Pharmacists in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$97,913
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$37,787
27.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$105,083
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
$135,700
Kept after tax
$97,913
Worth in national money
$105,083
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for pharmacists is on the low side in South Carolina. The middle earner gets $135,700. That is 44 of 51 states, and about 3.7% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations South Carolina reports, pharmacists comes in at 12 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $135,700 you keep $97,913, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $105,083 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $136,730, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For pharmacists, South Carolina sits in the lower band at $135,700, ranking 44 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 3.7%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Pharmacists ranks 12 of 492 occupations by median in South Carolina, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for pharmacists on $135,700 is $97,913. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $105,083 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 $136,730 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Pharmacists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $82,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $135,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $170,270 |
| This salary | $135,700 |
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 | $97,913 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $104,017 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,958 |
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 | $126,770 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,784 |
| 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 pharmacists in South Carolina earn under $135,700 and half over. The published range runs $82,430 at the tenth percentile to $170,270 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $97,913, worked from $135,700. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 12 of 492.
- Two cautions on $105,083, the adjusted value of that $135,700 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 12 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for pharmacists in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $82,430 to $170,270; 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.
- The South Carolina take-home of $97,913, on $135,700 for work ranking 12 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 12 of 492 in the state.
- This $105,083 adjusted figure, worked from $135,700, 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 12 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 12 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $82,430 at the bottom tenth to $170,270 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. South Carolina is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $105,083 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and South Carolina adds its own income tax on top — which is why $97,913 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($82,430 to $170,270) 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 $105,083 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 $97,913 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.