Driver/Sales Workers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$19,781
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$2,459
11.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$21,229
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
$22,240
Kept after tax
$19,781
Worth in national money
$21,229
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for driver/sales workers is on the low side in South Carolina. The middle earner gets $22,240. That is 51 of 51 states, and about 42.64% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 492 occupations South Carolina publishes, driver/sales workers lands at 490. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $22,240 you keep $19,781, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $21,229 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $29,510, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For driver/sales workers, South Carolina sits in the lower band at $22,240, ranking 51 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 42.64%. 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 490 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for driver/sales workers on $22,240 is $19,781. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $21,229 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 $29,510 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Driver/Sales Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $17,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $22,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,380 |
| This salary | $22,240 |
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 | $19,781 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $19,925 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$725 |
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 | $22,065 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$856 |
| 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 driver/sales workers in South Carolina earn under $22,240 and half over. The published range runs $17,040 at the tenth percentile to $48,380 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $19,781, from $22,240, 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 490 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 $21,229 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 490.
- Figures are distribution medians for driver/sales workers in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $17,040 to $48,380; 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 $19,781 from $22,240. 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 490 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $21,229, worked from $22,240, 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 490 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $29,510 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $17,040 and the top tenth $48,380 — 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 $21,229 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 $19,781.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in South Carolina is $29,510. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($17,040) and the ninetieth ($48,380) 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 $21,229 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 $19,781 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.