Commercial Pest Control recruiters serving Charleston.
Charleston has 95% more pest control workers per job than the country as a whole, about 510 in the metro. BLS counts 78 business locations of pest control companies across the metro. Below: local pay for every role we staff, the state licensing rules that apply and the nearby markets competing for the same people.
Positions we recruit for in Charleston.
BLS counts about 510 pest control workers in the Charleston metro. Relative to the size of the local economy, pest control workers are far more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.95). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Pest Control hub.
Commercial Pest Control Technician
Charleston: 510 employed · $43,530 median, 75th-highest of 109 metros
Licensed Pest Control Applicator
Termite / WDI Inspector
Fumigation Technician
Commercial Account Manager
Charleston: 4,290 employed · $62,600 median, 53rd-highest of 111 metros
Pest Control Branch / Route Manager
Charleston: 610 employed · $100,610 median, 76th-highest of 112 metros
Pest Control Service Manager
Charleston: 6,000 employed · $109,260 median, 37th-highest of 112 metros
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Specialist
Bird / Wildlife Exclusion Technician
Pest Control Sales / Business Development Rep
Charleston: 3,170 employed · $64,120 median, 68th-highest of 112 metros
What Commercial Pest Control roles earn in Charleston.
Pest control workers in Charleston earn a median $43,530, 4% under the $45,250 national figure, and 75th of 109 metros. Pay runs $30,420 at the tenth percentile to $60,130 at the ninetieth.
| Role | Charleston median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Pest Control Technician · Licensed Pest Control Applicator · Termite / WDI InspectorPest Control Workers (37-2021) | $43,530 | $30,420–$60,130 | $45,250 | −4% | 510 |
| Commercial Account ManagerSales Representatives of Services (41-3091) | $62,600 | $34,310–$131,640 | $69,990 | −11% | 4,290 |
| Pest Control Branch / Route ManagerTransportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers (11-3071) | $100,610 | $66,630–$183,950 | $107,230 | −6% | 610 |
| Pest Control Service ManagerGeneral and Operations Managers (11-1021) | $109,260 | $60,070–$228,790 | $105,770 | +3% | 6,000 |
| Pest Control Sales / Business Development RepSales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing (41-4012) | $64,120 | $38,140–$152,750 | $72,080 | −11% | 3,170 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Charleston metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile; management and office roles are metro-wide. A metro ranking counts only the metros where BLS publishes that occupation.
How Charleston's commercial pest control market has changed since 2018.
The number of pest control companies in Charleston rose from 74 in 2018 to 78 in 2023, up 5%, behind the 16% growth nationally.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pest control companies: business locations | 74 | 78 | +5% |
| Pest control companies: employment | – | 767 | – |
| Pest control companies: average annual pay | – | $52,129 | – |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Free Commercial Pest Control hiring resources.
Definitive Guide to Commercial Pest Control · 2026 Commercial Pest Control Salary Guide · 3-Step Interview Guide for Commercial Pest Control
Charleston runs 95% more commercial pest control workers per job than the country as a whole — well above the national concentration. More per job means more people to reach, and more employers reaching them.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 , Pest Control Workers. Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Charleston's commercial pest control market compares
Among the 98 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Charleston ranks 40th for headcount, 69th for median pay and 13th for concentration for pest control workers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston | 510 | $43,530 | 1.95 | 78 |
| Columbia | 440 | $44,620 | 1.70 | 73 |
| Myrtle Beach | 270 | $38,100 | 2.77 | 44 |
| Greenville | – | – | – | 73 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial pest control employers in Charleston, the pool is deep but local employers have been cutting headcount. Experienced people are here, and some will be open to a move, so a clear offer and a defined path up usually beat a higher posted rate.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Charleston metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Pest Control licensing in South Carolina.
