Animal Caretakers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,990
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$4,290
13.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,966
South Carolina costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in South Carolina — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$31,280
Kept after tax
$26,990
Worth in national money
$28,966
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. South Carolina pays animal caretakers around $31,280 at the midpoint, 31 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 492 occupations South Carolina publishes, animal caretakers lands at 463. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $31,280 you keep $26,990 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $28,966 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $33,640, since top earners drag the number up.
- For animal caretakers the South Carolina median is $31,280, ranking 31 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within South Carolina, this work ranks 463 of 492 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $26,990 after the full tax stack, from $31,280. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,966 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $33,640 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Animal Caretakers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,880 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $31,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,160 |
| This salary | $31,280 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in South Carolina | $26,990 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $27,313 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$858 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $30,877 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,038 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in South Carolina earn less than $31,280. The published range is $22,880 up to $46,160, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $26,990, worked from $31,280. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 463 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,966 uses one figure for the whole of South Carolina. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 463.
- Reported values are medians; for animal caretakers in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $22,880 to $46,160. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The South Carolina take-home of $26,990, on $31,280 for work ranking 463 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 463 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,966, worked from $31,280, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular South Carolina address, on work sitting at 463 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $33,640, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $22,880 at the bottom tenth to $46,160 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $28,966.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; South Carolina then takes its own share, leaving $26,990.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in South Carolina is $33,640. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($22,880) and the ninetieth ($46,160) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
South Carolina's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $28,966 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $26,990 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and South Carolina income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.