Budget Analysts in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$66,110
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$20,150
23.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,951
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
$86,260
Kept after tax
$66,110
Worth in national money
$70,951
State rank
27
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. South Carolina is 27 of 51 states for budget analysts, with a middle wage of $86,260. 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, budget analysts ranks 79 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $86,260 you keep $66,110 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $70,951 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $90,850, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina ranks 27 of 51 for budget analysts at $86,260. 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, budget analysts sits 79 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.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $66,110 after the full tax stack, from $86,260. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $70,951 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $90,850 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Budget Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $86,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $125,860 |
| This salary | $86,260 |
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 | $66,110 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $69,514 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$583 |
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 | $81,422 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$806 |
| 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 $86,260. The published range is $62,870 up to $125,860, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $66,110, from $86,260, 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 79 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 $70,951 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 79.
- Reported values are medians; for budget analysts in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $62,870 to $125,860. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $66,110 from $86,260. 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 79 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $70,951, worked from $86,260, 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 79 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $90,850 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $62,870 and the top tenth $125,860 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $70,951 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and South Carolina adds its own income tax on top — which is why $66,110 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $90,850. 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 ($62,870) and the ninetieth ($125,860) 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 $70,951 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 $66,110 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.