Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,946
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$25,604
25.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$81,507
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
$101,550
Kept after tax
$75,946
Worth in national money
$81,507
State rank
14
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. South Carolina's middle earner gets $101,550, putting the state 14 of 51 — about 2.29% ahead of the national figure.
- Within South Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 47 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $101,550 the take-home is $75,946; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $81,507 would nationally. The average comes to $103,670, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For architects, except landscape and naval, South Carolina sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $101,550, ranking 14 of 51 and running about 2.29% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation South Carolina publishes a median for, architects, except landscape and naval sits 47 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Post-tax income for architects, except landscape and naval in South Carolina, on $101,550, is $75,946 — equivalent to $81,507 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $103,670 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,010 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $101,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $162,240 |
| This salary | $101,550 |
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 | $75,946 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,270 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,097 |
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 | $95,403 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,515 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of architects, except landscape and naval in South Carolina earn under $101,550 and half over. The published range runs $62,010 at the tenth percentile to $162,240 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $75,946, from $101,550, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 47 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $81,507 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 47.
- Figures are distribution medians for architects, except landscape and naval in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $62,010 to $162,240; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $75,946 from $101,550. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 47 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $81,507, worked from $101,550, 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 47 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $62,010 and the top tenth $162,240 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $81,507.
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 $75,946.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($62,010) and the ninetieth ($162,240) 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 $81,507 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 $75,946 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.