Physical Therapist Aides in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,557
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$4,723
14.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,648
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
$33,280
Kept after tax
$28,557
Worth in national money
$30,648
State rank
30
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for physical therapist aides. The median is $33,280, ranking 30 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in South Carolina, this one sits low: 453 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $33,280 the take-home is $28,557; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $30,648 would nationally. The average comes to $33,670, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Carolina occupies the middle band for physical therapist aides: a median of $33,280, ranking 30 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Physical therapist aides occupies position 453 of 492 in South Carolina's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for physical therapist aides in South Carolina, on $33,280, is $28,557 — equivalent to $30,648 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $33,670 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Physical Therapist Aides
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $33,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,290 |
| This salary | $33,280 |
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 | $28,557 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $28,920 |
| 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 | $32,827 |
|---|---|
| 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 $33,280 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $22,830 and the ninetieth is $45,290 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $28,557, from $33,280, 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 453 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,648 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 453.
- The South Carolina median of $33,280 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $22,830 to $45,290. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $28,557 from $33,280. 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 453 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,648, worked from $33,280, 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 453 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $22,830 at the bottom tenth to $45,290 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $30,648.
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 $28,557 of this wage survives to your account.
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 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($22,830 to $45,290) 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 $30,648 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 $28,557 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.