Computer Programmers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,767
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$24,973
25.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$80,242
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
$99,740
Kept after tax
$74,767
Worth in national money
$80,242
State rank
16
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for computer programmers. The median is $99,740, ranking 16 of 46 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in South Carolina. It ranks 53 out of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $99,740 the take-home is $74,767; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $80,242 would nationally. The average comes to $100,720, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Carolina occupies the middle band for computer programmers: a median of $99,740, ranking 16 of 46. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Within South Carolina, computer programmers ranks 53 of 492 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for computer programmers in South Carolina, on $99,740, is $74,767 — equivalent to $80,242 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 $100,720 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Computer Programmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $99,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $135,250 |
| This salary | $99,740 |
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 | $74,767 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,997 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,052 |
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 | $93,727 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,453 |
| 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 $99,740. The published range is $63,130 up to $135,250, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $74,767 take-home in South Carolina comes from $99,740. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 53 of 492.
- Two cautions on $80,242, the adjusted value of that $99,740 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 53 of 492 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for computer programmers in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $63,130 to $135,250. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $74,767, from $99,740, assumes a single South Carolina filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 53 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 16 of 46 for it.
- This $80,242 adjusted figure, worked from $99,740, 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 53 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 53 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 $63,130 and the top tenth $135,250 — 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 $80,242 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 $74,767 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 ($63,130) and the ninetieth ($135,250) 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 $80,242 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 $74,767 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.