Food Batchmakers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,527
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$5,543
15.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,835
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
$37,070
Kept after tax
$31,527
Worth in national money
$33,835
State rank
42
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for food batchmakers is on the low side in South Carolina. The middle earner gets $37,070. That is 42 of 50 states, and about 12.34% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 492 occupations South Carolina publishes, food batchmakers lands at 412. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $37,070 you keep $31,527, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,835 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $39,360, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For food batchmakers, South Carolina sits in the lower band at $37,070, ranking 42 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 12.34%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within South Carolina, this work ranks 412 of 492 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for food batchmakers on $37,070 is $31,527. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,835 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 $39,360 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Food Batchmakers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $52,200 |
| This salary | $37,070 |
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 | $31,527 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,966 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$940 |
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 | $36,523 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,137 |
| 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 $37,070. The published range is $28,910 up to $52,200, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $31,527 take-home in South Carolina comes from $37,070. 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 412 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,835, the adjusted value of that $37,070 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 412 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for food batchmakers in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,910 to $52,200. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $31,527, from $37,070, 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 412 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 42 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $33,835 — the adjusted value of that $37,070 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 412 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 $39,360, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $28,910 and the top tenth $52,200, so most people doing this work in South Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $33,835 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 $31,527.
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 $39,360. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,910 to $52,200) 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 $33,835 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 $31,527 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.