Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$43,257
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$9,323
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,425
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
$52,580
Kept after tax
$43,257
Worth in national money
$46,425
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 $52,580, 36 of 49 states and about 8.45% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 252 among 492 occupations South Carolina publishes pay for.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $52,580 the take-home is $43,257; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $46,425 would nationally. The average comes to $53,000, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Carolina's $52,580 median for excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining places it 36 of 49 states, about 8.45% 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.
- Position 252 of 492 in South Carolina places excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining in South Carolina, on $52,580, is $43,257 — equivalent to $46,425 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 $53,000 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,730 |
| This salary | $52,580 |
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 | $43,257 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,428 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$705 |
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 | $51,123 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$853 |
| 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 excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining in South Carolina earn under $52,580 and half over. The published range runs $39,020 at the tenth percentile to $61,730 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $43,257, worked from $52,580. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 252 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,425 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 252.
- Figures are distribution medians for excavating and loading machine and dragline operators, surface mining in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,020 to $61,730; 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.
- The South Carolina take-home of $43,257, on $52,580 for work ranking 252 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 252 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,425, worked from $52,580, 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 252 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $39,020 at the bottom tenth to $61,730 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $46,425 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and South Carolina adds its own income tax on top — which is why $43,257 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($39,020 to $61,730) 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 $46,425 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 $43,257 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.