South Carolina / Principal
Role across South Carolina
Principal
Lead staff and operations — set priorities, allocate resources, and oversee program delivery.
14 people hold the Principal role across 4 departments in South Carolina, with a median total compensation of $117,713. Among 7 jurisdictions where this role is reported, South Carolina ranks #7 by median pay.
- Employees
- 14
- Median pay
- $117,713
- Departments
- 4
- Cross-jurisdiction
- #7 of 7
Compared with the local labor market
Principal pay vs. South Carolina
Across all employers in South Carolina, the median wage for Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary — about 5,000 people — is $102,440. South Carolina pays a median base salary of $117,713 for this role, 15% above that figure — about the 69th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where South Carolina sits in the local pay range
The bar is the range of annual wages for Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary across every employer in South Carolina, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows South Carolina’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary — about 328,330 people — is $105,870. South Carolina’s median base salary is 11% above that national figure, about the 60th 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 South Carolina is $117,713, 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 jurisdictions
Principal pay in other jurisdictions
Where Principals are paid most
Median total compensation for comparable Principalroles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.
Within South Carolina
Departments with this role
Largest South Carolina departments for this role
Departments in South Carolinaemploying the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.