Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,838
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$6,182
15.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,316
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
$40,020
Kept after tax
$33,838
Worth in national money
$36,316
State rank
47
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $40,020, ranking 47 of 48 states — about 27.25% 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: 379 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $40,020 the take-home is $33,838; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $36,316 would nationally. The average comes to $50,420, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Carolina ranks 47 of 48 for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers, with a median of $40,020 — about 27.25% 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.
- Morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers occupies position 379 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.
- Post-tax income for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers in South Carolina, on $40,020, is $33,838 — equivalent to $36,316 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $50,420 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Arrangers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,510 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,020 |
| Top tenth earn over | $83,650 |
| This salary | $40,020 |
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 | $33,838 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,336 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$982 |
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 | $39,400 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,187 |
| 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 morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers in South Carolina earn under $40,020 and half over. The published range runs $29,510 at the tenth percentile to $83,650 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $33,838 take-home in South Carolina comes from $40,020. 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 379 of 492.
- Two cautions on $36,316, the adjusted value of that $40,020 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 379 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for morticians, undertakers, and funeral arrangers in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,510 to $83,650; 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.
- Retained pay of $33,838, from $40,020, 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 379 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 47 of 48 for it.
- This $36,316 adjusted figure, worked from $40,020, 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 379 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 379 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 $50,420, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $29,510 at the bottom tenth to $83,650 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 $36,316 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 $33,838.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $50,420. 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 ($29,510) and the ninetieth ($83,650) 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 $36,316 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 $33,838 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.