Architectural and Engineering Managers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$118,964
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$50,076
29.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$127,675
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
$169,040
Kept after tax
$118,964
Worth in national money
$127,675
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. South Carolina is 19 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $169,040. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within South Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 5 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $169,040 you keep $118,964, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $127,675 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $173,140, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina ranks 19 of 51 for architectural and engineering managers at $169,040. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation South Carolina publishes a median for, architectural and engineering managers sits 5 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for architectural and engineering managers on $169,040 is $118,964. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $127,675 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $173,140 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Architectural and Engineering Managers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $115,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $169,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $226,970 |
| This salary | $169,040 |
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 | $118,964 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $126,805 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,816 |
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 | $157,568 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,004 |
| 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 architectural and engineering managers in South Carolina earn under $169,040 and half over. The published range runs $115,280 at the tenth percentile to $226,970 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $118,964, from $169,040, 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 5 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $127,675, the adjusted value of that $169,040 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of South Carolina. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 5 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for architectural and engineering managers in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $115,280 to $226,970; 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 $118,964 from $169,040. 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 5 of 492 locally.
- This $127,675 adjusted figure, worked from $169,040, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 5 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 5 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $115,280 and the top tenth $226,970, so most people doing this work in South Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. South Carolina is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $127,675 in national terms.
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 $118,964.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($115,280 to $226,970) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to South Carolina rather than a national figure.
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 $127,675 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 $118,964 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.