Dragon Images // Shutterstock
1 / 50#50. Social and human service assistants
- Median annual wage: $36,240
- Median hourly wage: $17.42
- Total employment: 70 people (2.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lowest-paying jobs in Sumter
Uncertainty clouds the current job market. On one hand, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment rates at 4.2% as of May 2025—and that hasn't changed much in the past year, a typical indicator of a positive economy. At the same time, average weekly earnings have increased by 3.9% over the 12 months ending May 2025 to reach $1,243.03.
However, the American economy may soon shift. The Trump administration's federal budget cuts have eliminated tens of thousands of jobs, and constant changes in import tariffs leave companies unable to plan for their future employment needs.
With these factors in mind, minimum or low-wage jobs are increasingly unsustainable for most. In 2025, a full-time job at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour puts a worker under the poverty threshold, according to the Economic Policy Institute. While states can opt to have higher minimum wages, 20 states are at or below the federal minimum as of 2025.
Salaries can also vary by gender, race, and educational attainment. According to a March 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, women's earnings are about 85% of men's, and women also remain overrepresented in low-paying jobs. Meanwhile, April 2025 BLS data shows that Hispanic workers' median earnings lag behind those of other race and ethnicity groups, and full-time workers without a high school diploma earned the least compared to their more educated counterparts.
It's important to note, though, that low pay doesn't always equal low job satisfaction. Some people feel drawn to a particular field, seek a certain work environment, or aim for work-life balance. No matter the reason, Stacker used BLS data to find the 50 lowest-paying jobs in Sumter. Jobs are ranked by their median annual pay as of May 2024, so any jobs without annual compensation figures available were excluded from this analysis.
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
2 / 50#49. Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters
- Median annual wage: $36,060
- Median hourly wage: $17.34
- Total employment: 50 people (1.48 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Syda Productions // Shutterstock
3 / 50#48. Tellers
- Median annual wage: $35,930
- Median hourly wage: $17.28
- Total employment: 130 people (3.65 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
nullplus // Shutterstock
4 / 50#47. Light truck drivers
- Median annual wage: $35,870
- Median hourly wage: $17.25
- Total employment: 190 people (5.42 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Fusionstudio // Shutterstock
5 / 50#46. Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks
- Median annual wage: $35,700
- Median hourly wage: $17.16
- Total employment: 200 people (5.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
6 / 50#45. Nursing assistants
- Median annual wage: $35,640
- Median hourly wage: $17.14
- Total employment: 430 people (12.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Milkovasa // Shutterstock
7 / 50#44. Medical assistants
- Median annual wage: $35,450
- Median hourly wage: $17.05
- Total employment: 180 people (4.97 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lee Charlie // Shutterstock
8 / 50#43. Court, municipal, and license clerks
- Median annual wage: $35,400
- Median hourly wage: $17.02
- Total employment: 60 people (1.74 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wavebreakmedia // Shutterstock
9 / 50#42. First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers
- Median annual wage: $35,200
- Median hourly wage: $16.93
- Total employment: 260 people (7.26 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ruslan Galiullin // Shutterstock
10 / 50#41. Office clerks, general
- Median annual wage: $35,110
- Median hourly wage: $16.88
- Total employment: 730 people (20.75 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Weerayuth Kanchanacharoen // Shutterstock
11 / 50#40. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
- Median annual wage: $34,920
- Median hourly wage: $16.79
- Total employment: 790 people (22.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock
12 / 50#39. Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
- Median annual wage: $33,690
- Median hourly wage: $16.20
- Total employment: 70 people (2.06 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dusan Petkovic // Shutterstock
13 / 50#38. Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping
- Median annual wage: $33,500
- Median hourly wage: $16.10
- Total employment: 50 people (1.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
fizkes // Shutterstock
14 / 50#37. First-line supervisors of personal service workers
- Median annual wage: $33,480
- Median hourly wage: $16.09
- Total employment: 40 people (0.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
New Africa // Shutterstock
15 / 50#36. Receptionists and information clerks
- Median annual wage: $32,700
- Median hourly wage: $15.72
- Total employment: 210 people (5.83 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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LightField Studios // Shutterstock
16 / 50#35. Emergency medical technicians
- Median annual wage: $31,600
- Median hourly wage: $15.19
- Total employment: 60 people (1.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
17 / 50#34. Security guards
- Median annual wage: $31,110
- Median hourly wage: $14.96
- Total employment: 70 people (1.89 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DSBfoto // Shutterstock
18 / 50#33. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners
- Median annual wage: $30,830
- Median hourly wage: $14.82
- Total employment: 540 people (15.29 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
19 / 50#32. Stockers and order fillers
- Median annual wage: $30,440
- Median hourly wage: $14.63
- Total employment: 490 people (13.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Paolo Bona // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Cooks, restaurant
- Median annual wage: $30,120
- Median hourly wage: $14.48
- Total employment: 300 people (8.43 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Chay_Tee // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Tax preparers
- Median annual wage: $30,110
- Median hourly wage: $14.48
