Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,520
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$7,990
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,414
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
$47,510
Kept after tax
$39,520
Worth in national money
$42,414
State rank
26
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $47,510, ranking 26 of 49 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 305.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $47,510 you keep $39,520, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,414 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $48,360, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina occupies the middle band for outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics: a median of $47,510, ranking 26 of 49. 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, outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics sits at 305 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 outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics on $47,510 is $39,520. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,414 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 $48,360 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Outdoor Power Equipment and Other Small Engine Mechanics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $70,050 |
| This salary | $47,510 |
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 | $39,520 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,354 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$887 |
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 | $46,472 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,072 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $47,510 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,770 and the ninetieth is $70,050 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $39,520 take-home in South Carolina comes from $47,510. 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 305 of 492.
- Two cautions on $42,414, the adjusted value of that $47,510 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 305 of 492 locally.
- The South Carolina median of $47,510 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,770 to $70,050. 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 $39,520, from $47,510, 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 305 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 26 of 49 for it.
- This $42,414 adjusted figure, worked from $47,510, 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 305 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 305 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $31,770 at the bottom tenth to $70,050 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 $42,414.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and South Carolina's own levy, $39,520 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($31,770) and the ninetieth ($70,050) 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 $42,414 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 $39,520 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.