Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,242
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$7,178
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,969
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
$44,420
Kept after tax
$37,242
Worth in national money
$39,969
State rank
37
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $44,420, ranking 37 of 49 states — about 4.12% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 347 among 492 occupations South Carolina publishes pay for.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $44,420 you keep $37,242, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $39,969 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $45,540, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina ranks 37 of 49 for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, with a median of $44,420 — about 4.12% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 347 of 492 in South Carolina places cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic on $44,420 is $37,242. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $39,969 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 $45,540 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,420 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,410 |
| This salary | $44,420 |
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 | $37,242 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,871 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$997 |
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 | $43,637 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,206 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $44,420 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,000 and the ninetieth is $62,410 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $37,242, from $44,420, 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 347 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $39,969, the adjusted value of that $44,420 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 347 of 492 locally.
- The South Carolina median of $44,420 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,000 to $62,410. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $37,242 from $44,420. 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 347 of 492 locally.
- This $39,969 adjusted figure, worked from $44,420, 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 347 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 347 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $34,000 and the top tenth $62,410, so most people doing this work in South Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $39,969 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; South Carolina then takes its own share, leaving $37,242.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,000 to $62,410) 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 $39,969 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 $37,242 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.