Marriage and Family Therapists in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,359
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$10,071
18.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,680
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
$55,430
Kept after tax
$45,359
Worth in national money
$48,680
State rank
35
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for marriage and family therapists. The middle earner takes $55,430, ranking 35 of 45 states — about 17.19% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 240.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $55,430 you keep $45,359, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $48,680 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $61,000, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina ranks 35 of 45 for marriage and family therapists, with a median of $55,430 — about 17.19% 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.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, marriage and family therapists sits at 240 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for marriage and family therapists on $55,430 is $45,359. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $48,680 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 $61,000 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Marriage and Family Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $55,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $91,220 |
| This salary | $55,430 |
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 | $45,359 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,718 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$604 |
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 | $53,738 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$731 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $55,430 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,280 and the ninetieth is $91,220 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $45,359 take-home in South Carolina comes from $55,430. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 240 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 $48,680, the adjusted value of that $55,430 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 240 of 492 in the state.
- The South Carolina median of $55,430 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,280 to $91,220. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $45,359, from $55,430, assumes a single South Carolina filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 240 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 35 of 45 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $48,680 — the adjusted value of that $55,430 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 240 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $61,000 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $44,280 at the bottom tenth to $91,220 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 $48,680 in national terms.
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 $45,359.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 $61,000. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($44,280) and the ninetieth ($91,220) 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 $48,680 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 $45,359 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.