What is the Minimum Wage for Servers in South Carolina?

If you are a server in South Carolina or are considering becoming one, then you should know what the minimum wage is for servers in South Carolina to ensure you are being paid the correct amount, or whether this is a job you would like to do.

The laws surrounding the South Carolina minimum wage for servers act as a safety net for those that may not earn enough in tips to meet the minimum wage threshold in the state.

Servers are those who provide and serve their customers with food and beverages in a restaurant, hotel, or similar type of business where food and drinks are brought to the table, and as part of this service, a server will typically receive tips (gratuities) for doing so.

South Carolina servers usually rely less on their low hourly wage and more on the generosity of the guests they serve for their paycheck each week.

South Carolina Server Minimum Wage 2023

So, what is the minimum wage for a server in South Carolina? The minimum cash wage for servers in South Carolina in 2023 is $2.13 per hour which is the same as the tipped minimum wage in South Carolina.

This is the minimum per hour that a South Carolina server must be paid and that a South Carolina employer must pay its servers (not including tipped credits).

As you can see from the following graphic, the minimum wage for servers in South Carolina has not increased over the past several years and was the same in 2022.

Server Minimum Wage in South Carolina (Minimum Cash Wage and Tip Credits)

$2.13 per hour may sound like a small amount to be paid an hour, but if tips are not sufficient enough, South Carolina servers are required to be supplemented by their employers via “tipped credit”, which in South Carolina is $5.12 per hour, making the server minimum wage in South Carolina a total of $7.25 per hour.

The regular minimum wage in South Carolina for all types of employees follows the federal minimum wage guidelines, and it has been this way since 2008.

Based on the tipped minimum wage laws that apply to all states, South Carolina employers are required to pay their employees an hourly minimum cash wage with the addition of tip credits.

What tipped credits allow employers to do is pay tipped employees less than the minimum wage so long as they can make up the difference via tips per hour during each pay period.

Tip credit not only allows server employees to be paid less than the minimum hourly wage, but it is also the same concept with bartenders, hotel workers, some airport workers at baggage drops, and pretty much any job role where tips are the primary income for the employee.

In South Carolina, servers must be paid a base minimum cash wage of $2.13 per hour. The expectation is that South Carolina servers will make at least an additional $5.12 per hour in tips on average across their pay period, and if they do, then the employer is only obligated to pay a South Carolina server $2.13 per hour.

Let’s assume a tipped server in South Carolina earns, on average, less than $5.12 per hour during the working week as the tipped portion of their earnings (an accumulation of their tips).

In that case, the employer must pay the difference between the minimum cash wage ($2.13 per hour) that the server made in tips per hour in a working week, and the total of $7.25 per hour. This is tipped credit against the minimum wage and it can be up to 71% or $5.12.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Tipped Employees

The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, also known as the FLSA, is a federal law from the U.S. Department of Labor.

This law establishes a national minimum wage, defines classifications for employees, and covers other essential standards and requirements for employers.

Federal law requires that employers make tipped employees aware of the cash wage paid (currently, the national direct hourly salary is $2.13 per hour), let them know about the tip credit, and explain any tip pooling systems at the workplace.

South Carolina Server Minimum Wage History

The table below showcases the current rate and history of the South Carolina server minimum wage over the past few years.

You can see when there were increases in the server minimum wage, which includes not only the tipped minimum wage rates but the tipped credit rates too.

Average Server Salary in South Carolina 2023

We have covered the minimum cash wage that an employer must pay a South Carolina server of $2.13 per hour, and we have also detailed the safety net for the server should they not make at least $7.25 per hour with tips by receiving tipped credit of $5.12 per hour.

What we have not discussed is the average that servers get paid in South Carolina.

If you are a server or are looking to work as a server in a restaurant or similar service-related business in South Carolina, knowing what you can expect to earn is very important.

Most South Carolina servers are not going to take a position at a restaurant with the view that they can only earn $7.25 per hour, because based on working 35-40 hours a week, they could only earn $254-$290 per week.

What Do Servers Get Paid in South Carolina

The average server hourly wage in South Carolina (according to the job website Indeed.com) is $13.87 per hour. So, if you were to work an 8-hour shift or a total of 8 hours in a day across a couple of shifts, you could earn (on average) about $110.96 (8 hrs x $13.87).

If you worked five days per week being paid $111.00, then you could earn about $555.00 per week.

If you took just two weeks off a year and worked for 50 weeks you could earn $27,750. If you decided to take 3 weeks off per year, or a total amount of time that was the equivalent of about 3 weeks off, then you could earn 49 x $555.00 = $27,195 for the year. This, of course, is before South Carolina income tax and other taxes have been deducted.

The above calculations are just averages to give you an idea of what you can earn as a South Carolina server. It will also depend on how good you are at your job, what type of food/beverage establishment you work at, and how busy the restaurant/cafe or bar is.

Also, many people that work at restaurants or similar establishments are willing to work more than 40 hours per week which may make them qualify for overtime pay.

If the average food item on the menu is $12-$18 and the restaurant mainly serves wings, burgers, subs, nachos, fries, and similar snack-style food, then the average check for each guest or table will not be that high, and therefore, the percentage tip against the total check will result in you earning a lower amount of tips per table you serve and you’ll have to serve many tables during your shift.

On the other hand, if you work at a more expensive restaurant or one that is really busy and serves steak, seafood, and other higher-priced menu and beverage items in the $25-$40 range, then you stand to potentially earn more money as the total check for each table you serve will be that much higher and the percentage tip you receive on a higher check will be that much more.

Final Thoughts

The most important takeaway from this is that, as a South Carolina employer, it is your responsibility to pay your servers a minimum hourly rate + tip credit that equals or surpasses the South Carolina minimum wage in the event that your servers do not earn enough to meet the $7.25 per hour threshold in a given workweek.

Failing to do so will be breaking federal and state laws. Equally, it is important that as a server working in South Carolina, you know your employee rights and how much you should be paid with your hourly wage and tip credits.

If you have specific questions about the laws surrounding the minimum wage for servers in South Carolina (tipped employees) from both an employer and employee perspective, you can contact the South Carolina Office of Wages and Child Labor. Additionally, if you are an employee who isn’t being paid what you legally should be, you can file a complaint with them too.