Opticians, Dispensing in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,881
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$8,119
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,801
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
$48,000
Kept after tax
$39,881
Worth in national money
$42,801
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for opticians, dispensing. The median is $48,000, ranking 22 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 295.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $48,000 you keep $39,881 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $42,801 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $51,010, since top earners drag the number up.
- South Carolina occupies the middle band for opticians, dispensing: a median of $48,000, ranking 22 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, opticians, dispensing sits at 295 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.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $39,881 after the full tax stack, from $48,000. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $42,801 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $51,010 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Opticians, Dispensing
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,240 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $73,890 |
| This salary | $48,000 |
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 | $39,881 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,748 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$869 |
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 | $46,921 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,051 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $48,000 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,240 and the ninetieth is $73,890 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $39,881 take-home in South Carolina comes from $48,000. 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 295 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,801 uses one figure for the whole of South Carolina. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 295.
- The South Carolina median of $48,000 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,240 to $73,890. 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 $39,881, from $48,000, 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 295 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,801, worked from $48,000, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular South Carolina address, on work sitting at 295 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 $51,010 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 $36,240 at the bottom tenth to $73,890 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $42,801.
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 $39,881.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $51,010. 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 ($36,240) and the ninetieth ($73,890) 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 $42,801 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 $39,881 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.