Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,606
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$3,394
12.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,334
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
$27,000
Kept after tax
$23,606
Worth in national money
$25,334
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Carolina pays this job a middle wage of $27,000, 43 of 51 states and about 13.46% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within South Carolina this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 484. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $27,000 you keep $23,606 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $25,334 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $26,870.
- South Carolina's $27,000 median for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop places it 43 of 51 states, about 13.46% 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.
- Against every occupation South Carolina reports, hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop ranks 484 of 492, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $23,606 after the full tax stack, from $27,000. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $25,334 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $26,870 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $17,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $27,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,230 |
| This salary | $27,000 |
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 | $23,606 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $23,845 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$797 |
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 | $26,710 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$940 |
| 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 $27,000. The published range is $17,740 up to $37,230, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $23,606, worked from $27,000. 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 484 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 $25,334, the adjusted value of that $27,000 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 484 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $17,740 to $37,230. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The South Carolina take-home of $23,606, on $27,000 for work ranking 484 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 484 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $25,334 — the adjusted value of that $27,000 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 484 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $17,740 at the bottom tenth to $37,230 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $25,334 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, $23,606 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($17,740) and the ninetieth ($37,230) 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 $25,334 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 $23,606 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.