Packers and Packagers, Hand in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,695
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$4,485
13.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,723
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
$32,180
Kept after tax
$27,695
Worth in national money
$29,723
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Carolina pays packers and packagers, hand a middle wage of $32,180, 42 of 51 states and about 11.3% 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, packers and packagers, hand ranks 458. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $32,180 you keep $27,695, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $29,723 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $33,600, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina's $32,180 median for packers and packagers, hand places it 42 of 51 states, about 11.3% 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, packers and packagers, hand ranks 458 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.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for packers and packagers, hand on $32,180 is $27,695. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $29,723 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 $33,600 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Packers and Packagers, Hand
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $25,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $32,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,050 |
| This salary | $32,180 |
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 | $27,695 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $28,037 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$871 |
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 | $31,755 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,053 |
| 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 $32,180. The published range is $25,870 up to $44,050, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $27,695, from $32,180, 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 458 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of South Carolina, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $29,723, the adjusted value of that $32,180 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 458 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for packers and packagers, hand in South Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $25,870 to $44,050. 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 $27,695 from $32,180. 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 458 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for South Carolina, so $29,723 — the adjusted value of that $32,180 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 458 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 $33,600, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $25,870 and the top tenth $44,050, so most people doing this work in South Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $29,723.
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 $27,695.
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 $33,600. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($25,870 to $44,050) 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 $29,723 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 $27,695 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.