Butchers and Meat Cutters in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,658
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$6,132
15.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,123
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
$39,790
Kept after tax
$33,658
Worth in national money
$36,123
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 butchers and meat cutters, with a middle wage of $39,790. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within South Carolina this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, butchers and meat cutters ranks 384. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $39,790 you keep $33,658, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $36,123 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $40,620, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina ranks 27 of 51 for butchers and meat cutters at $39,790. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation South Carolina reports, butchers and meat cutters ranks 384 of 492, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for butchers and meat cutters on $39,790 is $33,658. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $36,123 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 $40,620 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Butchers and Meat Cutters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,980 |
| This salary | $39,790 |
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 | $33,658 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,151 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$979 |
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 | $39,176 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,183 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $39,790 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,150 and the ninetieth is $47,980 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $33,658, worked from $39,790. 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 384 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $36,123, the adjusted value of that $39,790 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 384 of 492 in the state.
- The South Carolina median of $39,790 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,150 to $47,980. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The South Carolina take-home of $33,658, on $39,790 for work ranking 384 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 384 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $36,123 — the adjusted value of that $39,790 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 384 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,150 at the bottom tenth to $47,980 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $36,123.
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 $33,658 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,150 to $47,980) 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 $36,123 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 $33,658 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.