Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Feb. 14, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	RPC INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000742278
Trading Symbol	res
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-Known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		219,289,400
Entity Public Float			$ 852,785,460
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2013
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY