Hazardous Materials Removal Workers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,744
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$8,426
17.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,727
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
$49,170
Kept after tax
$40,744
Worth in national money
$43,727
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. South Carolina pays this job around $49,170 at the midpoint, 24 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 283.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $49,170 you keep $40,744 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $43,727 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $59,420, since top earners drag the number up.
- For hazardous materials removal workers the South Carolina median is $49,170, ranking 24 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, hazardous materials removal workers sits at 283 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.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $40,744 after the full tax stack, from $49,170. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $43,727 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $59,420 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Hazardous Materials Removal Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $102,770 |
| This salary | $49,170 |
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 | $40,744 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,688 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$827 |
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 | $47,995 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,000 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $49,170 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,840 and the ninetieth is $102,770 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $40,744, worked from $49,170. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 283 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 $43,727, the adjusted value of that $49,170 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 283 of 492 in the state.
- The South Carolina median of $49,170 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,840 to $102,770. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The South Carolina take-home of $40,744, on $49,170 for work ranking 283 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 283 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $43,727 — the adjusted value of that $49,170 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 283 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 $59,420, 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 $37,840 at the bottom tenth to $102,770 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $43,727 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 $40,744.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $59,420. 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 ($37,840) and the ninetieth ($102,770) 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 $43,727 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 $40,744 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.