South Carolina / Department of Mental Health / Psychiatrist

Job-title file

Psychiatrist

Diagnose and treat patients, direct clinical care, and supervise other medical staff.

67 employees hold this title in Department of Mental Health. Median total compensation for the role is $258,293, above the department median of $65,856.

Employees: 67
Total payroll: $17.2M
Role median: $258,293
Agency median: $65,856
Comparison: Above

What the records show

Role pay distribution

Pay distribution for this role

$65,188$348,681+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How total compensation varies among the 67 people in this role. Even for one job title, pay differs with seniority, step, overtime, and tenure. Each bar is a pay range; the far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Compared with the local labor market

Psychiatrist pay vs. South Carolina

Across all employers in South Carolina, the median wage for Psychiatrists — about 200 people — is $237,250. Department of Mental Health pays a median base salary of $258,293 for this role, 9% above that figure — about the 65th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Department of Mental Health sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$129,250

$155,250

$237,250

$272,230

$308,430

Department of Mental Health median · $258,293

The bar is the range of annual wages for Psychiatrists across every employer in South Carolina, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Mental Health’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Psychiatrists — about 27,980 people — is $281,870. Department of Mental Health’s median base salary is 8% below that national figure, about the 45th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$84,060

$154,150

$281,870

$362,740

$446,520

Department of Mental Health median · $258,293

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 Mental Health is $258,293, 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

This role across South Carolina

Psychiatrist is held in 2 South Carolina departments. In Department of Mental Health, the median of $258,293 ranks #2 of 2.

Highest-paying departments for this role

Department of Corrections

$294,816 · 9

Median total compensation for the Psychiatrist role in other South Carolinadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.

Compare jurisdictions

Psychiatrist beyond South Carolina

This role is reported in 7 jurisdictions. In South Carolina, the median of $267,390 ranks #4 of 7. See Psychiatrist across all of South Carolina →

Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role

$401,237 · 52

$277,446 · 127

$273,581 · 14

$236,393 · 18

$223,363 · 45

$94,302 · 10

Median total compensation for comparable Psychiatrist 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

Other job titles in Department of Mental Health

Record list