Nursing Assistants in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,644
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$5,576
15.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,961
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
$37,220
Kept after tax
$31,644
Worth in national money
$33,961
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Carolina pays nursing assistants a middle wage of $37,220, 45 of 51 states and about 11.93% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within South Carolina this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, nursing assistants ranks 410. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $37,220 you keep $31,644 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $33,961 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $37,390, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina's $37,220 median for nursing assistants places it 45 of 51 states, about 11.93% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation South Carolina reports, nursing assistants ranks 410 of 492, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $31,644 after the full tax stack, from $37,220. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $33,961 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $37,390 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Nursing Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,460 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,760 |
| This salary | $37,220 |
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 | $31,644 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,086 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$942 |
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 | $36,670 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,140 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in South Carolina earn less than $37,220. The published range is $30,460 up to $44,760, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $31,644, from $37,220, 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 410 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $33,961, the adjusted value of that $37,220 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 410 of 492 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for nursing assistants in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,460 to $44,760. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,644 from $37,220. 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 410 of 492 locally.
- This $33,961 adjusted figure, worked from $37,220, 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 410 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 410 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $30,460 at the bottom tenth to $44,760 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $33,961 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 $31,644.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,460 to $44,760) 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 $33,961 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 $31,644 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.