- Total employment: 50 people (1.45 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Standret // Shutterstock
22 / 50#29. Counter and rental clerks
- Median annual wage: $29,950
- Median hourly wage: $14.40
- Total employment: 70 people (1.92 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Loveischiangrai // Shutterstock
23 / 50#28. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers
- Median annual wage: $29,510
- Median hourly wage: $14.19
- Total employment: 140 people (4.11 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
UfaBizPhoto // Shutterstock
24 / 50#27. Parts salespersons
- Median annual wage: $29,150
- Median hourly wage: $14.01
- Total employment: 70 people (2.07 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Africa Studio // Shutterstock
25 / 50#26. Shuttle drivers and chauffeurs
- Median annual wage: $28,710
- Median hourly wage: $13.80
- Total employment: 30 people (0.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Dmitry Kalinovsky // Shutterstock
26 / 50#24. Laundry and dry-cleaning workers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $28,570
- Median hourly wage: $13.74
- Total employment: 60 people (1.69 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
27 / 50#24. Preschool teachers, except special education (tie)
- Median annual wage: $28,570
- Median hourly wage: $13.74
- Total employment: 120 people (3.39 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
VGstockstudio // Shutterstock
28 / 50#23. Food servers, nonrestaurant
- Median annual wage: $28,530
- Median hourly wage: $13.72
- Total employment: 40 people (1.15 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
29 / 50#22. Retail salespersons
- Median annual wage: $28,470
- Median hourly wage: $13.69
- Total employment: 1,010 people (28.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
SviatlanaLaza // Shutterstock
30 / 50#20. Packers and packagers, hand (tie)
- Median annual wage: $28,390
- Median hourly wage: $13.65
- Total employment: 100 people (2.86 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Pressmaster // Shutterstock
31 / 50#20. Animal caretakers (tie)
- Median annual wage: $28,390
- Median hourly wage: $13.65
- Total employment: 60 people (1.79 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
32 / 50#19. Food preparation workers
- Median annual wage: $27,600
- Median hourly wage: $13.27
- Total employment: 140 people (4.08 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
wavebreakmedia // Shutterstock
33 / 50#18. Dishwashers
- Median annual wage: $27,250
- Median hourly wage: $13.10
- Total employment: 90 people (2.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Lucky Business // Shutterstock
34 / 50#17. Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors
- Median annual wage: $27,230
- Median hourly wage: $13.09
- Total employment: 50 people (1.46 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A // Shutterstock
35 / 50#16. Home health and personal care aides
- Median annual wage: $27,000
- Median hourly wage: $12.98
- Total employment: 810 people (22.87 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Nejron Photo // Shutterstock
36 / 50#15. Cleaners of vehicles and equipment
- Median annual wage: $26,840
- Median hourly wage: $12.90
- Total employment: 50 people (1.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Rawpixel.com // Shutterstock
37 / 50#14. Maids and housekeeping cleaners
- Median annual wage: $26,690
- Median hourly wage: $12.83
- Total employment: 150 people (4.31 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Krakenimages.com // Shutterstock
38 / 50#13. Childcare workers
- Median annual wage: $26,630
- Median hourly wage: $12.80
- Total employment: 260 people (7.33 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Drazen Zigic // Shutterstock
39 / 50#12. Cooks, institution and cafeteria
- Median annual wage: $26,420
- Median hourly wage: $12.70
- Total employment: 150 people (4.35 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Dean Drobot // Shutterstock
40 / 50#11. Cashiers
- Median annual wage: $24,500
- Median hourly wage: $11.78
- Total employment: 1,080 people (30.67 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Dragon Images // Shutterstock
41 / 50#10. Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop
- Median annual wage: $23,660
- Median hourly wage: $11.38
- Total employment: 100 people (2.81 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Alena Veasey // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Cooks, fast food
- Median annual wage: $23,360
- Median hourly wage: $11.23
- Total employment: 220 people (6.37 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Gabriel Georgescu // Shutterstock
43 / 50#8. Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks
- Median annual wage: $23,310
- Median hourly wage: $11.21
- Total employment: 90 people (2.5 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Pearl PhotoPix // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists
- Median annual wage: $23,290
- Median hourly wage: $11.20
- Total employment: 80 people (2.22 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
BlueSkyImage // Shutterstock
45 / 50#6. Fast food and counter workers
- Median annual wage: $22,890
- Median hourly wage: $11.01
- Total employment: 1,180 people (33.57 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
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Paul.J.West // Shutterstock
46 / 50#5. Teaching assistants, except postsecondary
- Median annual wage: $22,560
- Median hourly wage: Not available
- Total employment: 270 people (7.56 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Alexander Oganezov // Shutterstock
47 / 50#4. Amusement and recreation attendants
- Median annual wage: $21,660
- Median hourly wage: $10.41
- Total employment: 60 people (1.64 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
48 / 50#3. Driver/sales workers
- Median annual wage: $21,010
- Median hourly wage: $10.10
- Total employment: 110 people (2.99 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
49 / 50#2. Waiters and waitresses
- Median annual wage: $17,120
- Median hourly wage: $8.23
- Total employment: 460 people (12.95 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
santypan // Shutterstock
50 / 50#1. Bartenders
- Median annual wage: $16,140
- Median hourly wage: $7.76
- Total employment: 110 people (3.17 of every 1,000 jobs in the area)
This story features data reporting by Wade Zhou, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 364 metros.
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