Truck Driver Salary in South Carolina (2026)

Worth knowing: The Port of Charleston is the deepest US East Coast container port (post-2022 Charleston Harbor Deepening to 52 feet, the only US East Coast port capable of handling fully-laden Post-Panamax + Ultra Large Container Vessels at any tide) and the structural depth feature most national truck-driver surveys understate for SC. Port of Charleston (~$25B+ annual cargo volume, ~2.6M TEUs annually as one of the country's top-10 container ports + the country's #1 vehicle import/export port handling ~270K vehicles annually including BMW Spartanburg exports + Volvo Charleston + Mercedes-Benz Vans + substantial vehicle import operations) supports substantial intermodal drayage + port driver work. BMW Manufacturing Co. Spartanburg's ~$11B annual revenue is supported by approximately 30,000+ inbound parts trailers daily during peak production — making BMW one of the largest US single-facility logistics operations. The 2025 OBBBA No Tax on Overtime federal deduction applies to non-exempt SC truck driver OT premium pay through 2028. Most interstate OTR drivers are exempt under the Motor Carrier Act, so take a driver who is owed FLSA overtime at $85K base + $20K FLSA-required OT premium ($105K total): a single filer's deduction caps at $12,500, worth about $2,750 a year at 22% through 2028. South Carolina adds nothing — it conforms to the IRC only as of 2024, so SC Information Letter #26-4 has filers add the deduction back. SC's 5.21% top rate (H.4216, 2026) applies above $30,000 of SC taxable income, so it reaches most driver pay; the first $30,000 is taxed at 1.99%. SC is RTW since 1954.