South Carolina Apprenticeship Programs
As of September 2026, South Carolina fields 6,500 active apprentices across 290 registered programs, a mid-sized system with 54.5% completion.
- Active apprentices
- 6,500
- National rank
- #34 / 51
- Completion rate
- 54.5%
- Completion wage
- $26
South Carolina ranks #34 of 51 jurisdictions by active registered apprentices - about 0.8% of all U.S. registered apprentices. Its 54.5% completion rate sits 3.7 pts below the 58.2% national average, and apprentices who finish raise their pay by 79% - from $15 to $26 an hour.
Apprenticeship filing desk
Jurisdiction SO · South Carolina
South Carolina registered-apprenticeship filing: 6,500 active apprentices (rank 34/51), 290 programs, 54.5% completion.
- BOOK-SMALL 6,500
- RANK-LOWER #34
- PROG-SPARSE 290
- COMP-MID 54.5%
- WAGE-MID +79%
- SHARE-SMALL 0.8%
- NEW-FY 1,700
Nearest enrollment peer: Alabama (300 apprentice gap)
U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship filing stamps for this jurisdiction. Read: fastest growing occupations 2034
Where South Carolina sits among all 51 jurisdictions
Enrollment by jurisdiction with South Carolina marked mid-field. Inventory size is not a quality ranking.
South Carolina vs all states by active apprentices
Where this state's DOL registered-apprenticeship enrollment sits among every tracked jurisdiction
6,500 34th of 51 higher than 17 of 51 states
States and territories, banded by active apprentices
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data · 2026-09-25
Source: U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data, compiled by PlainWorkforce.
Reading South Carolina's numbers
What stands out in this state's DOL filing, most distinctive first. Every figure below is computed from the state's own row in the dataset.
The signature stat: wage lift
The standout metric here is a flat wage arc: 79.3% growth from start to completion, less than 94% of states manage.
Below-average completion
Completion trails at 54.5%, 3.7 points under the national 58.2%. Whatever intake achieves, attrition gives part of it back.
Where the scale sits
6,500 active apprentices rank 34 of 51 nationally, 0.8% of all registered enrollment.
Middle-of-the-road program size
290 registered programs at 22.4 apprentices per program lands in the middle tercile of states; program structure is not what distinguishes this system.
Steady intake
A 26.2% intake ratio (1,700 new apprentices this fiscal year) keeps South Carolina in the middle tercile for pipeline speed.
South Carolina's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations, ranked by AI-exposure score, most sit well below the 37% occupation-wide average (the dotted line), which is exactly why the trades are AI-resilient. Bars link to the full occupation profile where tracked.
- Electrician 13%
- Sheet Metal Worker 23%
- Plumber 27%
- Carpenter 28%
- HVAC Mechanic -
AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis of O*NET task data; the 37% line is the average across all 832 tracked occupations. Lower = more AI-resilient.
Frequently asked questions
How many apprentices does South Carolina have?
South Carolina reports about 6,500 active registered apprentices in 290 programs, ranking 34 of 51 jurisdictions.
What is the apprenticeship completion rate in South Carolina?
54.5%, which trails the 58.2% national average by 3.7 points.
How much do apprentices earn in South Carolina?
Apprentices start near $14.50/hour and finish near $26.00. The 79.3% progression is flatter than in most states.
What are the top apprenticeship trades in South Carolina?
The dataset's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations for South Carolina are Electrician, Plumber, HVAC Mechanic, Carpenter, Sheet Metal Worker — construction trades dominate registered apprenticeship in every state.
How does South Carolina compare with neighboring systems?
On the dataset's own axes: rank 34 of 51 by enrollment, 54.5% completion, 79.3% wage progression. The comparison links below open the states adjacent in rank.
Compare other states
Where this leaves you
Use South Carolina's apprenticeship numbers above to plan a specific trade path, not just compare states.
- Weigh an apprenticeship path against a college degree with real wage and growth numbers. Apprenticeships vs college
- Check wage and AI exposure for a specific trade in the full occupation directory. Browse all occupations
- Through 2034, these are the occupations projected to add the most jobs. Fastest-growing occupations
Apprenticeship figures come from U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship data; enrollment and completion vary by program and year.
Every figure on PlainWorkforce is rendered directly from BLS/O*NET source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Enrollment and wage figures are rounded. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these figures, or report a data error. Data current as of U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship (active apprentices, registered programs, completion rates, and wages by state), O*NET (occupation task data, for the linked AI-exposure scores).