Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service in the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service pay in Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC at a median of $34,560 per year ($16.61/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $38,630, the metro estimate is 11% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 30 switchboard operators, including answering service are employed across the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach MSA in SOC 43-2011.

The Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach pay distribution spans from $31,370 at the 10th percentile to $36,620 at the 90th, a 1.2× observed spread. Differences in specialization, employer, sector, location, credentials, schedule, and experience may all contribute, but OEWS does not isolate their effects. The 25th percentile sits at $31,690 and the 75th at $34,670, so half of Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach-based switchboard operators, including answering service earn within that middle band.

Metro figures use establishment work location, not worker residence. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. OEWS includes straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. It excludes employer health and retirement benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, signing bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. The same occupation's national profile, statewide SC estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.