Fastest Growing Jobs in South Carolina

National growth leaders filtered through South Carolina's actual employment footprint – BLS 2024–2034

Where South Carolina already employs the growth list

Ranked by published South Carolina employment (not by national growth %). Sibling state pages diverge here because the occupation title set and order change with the OEWS footprint.

  1. 1. Home Health and Personal Care Aides · Healthcare Support Occupations 40,750 jobs · +17%
  2. 2. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 25,890 jobs · +14.9%
  3. 3. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 13,230 jobs · +15.8%
  4. 4. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 12,110 jobs · +12.5%
  5. 5. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 9,890 jobs · +16.1%
  6. 6. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 9,350 jobs · +23.2%
  7. 7. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 9,020 jobs · +14.8%
  8. 8. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 6,300 jobs · +16.8%
  9. 9. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 5,670 jobs · +40.1%
  10. 10. Logisticians · Business and Financial Operations Occupations 5,250 jobs · +16.7%
  11. 11. Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors · Personal Care and Service Occupations 5,130 jobs · +11.9%
  12. 12. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 4,930 jobs · +15.2%
  13. 13. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 4,090 jobs · +12.1%
  14. 14. Data Scientists · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 3,750 jobs · +33.5%
  15. 15. Physician Assistants · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 2,250 jobs · +20.4%
  16. 16. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 2,190 jobs · +15%
  17. 17. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists · Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 2,170 jobs · +12.5%
  18. 18. Respiratory Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,960 jobs · +12.1%
  19. 19. Computer Network Architects · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 1,950 jobs · +11.9%
  20. 20. Physical Therapist Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 1,870 jobs · +22%

Largest South Carolina footprint

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

40,750 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+17%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

46/50

South Carolina employment published

National #1 growth

Wind Turbine Service Technicians

+49.9% · different from state footprint lead

Growth % and openings are national BLS projections. The employment and wage columns are South Carolina OEWS estimates where published.

In South Carolina, the national percentage leader Wind Turbine Service Technicians (+49.9%) has no published OEWS employment row while the largest in-state footprint among this growth list is Home Health and Personal Care Aides (40,750 jobs , +17% projected). Next by in-state count: Cooks, Restaurant (25,890) and Software Developers (13,230).

That mismatch is the useful South Carolina read: percentage growth ranks a national change rate, not how many workers the state already employs in the role. Of the 50 national growth rows, 46 publish South Carolina employment; 25 of those covered rows are projected at +15% or more (all-occupations baseline 3.1%). Among the ten largest OEWS rows on this list, 38% of summed employment sits in Healthcare Support Occupations (2 occupations).

Annual openings (growth plus replacements) still live on each occupation profile. A high percentage on a tiny base can add fewer South Carolina seats than a mid-single-digit gain on a large OEWS count. Education and credential columns on the profile set the entry clock; several fast-growth rows need multi-year training before the projection window helps a new entrant.

South Carolina footprint order on the national growth list

Rows with published South Carolina employment are sorted by in-state jobs. Occupations without a state OEWS row stay at the bottom in national growth order.

# Occupation Growth %
1 Home Health and Personal Care Aides +17%
2 Cooks, Restaurant +14.9%
3 Software Developers +15.8%
4 Medical Assistants +12.5%
5 Industrial Machinery Mechanics +16.1%
6 Medical and Health Services Managers +23.2%
7 Financial Managers +14.8%
8 Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors +16.8%
9 Nurse Practitioners +40.1%
10 Logisticians +16.7%
11 Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors +11.9%
12 Computer and Information Systems Managers +15.2%
13 Animal Caretakers +12.1%
14 Data Scientists +33.5%
15 Physician Assistants +20.4%
16 Speech-Language Pathologists +15%
17 Occupational Health and Safety Specialists +12.5%
18 Respiratory Therapists +12.1%
19 Computer Network Architects +11.9%
20 Physical Therapist Assistants +22%
21 Massage Therapists +15.4%
22 Occupational Therapists +13.8%
23 Information Security Analysts +28.5%
24 Ophthalmic Medical Technicians +19.8%
25 Operations Research Analysts +21.5%
26 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers +13%
27 Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary +16.8%
28 Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary +17.3%
29 Occupational Therapy Assistants +19.2%
30 Medical Equipment Repairers +12.9%
31 Psychiatric Technicians +20%
32 Community Health Workers +11.3%
33 Financial Examiners +18.5%
34 Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars +14.7%
35 Computer and Information Research Scientists +19.7%
36 Marriage and Family Therapists +12.6%
37 Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers +12.8%
38 Orthotists and Prosthetists +13.3%
39 Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians +11.5%
40 Hearing Aid Specialists +18.4%
41 Mechanical Door Repairers +11.4%
42 Forensic Science Technicians +12.8%
43 Actuaries +21.8%
44 Therapists, All Other +11.5%
45 Counselors, All Other +12.6%
46 Epidemiologists +16.2%
47 Wind Turbine Service Technicians +49.9%
48 Solar Photovoltaic Installers +42.1%
49 Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists +14.6%
50 Clinical and Counseling Psychologists +11.2%

Nearby & Related Pages

Related growth and salary pages for South Carolina and the broader U.S. labor market.

South Carolina Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in South Carolina

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Largest South Carolina footprint on this list

Job Outlook Explorer

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About This Data

Employment projections come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections program, covering 2024 to 2034. Growth rates represent the projected percentage change in national employment over the 10-year period.

State employment and salary data comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. Some occupations may not have state-level data for South Carolina if employment is too small to report.

Last updated: May 2025. Source: BLS Employment Projections program, 2024–2034 and BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

State employment totals for South Carolina from BLS OEWS State and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, May 2025.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. State employment and wage rows use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and openings use national BLS Employment Projections for 2024–2034. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.