Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,989
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$20,081
23.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,821
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
$86,070
Kept after tax
$65,989
Worth in national money
$70,821
State rank
29
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $86,070, ranking 29 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in South Carolina. It ranks 80 out of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $86,070 you keep $65,989 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $70,821 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $91,120, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina occupies the middle band for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers: a median of $86,070, ranking 29 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Within South Carolina, geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers ranks 80 of 492 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $65,989 after the full tax stack, from $86,070. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $70,821 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $91,120 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,550 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $86,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $141,480 |
| This salary | $86,070 |
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 | $65,989 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $69,380 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$576 |
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 | $81,250 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$796 |
| 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 $86,070. The published range is $47,550 up to $141,480, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $65,989, from $86,070, 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 80 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 $70,821 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 80.
- Reported values are medians; for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,550 to $141,480. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $65,989 from $86,070. 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 80 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $70,821, worked from $86,070, 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 80 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $91,120, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $47,550, the highest tenth $141,480, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $70,821 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and South Carolina's own levy, $65,989 remains.
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 50 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 $91,120. 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 ($47,550) and the ninetieth ($141,480) 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 $70,821 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 $65,989 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.