Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,541
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$10,849
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,022
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
$58,390
Kept after tax
$47,541
Worth in national money
$51,022
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- South Carolina sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $58,390, ranking 30 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations South Carolina reports figures for, this is number 222.
- Here is where South Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $58,390 you keep $47,541, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $51,022 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $59,230, because the best-paid pull it up.
- South Carolina occupies the middle band for postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators: a median of $58,390, ranking 30 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.
- In South Carolina's occupational distribution, postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators sits at 222 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and South Carolina income tax, retained pay for postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators on $58,390 is $47,541. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $51,022 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 $59,230 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,280 |
| This salary | $58,390 |
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 | $47,541 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,096 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$498 |
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 | $56,454 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$603 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $58,390 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $42,600 and the ninetieth is $75,280 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind South Carolina's $47,541, worked from $58,390. 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 222 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,022 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 222.
- The South Carolina median of $58,390 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $42,600 to $75,280. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The South Carolina take-home of $47,541, on $58,390 for work ranking 222 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 222 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,022, worked from $58,390, 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 222 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $42,600 at the bottom tenth to $75,280 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in South Carolina sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $51,022 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $47,541 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($42,600 to $75,280) 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 $51,022 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 $47,541 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.