Food Processing Workers, All Other in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,519
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$5,541
15.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,827
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
$37,060
Kept after tax
$31,519
Worth in national money
$33,827
State rank
40
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for food processing workers, all other. The middle earner takes $37,060, ranking 40 of 46 states — about 6.6% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in South Carolina, this one sits low: 413 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $37,060 the take-home is $31,519; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $33,827 would nationally. The average comes to $37,790, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Carolina ranks 40 of 46 for food processing workers, all other, with a median of $37,060 — about 6.6% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Food processing workers, all other occupies position 413 of 492 in South Carolina's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for food processing workers, all other in South Carolina, on $37,060, is $31,519 — equivalent to $33,827 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 $37,790 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Food Processing Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $42,470 |
| This salary | $37,060 |
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 | $31,519 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,958 |
| 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 | $36,514 |
|---|---|
| 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
- Treat $37,060 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,430 and the ninetieth is $42,470 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $31,519 take-home in South Carolina comes from $37,060. 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 413 of 492.
- Two cautions on $33,827, the adjusted value of that $37,060 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 413 of 492 locally.
- The South Carolina median of $37,060 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,430 to $42,470. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $31,519, from $37,060, 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 413 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 40 of 46 for it.
- This $33,827 adjusted figure, worked from $37,060, 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 413 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 413 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $34,430 at the bottom tenth to $42,470 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $33,827.
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 $31,519 of this wage survives to your account.
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 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,430 to $42,470) 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 $33,827 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 $31,519 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.