Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Project weekly and annual earnings from South Carolina's minimum wage rate ($7.25/hr) and hours worked.
South Carolina's general state minimum wage is pre-filled at $7.25/hr (as of September 17, 2026, per the Tax Foundation and U.S. Department of Labor). Some cities/counties, and some job categories (tipped workers, minors), have different rates -- edit the rate below if a different one applies to you, and always verify current figures at your state labor department or dol.gov.
South Carolina's general state minimum wage is $7.25/hr (as of September 17, 2026, per the Tax Foundation and U.S. Department of Labor). This tool projects weekly and annual earnings from an hourly rate and hours worked, pre-filled with South Carolina's current minimum wage -- editable for your own actual rate.
Enter an hourly rate (pre-filled with South Carolina's minimum wage), hours worked per week, and weeks worked per year. Your projected weekly and annual pay appear instantly.
South Carolina's pay floor, $7.25, comes directly from federal law rather than a state-set rate -- South Carolina is one of 20 jurisdictions in this data set with no state minimum wage above the federal figure.
Ranked against all 51 jurisdictions in this data set, South Carolina comes in at number 32 from the top, tied with Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa and others. The jurisdictions with headline rates closest to South Carolina's are Alabama ($7.25), Georgia ($7.25), Idaho ($7.25).
For context, South Carolina also charges a 6% state sales tax -- see the South Carolina sales tax calculator for how that adds up at the register.
These figures multiply South Carolina's $7.25 rate across common schedules, over 52 weeks, before any taxes or deductions:
Every extra dollar per hour is worth $40.00 a week and $2,080.00 over a full-time year at 40 hours. Put differently, a full-time worker paid exactly $7.25 earns about $15,080.00 a year before tax, which is roughly 38% of a $40,000 salary.
Under the federal rule for covered, non-exempt employees, hours beyond 40 in a week are generally paid at one and a half times the regular rate. At South Carolina's headline minimum, ten overtime hours would be worth $108.75 for those hours alone ($10.88 per hour). This calculator multiplies rate by hours and weeks as entered and does not apply overtime automatically, so add overtime pay separately. Some states add their own daily-overtime or premium-pay rules, so check South Carolina's labor department for the rules that apply to your job.
Working backwards is often more useful than forwards. To earn $2,000.00 a month before tax at South Carolina's $7.25 rate you would need about 63.7 hours a week, and to reach $3,000.00 a month about 95.5 hours a week. A $30,000.00 annual target works out to about 4138 paid hours in the year at that rate (roughly 79.6 hours per week), and $50,000.00 to about 6897 paid hours. Numbers like these show how sharply the hourly figure limits earning power, which is why people often compare the local minimum wage against a rough local cost of living before deciding whether a job's pay is workable. They also show why many workers seek hours above the minimum or a raise once they have some experience.
Treat $7.25 as South Carolina's general starting point, not the last word: real pay can differ by job type (tipped employees, minors, students, seasonal or agricultural work), by how many people an employer has, and by city or county ordinances that set a higher local wage. Edit the rate field if a different figure applies to you -- the South Carolina labor department and the U.S. Department of Labor publish the rates that actually bind an employer.
Not necessarily -- tipped workers, minors, and some other job categories can have different minimum wage rules in many states, and some cities/counties set their own local minimum wage above the state figure. Edit the rate field if a different one applies to your specific situation.
Your state's Department of Labor (or equivalent) and the U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov) publish current official minimum wage rates -- always verify there, since rates change over time, often annually.
At $7.25 an hour for 40 hours a week over 52 weeks, gross pay is about $15,080 a year, or roughly $1,257 a month before taxes and deductions.
No. The rate used here, $7.25, matches the $7.25 federal minimum wage, so the federal figure is effectively the floor for most covered workers.
Workers earning the standard minimum wage in South Carolina are paid $7.25 an hour. Ranked against every other state and DC, that's tied for 32nd highest of 51 jurisdictions (with 19 others) -- 31 set a higher floor, 20 match the $7.25 federal rate, and South Carolina is the same as the $7.25 federal minimum wage. The highest general rate in this data is $18.40 in District of Columbia, $11.15 an hour more than South Carolina.
For context, South Carolina also charges a 6% state sales tax -- see the South Carolina sales tax calculator for how that adds up at the register.
| Hours worked in a week | Gross pay for the week |
|---|---|
| 10 | $72.50 |
| 20 | $145.00 |
| 25 | $181.25 |
| 30 | $217.50 |
| 35 | $253.75 |
| 40 | $290.00 |
At a full 40-hour week that's $290.00, or $1,256.67 a month and $15,080.00 a year (2,080 hours). Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, hours worked past 40 in a week are paid at 1.5×, so overtime for a South Carolina minimum-wage worker runs $10.88 an hour.
These are gross figures. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare (7.65% for the employee) and any state or local taxes come out of them, so take-home pay is lower; the paycheck calculator shows the difference.
Of South Carolina's 2 bordering states, 0 set a higher minimum wage and 0 set a lower one.
| Neighbouring state | General minimum wage |
|---|---|
| Georgia | $7.25 per hour |
| North Carolina | $7.25 per hour |
How many hours do you need to work in South Carolina to earn $1000 at minimum wage?
At $7.25/hour, earning $1,000 before taxes takes 137.9 hours. For $100 it's 13.8 hours, and for $2,000 it's 275.9 hours.
Is South Carolina's minimum wage above or below $15 an hour?
South Carolina's $7.25/hour rate is $7.75 below the $15.00/hour figure often cited in minimum-wage debates.
What is the difference between South Carolina's minimum wage and the federal minimum wage?
South Carolina has not set its own minimum wage above the federal rate, so the $7.25 federal minimum applies for most covered employers.
What does overtime pay look like at South Carolina's minimum wage?
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees earn 1.5× their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a week. At South Carolina's $7.25/hour floor, that's $10.88/hour for overtime hours.
Figures are as of September 17, 2026, per the Tax Foundation and U.S. Department of Labor. Cities, counties, tipped and youth wages and employer size can change the rate that applies to you; check the U.S. Department of Labor state minimum wage page or your state labor department.
Reference: Internal Revenue Service