Healthcare Social Workers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,347
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$11,493
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,960
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
$60,840
Kept after tax
$49,347
Worth in national money
$52,960
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Carolina pays healthcare social workers a middle wage of $60,840, 44 of 51 states and about 10.37% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Healthcare social workers ranks 201 among 492 occupations South Carolina publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $60,840 you keep $49,347 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $52,960 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $62,020, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina's $60,840 median for healthcare social workers places it 44 of 51 states, about 10.37% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 201 of 492 in South Carolina places healthcare social workers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $49,347 after the full tax stack, from $60,840. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $52,960 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $62,020 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Healthcare Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,450 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,990 |
| This salary | $60,840 |
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 | $49,347 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,065 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$411 |
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 | $58,702 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$497 |
| 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 $60,840. The published range is $40,450 up to $83,990, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $49,347, from $60,840, 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 201 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 $52,960, the adjusted value of that $60,840 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 201 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for healthcare social workers in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $40,450 to $83,990. 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 $49,347 from $60,840. 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 201 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $52,960 — the adjusted value of that $60,840 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 201 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $40,450 at the tenth percentile, $83,990 at the ninetieth.
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 $52,960 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, $49,347 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,450 to $83,990) 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 $52,960 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 $49,347 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.