Salaries in Charleston.
3,500+ roles. One city.
Cost-of-living index: 0.98x national average. Last updated April 2026.
3445 roles tracked
Highest Paying
$343,000
Technical Fellow
Median of All Roles
$153,000
Service Mesh Engineer
Entry Level
$31,000
Hotel Clerk / Front Desk
Salary data sourced from SEC filings, H-1B Labor Condition Applications (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and aggregated job postings across 50+ platforms. Ranges reflect 25th to 75th percentile for full-time positions. Cost-of-living adjustments use Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2025 index). Last updated April 2026.
Charleston, SC has a cost-of-living index of 0.98x the national average. The highest-paying role is Technical Fellow at $343,000, while the median across all 3445 roles is $153,000. Charleston is one of the South's fastest growing tech hubs, with Boeing, Volvo, and a wave of software companies establishing operations.
About the Charleston market
Charleston is one of the South's fastest growing tech hubs, with Boeing, Volvo, and a wave of software companies establishing operations. The city's port drives significant logistics employment. Charleston's quality of life, moderate costs, and growing tech scene attract relocating professionals from across the country.
Aerospace & ManufacturingTechnologyPort & LogisticsTourismHealthcare
Top 50 salaries in Charleston
| # | Role | Median | Range |
|---|
| 1 | Technical Fellow | $343,000 | $268,000 – $446,000 |
| 2 | Principal AI Research Scientist | $340,000 | $265,000 – $441,000 |
| 3 | Principal Quantitative Researcher | $340,000 | $265,000 – $441,000 |
| 4 | Distinguished Engineer | $333,000 | $252,000 – $424,000 |
| 5 | Senior VP of Product | $330,000 | $257,000 – $429,000 |
| 6 | Principal AI Agent Architect | $324,000 | $253,000 – $421,000 |
| 7 | Senior VP of Security | $320,000 | $250,000 – $416,000 |
| 8 | Chief Security Officer | $320,000 | $249,000 – $416,000 |
| 9 | Principal AI Compiler Engineer | $315,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 10 | SVP of Technology | $315,000 | $246,000 – $410,000 |
| 11 | L7 Software Engineer | $313,000 | $244,000 – $407,000 |
| 12 | Principal AI Safety Engineer | $311,000 | $243,000 – $404,000 |
| 13 | Chief Strategy Officer | $310,000 | $242,000 – $403,000 |
| 14 | Chief Science Officer | $307,000 | $240,000 – $399,000 |
| 15 | SVP of Product | $307,000 | $240,000 – $399,000 |
| 16 | Principal Applied Scientist | $306,000 | $239,000 – $398,000 |
| 17 | Principal AI Agent Engineer | $306,000 | $239,000 – $398,000 |
| 18 | Principal LLM Engineer | $304,000 | $236,000 – $394,000 |
| 19 | Chief Legal Officer | $303,000 | $236,000 – $394,000 |
| 20 | Chief AI Officer | $301,000 | $223,000 – $388,000 |
| 21 | Principal Computer Vision Engineer | $301,000 | $234,000 – $391,000 |
| 22 | SVP of Engineering | $301,000 | $235,000 – $391,000 |
| 23 | Senior Head of Security | $301,000 | $235,000 – $391,000 |
| 24 | Senior VP of Design | $298,000 | $233,000 – $387,000 |
| 25 | Chief Machine Learning Officer | $297,000 | $232,000 – $386,000 |
| 26 | Principal Deep Learning Engineer | $296,000 | $231,000 – $386,000 |
| 27 | Principal Quantitative Developer | $296,000 | $231,000 – $386,000 |
| 28 | Principal NLP Engineer | $295,000 | $229,000 – $382,000 |
| 29 | Principal Kernel Engineer | $295,000 | $230,000 – $383,000 |
| 30 | Chief Commercial Officer | $295,000 | $230,000 – $384,000 |
| 31 | Chief Architect | $294,000 | $229,000 – $382,000 |
| 32 | Chief Growth Officer | $293,000 | $228,000 – $381,000 |
| 33 | Staff AI Research Scientist | $292,000 | $228,000 – $379,000 |
| 34 | Staff Quantitative Researcher | $292,000 | $228,000 – $379,000 |
| 35 | Chief Design Officer | $292,000 | $228,000 – $380,000 |
| 36 | Principal Cryptographer | $291,000 | $227,000 – $378,000 |
| 37 | SVP of Sales | $291,000 | $227,000 – $378,000 |
| 38 | SVP of Strategy | $291,000 | $227,000 – $378,000 |
| 39 | VP of AI | $290,000 | $220,000 – $380,000 |
| 40 | Principal AI Engineer | $289,000 | $225,000 – $375,000 |
| 41 | Senior Head of Product | $288,000 | $225,000 – $375,000 |
| 42 | Lead High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $288,000 | $225,000 – $374,000 |
| 43 | Chief Cloud Officer | $288,000 | $224,000 – $374,000 |
| 44 | Chief Transformation Officer | $287,000 | $224,000 – $373,000 |
| 45 | Principal AI Infrastructure Engineer | $286,000 | $223,000 – $371,000 |
| 46 | SVP of Data | $286,000 | $223,000 – $373,000 |
| 47 | CTO | $285,000 | $222,000 – $371,000 |
| 48 | Senior High-Frequency Trading Engineer | $285,000 | $222,000 – $369,000 |
| 49 | Chief Technology Officer | $284,000 | $211,000 – $372,000 |
| 50 | Staff AI Safety Engineer | $284,000 | $222,000 – $369,000 |
Tax considerations
South Carolina's top income tax rate is 6.4%. Charleston has no city income tax. The state rate is moderate, and the affordable cost of living keeps net pay competitive.
Negotiating in Charleston
Highlight the Boeing and Volvo ecosystem when negotiating. Manufacturing and engineering employers in Charleston benchmark against national aerospace pay scales.
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