Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,412
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$7,238
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,151
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
$44,650
Kept after tax
$37,412
Worth in national money
$40,151
State rank
46
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $44,650, ranking 46 of 49 states — about 9.3% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Against other work in South Carolina, this sits in the middle: 344 of 492 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $44,650 you keep $37,412, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $40,151 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $46,500, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina ranks 46 of 49 for insurance claims and policy processing clerks, with a median of $44,650 — about 9.3% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Insurance claims and policy processing clerks ranks 344 of 492 occupations in South Carolina by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for insurance claims and policy processing clerks on $44,650 is $37,412. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $40,151 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 $46,500 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,650 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,450 |
| This salary | $44,650 |
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 | $37,412 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,056 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$989 |
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 | $43,848 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,196 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of insurance claims and policy processing clerks in South Carolina earn under $44,650 and half over. The published range runs $37,380 at the tenth percentile to $61,450 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $37,412, from $44,650, 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 344 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 $40,151 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 344.
- Figures are distribution medians for insurance claims and policy processing clerks in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,380 to $61,450; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $37,412 from $44,650. 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 344 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $40,151, worked from $44,650, 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 344 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 $46,500, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,380 at the tenth percentile, $61,450 at the ninetieth.
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 $40,151 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $37,412 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.
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 $46,500. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,380 to $61,450) 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 $40,151 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 $37,412 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.