Every year, the Municipal Association of SC asks cities and towns to submit data on the wages they pay to municipal employees as well as elected officials, allowing it to create a report of statewide compensation information. Participating in the survey is optional, but when many municipalities contribute to this survey, it makes the data more valuable. The next survey collection period is coming up in January.
Since municipal governments compete for job candidates with the private sector as well as state- and county-level agencies, they often aim to provide competitive pay as a way to attract and retain employees. Current data on salary ranges can help them make sure that they are setting their pay at levels that will attract good candidates.
The Association makes the data from its compensation survey. Cities and towns can use this online tool to make sure that their compensation scales are on par with other municipalities with comparable populations and budgets.
The report is helpful when looking at one-off comparisons or between formal salary studies, but it does not provide all the data of a full class and compensation study.
The 2027 survey will be available for data entry from January 4 to February 26. Find more information online. For questions, contact Lea Ann Mitchell at lmitchell@masc.sc or 803.933.1254.