Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,466
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$18,074
22.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$67,040
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
$80,540
Kept after tax
$62,466
Worth in national money
$67,040
State rank
16
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. South Carolina pays this job a middle wage of $80,540, ranking 16 of 49 states and sitting about 2.8% above the national middle.
- Within South Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 95 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $80,540 you keep $62,466 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $67,040 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $81,290, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina's median for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other is $80,540, about 2.8% above the national figure and 16 of 49 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation South Carolina publishes a median for, engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other sits 95 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $62,466 after the full tax stack, from $80,540. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $67,040 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $81,290 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $103,760 |
| This salary | $80,540 |
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 | $62,466 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,490 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$354 |
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 | $76,241 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$489 |
| 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 engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other in South Carolina earn under $80,540 and half over. The published range runs $49,050 at the tenth percentile to $103,760 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $62,466, from $80,540, 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 95 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 $67,040 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 95.
- Figures are distribution medians for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $49,050 to $103,760; 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 $62,466 from $80,540. 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 95 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $67,040, worked from $80,540, 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 95 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $49,050 at the tenth percentile, $103,760 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in South Carolina sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $67,040 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $62,466 remains.
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 ($49,050 to $103,760) 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 $67,040 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 $62,466 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.