Dental Hygienists in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,887
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$19,453
23.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,638
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
$84,340
Kept after tax
$64,887
Worth in national money
$69,638
State rank
43
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Carolina pays dental hygienists a middle wage of $84,340, 43 of 50 states and about 14.03% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in South Carolina. It ranks 81 out of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $84,340 you keep $64,887 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $69,638 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $84,980, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina's $84,340 median for dental hygienists places it 43 of 50 states, about 14.03% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Within South Carolina, dental hygienists ranks 81 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.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $64,887 after the full tax stack, from $84,340. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $69,638 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $84,980 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Dental Hygienists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,700 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,340 |
| Top tenth earn over | $97,220 |
| This salary | $84,340 |
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 | $64,887 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,163 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$507 |
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 | $79,683 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$700 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of dental hygienists in South Carolina earn under $84,340 and half over. The published range runs $65,700 at the tenth percentile to $97,220 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $64,887, from $84,340, 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 81 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $69,638 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 81.
- Figures are distribution medians for dental hygienists in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $65,700 to $97,220; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $64,887 from $84,340. 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 81 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $69,638, worked from $84,340, 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 81 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $65,700 at the bottom tenth to $97,220 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 $69,638.
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 $64,887.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($65,700 to $97,220) 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 $69,638 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 $64,887 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.