Commercial Pilots in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$78,675
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$27,065
25.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$84,436
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
$105,740
Kept after tax
$78,675
Worth in national money
$84,436
State rank
28
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for commercial pilots. The median is $105,740, ranking 28 of 48 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within South Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, commercial pilots ranks 37 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $105,740 you keep $78,675 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $84,436 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $108,640, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina occupies the middle band for commercial pilots: a median of $105,740, ranking 28 of 48. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation South Carolina publishes a median for, commercial pilots sits 37 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 $78,675 after the full tax stack, from $105,740. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $84,436 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $108,640 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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: Commercial Pilots
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $105,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $164,920 |
| This salary | $105,740 |
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 | $78,675 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $83,218 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,201 |
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 | $99,282 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,659 |
| 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 $105,740. The published range is $49,720 up to $164,920, 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 $78,675, worked from $105,740. 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 37 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 $84,436, the adjusted value of that $105,740 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 37 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for commercial pilots in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $49,720 to $164,920. 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 $78,675, on $105,740 for work ranking 37 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 37 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $84,436 — the adjusted value of that $105,740 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 37 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 $49,720 and the top tenth $164,920 — 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 $84,436 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and South Carolina's own levy, $78,675 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($49,720) and the ninetieth ($164,920) 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 $84,436 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 $78,675 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.