 at the 75th percentile mark.
  
  

Comparison with National Earnings

• Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report for May 2010, the annual median wage nationally was $46,680. The same report stated that 10 percent of legal assistants earned $74,870 or more, while 10 percent earned $29,460 or less.