South Carolina requires a commercial applicator license for anyone applying pesticides in Category 7a to another person's property for compensation, and separately requires a business license for any company performing Category 7a work. Category 7a is Industrial, Institutional, Structural and Health-Related Pest Control and Category 7b is Fumigation. Each licensed structural location must have a Designated Certified Applicator permanently assigned full time to that location, who needs either a natural sciences degree or two years of verifiable pest control experience, and technicians working under that applicator must complete Verifiable Technician Training consisting of ten modules and a knowledge check exam, with mandatory annual retraining. Governed by the South Carolina Pesticide Control Act. The same state rules apply in Greenville, Columbia and Myrtle Beach, so candidates licensed there can work in Charleston without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Clemson University Department of Pesticide Regulation, the state pesticide regulatory agency for South Carolina. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Charleston talent.
The closest metro we cover is Myrtle Beach, about 85 miles away, with roughly 270 pest control workers (0.5 times Charleston's 510). Pay is close across the region: medians run from $38,100 in Myrtle Beach to $45,250 in Charlotte, against $43,530 here. Charlotte has the deepest pool within reach, so a search for senior roles here usually extends there.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston | – | 510 | $43,530 |
| Myrtle Beach | 87 mi | 270 | $38,100 |
| Columbia | 106 mi | 440 | $44,620 |
| Augusta | 128 mi | 320 | $39,530 |
| Charlotte | 177 mi | 1,270 | $45,250 |
| Jacksonville | 197 mi | 1,030 | $43,580 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Charleston crews.
Not commercial pest control work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Charleston in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- U.S. Coast Guard Base Charleston modernization$440M+ across three contracts (including a $230M design-build contract for a new engineering complex, personnel housing, and parking structure)Latest contract targets 2030 completion
A multi-year infrastructure expansion: Pier Mike recapitalization, a new medical/dental facility, and now a 90,000 sq ft engineering complex plus a 120,000 sq ft multifunctional building - all built by Brasfield & Gorrie.
- Boeing South Carolina final assembly building expansion$1B+Ramping to 10 airplanes/month in 2026
A new 1.2 million sq ft final assembly building in North Charleston - aerospace-grade electrical, mechanical, and fabrication demand at a scale unmatched elsewhere in the metro.
- I-526 / Long Point Road interchange$227MDesign underway (Parsons)
Major interchange reconstruction feeding the region's port and industrial corridor - sustained heavy-civil and paving demand.
Showing 3 of 4 projects tracked in this metro. The Charleston market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial pest control, and what kills offers in Charleston.
The 2 credentials that gate the work and the 3 things that most often end a commercial pest control offer are the same in every market, kept in one place: Commercial Pest Control credentials and offer risks, each linked to the body that issues it. What is local is the licensing rule above and the pay further up this page.
Frequently asked - Commercial Pest Control hiring in Charleston.
What do pest control workers earn in Charleston?
BLS puts the Charleston median for pest control workers at $43,530 a year, 4% below the $45,250 national median. That ranks 75th of 109 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Most of the market sits between $30,420 and $60,130, a 2.0x gap and a moderate spread, so a few thousand dollars over the median buys real experience. No other South Carolina metro we cover pays more for this work.
Is it hard to hire pest control workers in Charleston?
Not by national standards. Pest control workers make up 95% more of the Charleston workforce than they do nationally, about 510 people. The 78 pest control companies here average about 9.8 employees per location.
Which commercial pest control roles pay the most in Charleston?
Of the roles we recruit for, Pest Control Service Manager pays the most in Charleston, a $109,260 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Commercial Pest Control Technician at $43,530, 60% below it. Relative to national pay, Pest Control Service Manager is the strongest-paying role here (3% above). Pest Control Sales / Business Development Rep trails national pay the most (11% below).
How many pest control companies operate in Charleston?
BLS counted 78 pest control companies in Charleston in 2023, employing about 767 people between them. Up from 74 in 2018, a 5% increase against 16% growth nationally. That averages 9.8 people per location. They pay an average of $52,129, 5% below the $54,678 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Charleston for pest control workers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Myrtle Beach (87 miles, about 270, $38,100 median), Columbia (106 miles, about 440, $44,620 median) and Augusta (128 miles, about 320, $39,530 median). Charleston out-pays Myrtle Beach and Augusta, an advantage when recruiting from there.
Plenty of people. Few of them looking.
Charleston has one of the deeper pools of pest control workers we cover, but the best of them are already working. Let's find the ones ready to move.
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