English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,023
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$12,447
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,832
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
$64,470
Kept after tax
$52,023
Worth in national money
$55,832
State rank
36
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Carolina pays this job a middle wage of $64,470, 36 of 49 states and about 18.14% 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 164.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $64,470 the take-home is $52,023; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $55,832 would nationally. The average comes to $76,390, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Carolina's $64,470 median for english language and literature teachers, postsecondary places it 36 of 49 states, about 18.14% 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, english language and literature teachers, postsecondary sits at 164 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.
- Post-tax income for english language and literature teachers, postsecondary in South Carolina, on $64,470, is $52,023 — equivalent to $55,832 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $76,390 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $104,990 |
| This salary | $64,470 |
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 | $52,023 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,982 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$281 |
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 | $62,032 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$340 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $64,470 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $47,400 and the ninetieth is $104,990 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $52,023, from $64,470, 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 164 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 $55,832 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 164.
- The South Carolina median of $64,470 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $47,400 to $104,990. 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 $52,023 from $64,470. 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 164 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $55,832, worked from $64,470, 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 164 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 $76,390 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?
The label is broader than the work. From $47,400 at the bottom tenth to $104,990 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $55,832 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $52,023.
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 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $76,390. 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 ($47,400) and the ninetieth ($104,990) 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 $55,832 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 $52,023 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.