Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,869
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$7,401
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,642
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
$45,270
Kept after tax
$37,869
Worth in national money
$40,642
State rank
21
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. South Carolina is 21 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $45,270. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 339.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,270 you keep $37,869, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $40,642 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $46,290, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina ranks 21 of 49 for molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic at $45,270. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic sits at 339 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 molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic on $45,270 is $37,869. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $40,642 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 $46,290 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,670 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,270 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,150 |
| This salary | $45,270 |
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 | $37,869 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,554 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$967 |
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 | $44,417 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,169 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,270 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,670 and the ninetieth is $62,150 — 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 $37,869, worked from $45,270. 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 339 of 492.
- Two cautions on $40,642, the adjusted value of that $45,270 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of South Carolina. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 339 of 492 locally.
- The South Carolina median of $45,270 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,670 to $62,150. 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 $37,869, on $45,270 for work ranking 339 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 339 of 492 in the state.
- This $40,642 adjusted figure, worked from $45,270, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 339 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 339 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $34,670 and the top tenth $62,150, so most people doing this work in South Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $40,642 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 $37,869.
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 ($34,670 to $62,150) 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 $40,642 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 $37,869 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.