SC Manufacturing Facts

Manufacturing is The Economic Backbone of our State

• The average salary for a manufacturing job is $71,123; the average salary for other jobs in the state of South Carolina is $43,939.
• The manufacturing sector employs 239,500 – approximately 12% of all South Carolinians.
• There are more than 5,000 manufacturing businesses in our state.
• Manufacturing’s share of South Carolina’s GSP (Gross State Product) is $35.16 Billion. That’s 16.8% of the state’s entire GDP.
• In 2016, South Carolina manufacturers exported $30.7 billion in total goods; that’s 97% of all exports.
• Nearly 48% of South Carolina goods go to neighboring NAFTA countries.
• Almost 29.9% of all manufacturing jobs in SC depend on exports for their jobs.
• Small businesses comprised 85% of all exporters in South Carolina in 2016.

Sources: The National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the South Carolina Department of Commerce.