South Carolina / Department of Agriculture / Microbiologist III
Job-title file
Carry out the duties of this position in support of the agency's public mission.
1 employee holds this title in Department of Agriculture. Median total compensation for the role is $67,791, above the department median of $57,844.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in South Carolina, the median wage for Microbiologists — about 100 people — is $64,740. Department of Agriculture pays a median base salary of $67,791 for this role, 5% above that figure — about the 56th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Microbiologists across every employer in South Carolina, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Agriculture’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Microbiologists — about 18,940 people — is $87,990. Department of Agriculture’s median base salary is 23% below that national figure, about the 26th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the South Carolina range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Department of Agriculture is $67,791, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
Microbiologist III is held in 4 South Carolina departments. In Department of Agriculture, the median of $67,791 ranks #3 of 4.
Median total compensation for the Microbiologist III role in other South Carolinadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 9 jurisdictions. In South Carolina, the median of $66,748 ranks #3 of 9. See Microbiologist across all of South Carolina →
Median total compensation for comparable Microbiologist roles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.
Same department
Record list
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Microbiologist III/Department of Agriculture
Kaimei Xu works as a Microbiologist III for Department of Agriculture. Kaimei earned $67,791 in 2026.