Entry-level Middle School Teacher salary in Columbia, SC

Based on 26 certified H-1B filings at DOL wage level I in the Columbia, SC metro area, FY2025–FY2026. Includes Lexington, Hopkins, West Columbia, Winnsboro.

Also listed as: Middle School Math Teacher

Median salary$60,705
Middle 50%$46.3k–$66.7k
vs. all levels here−4%comparison median $63,026
Filings26FY2025–FY2026 · latest two fiscal years

Salary range

Box: middle 50% of filings. Whiskers: 10th–90th percentile. 99% of filings are between $44,850 and $84,432.
PercentileSalary
10th$44,850
25th$46,313
50th (median)$60,705
75th$66,669
90th$80,473

Salary by year

Median salary

$40k $55k $70k FY2020: median $52,595 (10 filings) FY2022: median $46,344 (23 filings) FY2023: median $49,543 (30 filings) FY2024: median $57,804 (17 filings) FY2025: median $54,286 (18 filings) FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26

Filings per year

FY2020: 10 filings FY20 FY2021: 8 filings FY21 FY2022: 23 filings FY22 FY2023: 30 filings FY23 FY2024: 17 filings FY24 FY2025: 18 filings FY25 FY2026: 8 filings FY26 30
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$52,595$48,836$59,49910
FY2021–––8
FY2022$46,344$42,210$58,35123
FY2023$49,543$46,229$55,46330
FY2024$57,804$47,805$62,09817
FY2025$54,286$44,850$65,68318
FY2026–––8

Cost of living

Columbia's median entry-level Middle School Teacher salary of $60,705 is worth about $64,800 at national average prices.

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

Compared with all workers here

All Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in the Columbia, SC area earned a median of $59,400 in May 2025 (2,450 employed). The H-1B median here is $60,705, 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$64,42117
Richland County School District Onetoo few9

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

By experience level

Wage levelMedianFilings
Entry-level · Level I $60,705 26
Mid-level · Level II $66,029 25
Senior · Level III – 0
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$31,200$60,70526
Mid-level · Level II$38,053$66,02925

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.