Statewide pay Government data
Diesel mechanics in South Carolina earn a statewide median of $59,330 a year, 2% below the typical U.S. metro, ranking #37 of 50 states and DC. About 3,360 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near South Carolina
See all states on the diesel mechanic overview.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes diesel mechanic pay for 8 South Carolina metros. The highest-paying is Charleston at $61,000, followed by Spartanburg and Columbia.
| Metro | Median pay | Real pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| CharlestonSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $61,000 | $60,419 | 540 |
| SpartanburgSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $60,750 | $66,721 | 370 |
| ColumbiaSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $60,320 | $64,402 | 520 |
| Hilton Head IslandSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $60,130 | $61,347 | 70 |
| Myrtle BeachSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $59,320 | $63,348 | 160 |
| GreenvilleSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $58,480 | $62,706 | 610 |
| SumterSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $57,000 | $64,758 | 40 |
| FlorenceSOUTH CAROLINA · SC | $49,990 | $57,609 | 190 |
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for South Carolina's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul buses and trucks, or maintain and repair any type of diesel engines. Includes mechanics working primarily with automobile or marine diesel engines.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3.6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,400 openings a year. Typical training: long-term on-the-job training.
Nationally, diesel mechanics have 163 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.9× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
What the work is like Government data
How often diesel mechanics deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes medium preparation (vocational training or an apprenticeship, often 1–2+ years).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Registered apprenticeships Government data
Of diesel mechanic apprentices in South Carolina who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 92% completed (U.S.: 66%), about 208 graduates a year. The typical program runs 8,000 hours, about 4 years of full-time work. Search open registered programs near you on the official Apprenticeship Finder.
U.S. Department of Labor, RAPIDS apprentice records (Completion Rate Analysis), FY2020–2024 exits.
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
South Carolina runs its own workplace-safety program (an OSHA State Plan), so its injury reports aren't in the federal dataset. Nationally, in states federal OSHA covers, truck and auto repair shops filed 277 severe injury reports from 2015 to 2024; the most common cause was contact with objects and equipment (55%).
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Fatality investigations: OSHA Fatality Inspection Data, events 2015–2024, all states.
Where to train in South Carolina Government data
13 schools in South Carolina offer vehicle maintenance and repair programs below the bachelor's level. Many people in this trade learn through an apprenticeship instead; a program can shorten it or get you hired as a helper.
Where published, graduates earned a median of $50,656 in their first year out.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trident Technical College Charleston, SC · Public | Certificate | $12,130 | 89 | $46,801 |
| Greenville Technical College Greenville, SC · Public | Certificate | $15,996 | 83 | — |
| Florence-Darlington Technical College Florence, SC · Public | Certificate | $16,406 | 41 | $36,631 |
| Tri-County Technical College Pendleton, SC · Public | Certificate | $23,034 | 40 | — |
| Horry-Georgetown Technical College Conway, SC · Public | Certificate | $9,302 | 35 | — |
| Midlands Technical College West Columbia, SC · Public | Certificate | $15,443 | 34 | — |
| Greenville Technical College Greenville, SC · Public | Associate degree | $15,996 | 31 | $58,413 |
| York Technical College Rock Hill, SC · Public | Associate degree | $15,942 | 21 | $54,510 |
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (data updated October 2026). Cost is the school's average yearly cost of attendance before financial aid; earnings are the median for graduates one year after finishing, shown only where the school has enough graduates to publish. “—” means not published.
Licensing in South Carolina Official source
The main state licensing office in South Carolina is the South Carolina Contractors' Licensing Board. It can point you to the right license for diesel mechanics.
Official South Carolina licensing site ↗
Requirements for diesel mechanics vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 2.7% of wage and salary workers in South Carolina were union members, below the U.S. rate of about 10% (#49 of 51 states and D.C.), and 4.1% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only diesel mechanics.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in South Carolina
All trades in South Carolina.