Entry-level High School Teacher salary in Columbia, SC

Based on 43 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the Columbia, SC metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Lexington, Hopkins, Winnsboro, Saint Matthews, St. Matthews.

Also listed as: Secondary School Teacher, Math Teacher

Median salary$61,730
Middle 50%$51.8k–$66.3k
vs. all levels here−1%comparison median $62,344
Filings43FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $44,790 and $79,263.
PercentileSalary
10th$50,100
25th$51,837
50th (median)$61,730
75th$66,266
90th$71,116

Salary by year

Median salary

$40k $55k $70k FY2020: median $45,407 (21 filings) FY2021: median $45,935 (17 filings) FY2022: median $48,663 (22 filings) FY2023: median $48,014 (26 filings) FY2024: median $53,119 (34 filings) FY2025: median $61,773 (28 filings) FY2026: median $56,019 (15 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 21 filings FY20 FY2021: 17 filings FY21 FY2022: 22 filings FY22 FY2023: 26 filings FY23 FY2024: 34 filings FY24 FY2025: 28 filings FY25 FY2026: 15 filings FY26 34
Shaded: FY2025–FY2026, the years behind the figures above. Median shown for years with at least 10 filings. FY2026 covers Q1–Q3 only.
Show as table
Fiscal yearMedianP25P75Filings
FY2020$45,407$43,861$53,14121
FY2021$45,935$41,245$53,14117
FY2022$48,663$41,813$56,34622
FY2023$48,014$43,650$60,74826
FY2024$53,119$45,721$62,71934
FY2025$61,773$54,051$65,69928
FY2026$56,019$50,605$66,93615

Cost of living

Columbia's median entry-level High School Teacher salary of $61,730 is worth about $65,900 at national average prices.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024 (U.S. = 100; Columbia = 93.7).

Compared with all workers here

All Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in the Columbia, SC area earned a median of $60,280 in May 2025 (3,310 employed). The H-1B median here is $61,730, 2% higher.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS metropolitan area estimates. BLS wages include some incentive pay; H-1B figures are base salary.

Employers filing at this level

EmployerMedianFilings
Lexington County School District One$63,27923
Richland County School District One$54,91012
Calhoun County School Districttoo few5

Employers with at least 2 filings here. Median shown at 10+ filings.

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $61,730 43
Mid-level · Level II $66,029 17
Senior · Level III too few 2
Expert · Level IV – 0

Median shown when a level has at least 10 filings.

Minimum H-1B salary by level

Wage levelPrevailing wage (most common)Median offered salaryFilings
Entry-level · Level I$44,280$61,73043
Mid-level · Level II$57,660$66,02917

The prevailing wage is the minimum an employer must pay for this job and area. Amounts vary by county within a metro and by wage source.