Firefighters in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,822
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$6,748
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,446
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
$42,570
Kept after tax
$35,822
Worth in national money
$38,446
State rank
42
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for firefighters is on the low side in South Carolina. The middle earner gets $42,570. That is 42 of 50 states, and about 28.19% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 364.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $42,570 you keep $35,822, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $38,446 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $43,900, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For firefighters, South Carolina sits in the lower band at $42,570, ranking 42 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 28.19%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, firefighters sits at 364 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for firefighters on $42,570 is $35,822. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $38,446 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 $43,900 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Firefighters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,150 |
| This salary | $42,570 |
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 | $35,822 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,385 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,003 |
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 | $41,870 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,213 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $42,570 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $29,130 and the ninetieth is $62,150 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $35,822, from $42,570, 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 364 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $38,446, the adjusted value of that $42,570 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 364 of 492 locally.
- The South Carolina median of $42,570 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $29,130 to $62,150. 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 $35,822 from $42,570. 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 364 of 492 locally.
- This $38,446 adjusted figure, worked from $42,570, 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 364 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 364 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $43,900, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $29,130 at the bottom tenth to $62,150 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $38,446 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 $35,822.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $43,900. 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 ($29,130) and the ninetieth ($62,150) 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 $38,446 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 $35,822 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.