Postsecondary Teachers, All Other in South Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,809
after federal, FICA and South Carolina tax
Tax takes
$17,131
22.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,262
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
$77,940
Kept after tax
$60,809
Worth in national money
$65,262
State rank
17
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. South Carolina is 17 of 48 states for this job, with a middle wage of $77,940. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations South Carolina reports, this job comes in at 113 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $77,940 you keep $60,809 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $65,262 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $76,230.
- South Carolina ranks 17 of 48 for postsecondary teachers, all other at $77,940. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Postsecondary teachers, all other ranks 113 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.
- Retained pay in South Carolina is $60,809 after the full tax stack, from $77,940. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $65,262 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $76,230 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Postsecondary Teachers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,670 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,940 |
| Top tenth earn over | $104,580 |
| This salary | $77,940 |
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 | $60,809 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,661 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$250 |
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 | $73,886 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$345 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $77,940 as a midpoint for South Carolina, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,670 and the ninetieth is $104,580 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $60,809 take-home in South Carolina comes from $77,940. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 113 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $65,262 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 113.
- The South Carolina median of $77,940 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,670 to $104,580. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $60,809, from $77,940, assumes a single South Carolina filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 113 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 17 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $65,262, worked from $77,940, 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 113 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $30,670 at the bottom tenth to $104,580 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 $65,262.
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 $60,809 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 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($30,670) and the ninetieth ($104,580) 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 $65,262 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 $60,809 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.