Most South Carolina Metros Rank Low for Workers
Employers in Spartanburg, Florence and Myrtle Beach face a tougher market for hiring and retaining workers.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Employment
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Indeed's annual report ranking U.S. metro areas as the best places for workers placed nearly every South Carolina metro area low nationally. Charleston-North Charleston was the state's highest-ranked metro at No. 75 of 228 analyzed, while Spartanburg landed at No. 213 for businesses and workers weighing where to hire or relocate.
Why it matters
The ranking scores metros on job opportunity, compensation, job quality, career mobility, work-life flexibility and economic opportunity, so it signals where employers may face tighter competition for labor. For South Carolina operators, the spread between Charleston's No. 75 and Spartanburg's No. 213 shows that local labor-market conditions vary widely within one state.
Indeed's ranking covered 228 U.S. metro areas with populations of 200,000 or more, and Charleston-North Charleston led South Carolina at No. 75 while Spartanburg trailed at No. 213. Spartanburg ranked 218th in job quality and security, the study's sharpest weakness for the state's lowest-ranked metro.
The players
Indeed
Indeed is a global online job site owned by Recruit Holdings, operating a large job-listing and hiring-data platform used by employers and job seekers across the United States.
Laura Ullrich
Laura Ullrich is an economist with Indeed's Hiring Lab who led the research behind the annual best-cities-for-workers ranking.
The details
Indeed scored each metro across six categories: job opportunity, compensation, job quality and security, career mobility and dynamism, work-life and flexibility, and economic opportunity. Each category is built from a set of 40 metrics, and the composite produces a national rank for every metro. Because the ranking is relative, a metro's position reflects how it compares with the other 227 metros in the analysis rather than an absolute standard.
Timeline
Indeed's annual best-cities-for-workers report was published on November 5, 2026.
Market Landscape
Indeed's Hiring Lab publishes this metro ranking annually, giving employers and workers a recurring benchmark for comparing labor markets. Because the study uses one consistent set of 40 metrics across 228 metros, South Carolina's placements can be read against the national field rather than in isolation.
South Carolina employers in lower-ranked metros such as Spartanburg and Florence should expect candidate pools to be tested by competition for workers, particularly on job quality and compensation. Operators in higher-ranked metros like Charleston-North Charleston can weigh the ranking when benchmarking pay and benefits against regional peers.
The takeaway
Compare your own compensation and job-quality offerings against the metro benchmarks in Indeed's ranking before the next hiring cycle. Track whether your metro's rank shifts in future editions, since a move in job quality and security is the category most directly tied to retention costs.
Further reading
For broader context on hiring conditions, explore Employment coverage across the economy.
Source note: This article includes information reported by MyrtleBeachOnline.
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