Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,886
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$4,814
14.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,001
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
$33,700
Kept after tax
$28,886
Worth in national money
$31,001
State rank
35
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in South Carolina. The middle earner gets $33,700. That is 35 of 50 states, and about 5.84% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 492 occupations South Carolina publishes, this job lands at 452. 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 $33,700 you keep $28,886, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $31,001 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $42,580, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists, South Carolina sits in the lower band at $33,700, ranking 35 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 5.84%. 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 452 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 hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists on $33,700 is $28,886. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $31,001 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 $42,580 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,340 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $33,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,430 |
| This salary | $33,700 |
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 | $28,886 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,258 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$893 |
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 | $33,237 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,079 |
| 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 $33,700. The published range is $21,340 up to $77,430, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $28,886, from $33,700, 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 452 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $31,001, the adjusted value of that $33,700 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 452 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $21,340 to $77,430. 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 $28,886 from $33,700. 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 452 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $31,001 — the adjusted value of that $33,700 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 452 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 $42,580, 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?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $21,340, the highest tenth $77,430, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $31,001 in national terms.
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, $28,886 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 $42,580. 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 ($21,340) and the ninetieth ($77,430) 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 $31,001 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 $28,886 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.