Manicurists and Pedicurists in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,972
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$4,838
14.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,094
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
$33,810
Kept after tax
$28,972
Worth in national money
$31,094
State rank
37
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for manicurists and pedicurists. The middle earner takes $33,810, ranking 37 of 49 states — about 5.45% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in South Carolina, this one sits low: 450 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $33,810 you keep $28,972 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $31,094 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $34,750, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina ranks 37 of 49 for manicurists and pedicurists, with a median of $33,810 — about 5.45% 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.
- Manicurists and pedicurists occupies position 450 of 492 in South Carolina's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $28,972 after the full tax stack, from $33,810. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $31,094 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $34,750 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Manicurists and Pedicurists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $18,450 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $33,810 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,550 |
| This salary | $33,810 |
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 | $28,972 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,346 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$894 |
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 | $33,344 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,081 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $33,810 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $18,450 and the ninetieth is $62,550 — 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 $28,972, worked from $33,810. 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 450 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 $31,094, the adjusted value of that $33,810 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 450 of 492 in the state.
- The South Carolina median of $33,810 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $18,450 to $62,550. 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 $28,972, on $33,810 for work ranking 450 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 450 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $31,094 — the adjusted value of that $33,810 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 450 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $18,450 at the bottom tenth to $62,550 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 $31,094 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 $28,972.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($18,450) and the ninetieth ($62,550) 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 $31,094 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 $28,972 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.