Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,261
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$17,389
22.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,747
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
$78,650
Kept after tax
$61,261
Worth in national money
$65,747
State rank
38
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $78,650, ranking 38 of 45 states — about 19.8% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations South Carolina reports, this job comes in at 109 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- South Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $78,650 the take-home is $61,261; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $65,747 would nationally. The average comes to $84,540, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- South Carolina ranks 38 of 45 for political science teachers, postsecondary, with a median of $78,650 — about 19.8% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Political science teachers, postsecondary ranks 109 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.
- Post-tax income for political science teachers, postsecondary in South Carolina, on $78,650, is $61,261 — equivalent to $65,747 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 $84,540 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $41,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,650 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,350 |
| This salary | $78,650 |
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 | $61,261 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,160 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$279 |
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 | $74,529 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$385 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $78,650 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $41,130 and the ninetieth is $129,350 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In South Carolina the take-home figure of $61,261, from $78,650, 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 109 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $65,747, the adjusted value of that $78,650 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 109 of 492 locally.
- The South Carolina median of $78,650 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $41,130 to $129,350. 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 $61,261 from $78,650. 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 109 of 492 locally.
- This $65,747 adjusted figure, worked from $78,650, 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 109 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 109 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $84,540 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $41,130, the highest tenth $129,350, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $65,747 in national terms.
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 $61,261.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 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 $84,540. 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 ($41,130) and the ninetieth ($129,350) 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 $65,747 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 $61,261 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.