Couriers and Messengers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,244
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$5,466
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,532
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
$36,710
Kept after tax
$31,244
Worth in national money
$33,532
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for couriers and messengers is on the low side in South Carolina. The middle earner gets $36,710. That is 42 of 51 states, and about 6.35% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 492 occupations South Carolina publishes, couriers and messengers lands at 420. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $36,710 the take-home is $31,244; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $33,532 would nationally. The average lands at $35,790, below the middle of the range.
- For couriers and messengers, South Carolina sits in the lower band at $36,710, ranking 42 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 6.35%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within South Carolina, this work ranks 420 of 492 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Post-tax income for couriers and messengers in South Carolina, on $36,710, is $31,244 — equivalent to $33,532 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 $35,790 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Couriers and Messengers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $25,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,040 |
| This salary | $36,710 |
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 | $31,244 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,676 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$935 |
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 | $36,172 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,131 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $36,710 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $25,000 and the ninetieth is $46,040 — 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 $31,244, worked from $36,710. 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 420 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $33,532 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 420.
- The South Carolina median of $36,710 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $25,000 to $46,040. 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 $31,244, on $36,710 for work ranking 420 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 420 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $33,532, worked from $36,710, 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 420 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $25,000 at the tenth percentile, $46,040 at the ninetieth.
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 $33,532 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, $31,244 remains.
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 ($25,000 to $46,040) 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 $33,532 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 $31,244 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.