Each year, the Municipal Association of SC helps cities and towns compile an annual report of the wages and salaries paid to municipal employees and elected officials. Getting the data to truly reflect competitive compensation requires as many municipalities as possible to participate by completing the online survey.
Competitive pay serves as one of the most critical tools municipalities can use to attract and retain valuable employees. Local governments compete for job candidates with state agencies, county governments and the private sector. Studying data on current salary ranges can help cities and towns set their compensation at levels that will attract applicants.
The Municipal Association makes the data from its compensation survey available online. 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.
Responding to the survey is optional, but the Association encourages all municipalities to complete it every year, since widespread participation makes the data more useful.
The 2025 survey will be available for data entry from January 2 to February 21. For questions, contact Lea Ann Mitchell at lmitchell@masc.sc or 803.933.1254.