Electricians in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,799
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$10,942
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,299
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
$58,740
Kept after tax
$47,799
Worth in national money
$51,299
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Carolina pays electricians a middle wage of $58,740, 44 of 51 states and about 7.04% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 219.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $58,740 you keep $47,799 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $51,299 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $59,030, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina's $58,740 median for electricians places it 44 of 51 states, about 7.04% 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.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, electricians sits at 219 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $47,799 after the full tax stack, from $58,740. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $51,299 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $59,030 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Electricians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,330 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,800 |
| This salary | $58,740 |
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 | $47,799 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,378 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$486 |
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 | $56,775 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$587 |
| 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 $58,740. The published range is $44,330 up to $77,800, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $47,799 take-home in South Carolina comes from $58,740. 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 219 of 492.
- Two cautions on $51,299, the adjusted value of that $58,740 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 219 of 492 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for electricians in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $44,330 to $77,800. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $47,799, from $58,740, 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 219 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 44 of 51 for it.
- This $51,299 adjusted figure, worked from $58,740, 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 219 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 219 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $44,330 at the tenth percentile, $77,800 at the ninetieth.
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 $51,299.
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 $47,799.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($44,330 to $77,800) 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 $51,299 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 $47,799 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.