Physical Therapists in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,802
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$25,528
25.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$81,353
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
$101,330
Kept after tax
$75,802
Worth in national money
$81,353
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for physical therapists. The median is $101,330, ranking 25 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within South Carolina this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, physical therapists ranks 48 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $101,330 you keep $75,802 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $81,353 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $98,100.
- South Carolina occupies the middle band for physical therapists: a median of $101,330, ranking 25 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.
- Ranked against every occupation South Carolina publishes a median for, physical therapists sits 48 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $75,802 after the full tax stack, from $101,330. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $81,353 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $98,100 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Physical Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $72,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $101,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $123,480 |
| This salary | $101,330 |
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 | $75,802 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,116 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,092 |
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 | $95,199 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,508 |
| 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 physical therapists in South Carolina earn under $101,330 and half over. The published range runs $72,810 at the tenth percentile to $123,480 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $75,802, from $101,330, 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 48 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $81,353, the adjusted value of that $101,330 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 48 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for physical therapists in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $72,810 to $123,480; 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.
- Take-home for South Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $75,802 from $101,330. 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 48 of 492 locally.
- This $81,353 adjusted figure, worked from $101,330, 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 48 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 48 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 $98,100, 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?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $72,810 at the tenth percentile, $123,480 at the ninetieth.
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 $81,353.
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, $75,802 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $98,100. 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 ($72,810 to $123,480) 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 $81,353 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 $75,802 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.