Physics Teachers, Postsecondary in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,893
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$18,317
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$67,498
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
$81,210
Kept after tax
$62,893
Worth in national money
$67,498
State rank
41
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. South Carolina pays physics teachers, postsecondary a middle wage of $81,210, 41 of 47 states and about 19.04% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations South Carolina reports, physics teachers, postsecondary comes in at 92 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $81,210 you keep $62,893, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $67,498 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $87,770, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina's $81,210 median for physics teachers, postsecondary places it 41 of 47 states, about 19.04% 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.
- Physics teachers, postsecondary ranks 92 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 physics teachers, postsecondary on $81,210 is $62,893. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $67,498 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 $87,770 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Physics Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $81,210 |
| Top tenth earn over | $128,940 |
| This salary | $81,210 |
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 | $62,893 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,961 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$381 |
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 | $76,848 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$526 |
| 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 physics teachers, postsecondary in South Carolina earn under $81,210 and half over. The published range runs $61,470 at the tenth percentile to $128,940 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 $62,893, worked from $81,210. 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 92 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $67,498 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 92.
- Figures are distribution medians for physics teachers, postsecondary in South Carolina, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $61,470 to $128,940; 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 $62,893, on $81,210 for work ranking 92 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 92 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $67,498, worked from $81,210, 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 92 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $87,770, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $61,470 at the bottom tenth to $128,940 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 $67,498.
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, $62,893 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 $87,770. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($61,470) and the ninetieth ($128,940) 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 $67,498 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 $62,893 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.