Highway Maintenance Workers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,977
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$8,153
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,905
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
$48,130
Kept after tax
$39,977
Worth in national money
$42,905
State rank
32
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. South Carolina pays highway maintenance workers around $48,130 at the midpoint, 32 of 49 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Highway maintenance workers ranks 291 among 492 occupations South Carolina publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $48,130 you keep $39,977 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $42,905 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $48,900, since top earners drag the number up.
- For highway maintenance workers the South Carolina median is $48,130, ranking 32 of 49 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.
- Position 291 of 492 in South Carolina places highway maintenance 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 $39,977 after the full tax stack, from $48,130. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $42,905 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $48,900 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Highway Maintenance Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,780 |
| This salary | $48,130 |
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 | $39,977 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,852 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$865 |
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 | $47,041 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,046 |
| 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 $48,130. The published range is $37,740 up to $60,780, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $39,977, from $48,130, 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 291 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 $42,905 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 291.
- Reported values are medians; for highway maintenance workers in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,740 to $60,780. 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 $39,977 from $48,130. 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 291 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,905, worked from $48,130, 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 291 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,740 at the bottom tenth to $60,780 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $42,905 in national terms.
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 $39,977 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,740 to $60,780) 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 $42,905 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 $39,977 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.