Data Entry Specialist salary in Columbia, SC

Pay in Columbia against South Carolina and the US

The middle half of data entry specialists in Columbia earns $31,390–$39,250. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $45,510, only 1.6 times the bottom tenth, against 1.9 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $7,860 wide, against $11,790 across South Carolina and $12,650 nationally: employers in Columbia pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a data entry specialist here

Local pay is bunched just above the median: the 75th percentile is only $3,020 over it, while the 25th sits $4,840 below. Moving an offer from the median to the 75th percentile costs about $3,897 more a year with benefits. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $41,340 falls between the 75th and 90th percentiles in Columbia, and the South Carolina statewide median of $38,070 falls between the median and the 75th percentile. An offer at the national rate would beat what three quarters of local data entry specialists earn.

What a hire really costs in Columbia

At the $36,230 median, a local hire costs about $46,748 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $10,518 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for data entry specialists we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in Columbia

Of the 17 roles we track in Columbia, this one ranks #16 by median pay, between customer support specialists ($37,430) and virtual receptionists ($35,530). Project Coordinator is the highest at $85,260.

Measured against the US median, data entry specialists rank #10 of the 17 roles we track in Columbia (-12.4%), between recruiters (-10.5%) and medical administrative assistants (-12.6%). The typical role here is at -10.5%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Data entry specialists hold 0.7% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Columbia, 0.6% across South Carolina and 0.8% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in South Carolina

Across the 7 areas of South Carolina with data for this job, the median runs from $36,230 in Columbia to $49,280 in Hilton Head Island-Bluffton, a gap of $13,050 a year. No other area in South Carolina has as many data entry specialists, and none of the others pays less.

Columbia against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Columbia is #62 of 389 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job, yet its pay sits in the bottom quarter of US areas. Outside South Carolina, Columbus and Bloomington pay just above Columbia and Morgantown and Decatur just below. All four are within $70 a year of the median in Columbia. Of the three markets with about as many data entry specialists, one pays more.

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Sources

How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.